Nitrates are converted to nitrites in the body through the action of bacteria. There is no easy way to distinguish the presence of nitrites, nitrates, or nitrosamines in foods, except by reading labels. All forms are potently carcinogenic.
As long as there are adequate stomach acids, Vitamin C helps prevent these substances from forming, by reacting between nitrites and the amines present in foods – in particular, between sodium nitrate or nitrite used in meat preservation and alkylamides already present in meat. Without Vitamin C, the reaction would be the one that forms nitrosamines and nitrosamides. But, in order for the proper reaction to take place, Vitamin C must be present in the stomach at the same time as the nitrites and amines. An overall nutritional status of Vitamin C does not have any effect in this regard.
Vegetarians can receive up to 100% of their total nitrate intake from the vegetables and fruits they eat because nitrates are a natural food for all plant life. All vegetation contains nitrates, with vegetables containing the most – especially beets, celery, lettuce, parsley, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, and turnip greens. However, nitrites prevent botulism, which is why they are added to processed foods. Botulism attacks the nervous system, eventually causing paralysis. Nitrates are a part of nature, and small amounts are necessary. The problem lies in the overabundant use in processed foods and in a diet that consumes products that encourage harmful reactions.
Nucleic Acids are large molecules of smaller subunits called nucleotides which consist of a pentose sugar, a phosphate group, and one of several nitrogenous bases. The most common nucleic acids known are DNA, RNA, and ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is an energy-transfer unit.
Nutrition. Fifteen out of every twenty-one deaths – more than 2/3 – involve nutrition. All ten leading causes of death in the US involve heart disease/stroke/atherosclerosis (43.8%); cancer takes 22.4%; diabetes, another 1.8%; accidents, 4.4%; lung diseases, 3.7%; pneumonia and flu, 3.2%; suicides, 1.4%; liver disease, 1.1%. This list accounts for 81.9% of all deaths – 2 million people each year. Deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances of fats are involved in more than 70% of all US deaths. Is nutrition important, or just a fad?
