Since I was a Jewish boy growing up, I have been told to eat an orange after eating cold cuts or processed kosher meats. I always wondered if there were biochemical implications to this old Jewish wives tale, so I decided to do some research. Jews tend to eat a lot of cold cuts or other forms of cured meats because kosher meat is so expensive that one must make the meat last for a long time, hence the creation of kosher delis with many cured meats.
Cured meats tend to be high in both nitrate and nitrite concentrations. Intrinsically nitrates can be converted into nitrites and vice versa, which have been proven to cause cancers. The creation of tumors from nitrates is through superoxide free radical formation. Many different studies have found that the consumption of cold cuts and hot dogs especially can be a risk factor for both childhood and adult cancers. Cold cuts and hot dogs contain nitrites, which are used as preservatives, and are cured using ionic salts. During cooking and in the stomach, nitrites combine with amines to form carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds (Nitrosamines). These compounds are known carcinogens.
Cancer causes a huge localized inflammatory response, causing “leaky” blood vessels and creating an easier route for cancer to metastasize. This is done, in part, by mimicking the human immunologic response with the release of cytokines, causing migration of immune cells such as macrophages and leukocytes, causing “leaky” vessels and allowing metastasis of the cancer. All cured meats contain nitrites, including bacon and fish, meaning almost everything we eat has a chance to cause cancer through superoxide and N-nitroso compounds.
Oranges are high in Vitamin C. Vitamin C protects molecules from damage by free radicals, done by transferring free radical electrons from superoxide radicals to Vitamin C. The Vit C free radical is oxidized back into its natural electron configuration intrinsically. N-nitroso compounds and superoxide free radicals have no mechanism of oxidation back to their natural state. By transferring the free radical electrons to Vit C, we are converting harmful free radicals into ones which are oxidized back into their active configuration. By consuming an orange, we are supplementing our lacking daily intake of Vitamin C, which helps to fight the carcinogenic effects of nitrates in cold cuts. Thus, Jews were building beneficial biochemistry into their very culture without even knowing the mechanism of these beneficial effects.
References:
1. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html
2. Lijinsky W, Epstein, S. "Nitrosamines as environmental carcinogens," Nature 225 (5227): 2112, 1970.
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12569111
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20100056
5. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1836737/vitamin_c_detoxes_the_body_of_sodium.html
Wow, this is fascinating, Alex! Thanks for posting! While reading your post I was thinking I'll add this to the reasons why I don't eat cold cuts or hot dogs - I'm a vegetarian. And then I clicked on the first link you posted, which stated that people normally consume more nitrates from their vegetable intake than from the cured meat products they eat. Some of the vegetables that generally contain very high concentrations of nitrates include spinach, beets, radishes, celery, and cabbage. It has been estimated that 10 percent of the human exposure to nitrite in the digestive tract comes from cured meats and 90 percent comes from vegetables and other sources. It also said that infants fed vegetables with a high nitrate level can result in nitrite toxicity. It appears that this is only at unusually high levels of consumption. This is fascinating to me. I guess we should all be eating oranges, regardless of whether or not we consume cold cuts :)
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to thank you Alex for the interesting post. After reading Brittni's comment I was wondering if the antioxidants that you receive from vegetables would counteract the high concentrations of nitrates that are also found in vegetables in an vegetarian diet. I think I will start eating an orange after every meal just to be safe. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteYes Brittni!
ReplyDeleteI noticed this too and was shocked. I'm sure a vegetarian diet is still much more healthy than a straight cold cut diet. All that sodium... This info was in my original post but was cut due to the 400 word limit. I'm happy you found the post and link interesting.
Thanks for sharing that tip with us. I guess packages will say if nitrite was added or not. I always thought it was added just to keep the meat red looking, but according to that first source you posted there is more to it than that. Nitrate is naturally present in some salts which were historically choosen for the added sake of making the meat look red. During the turn of the century, these salts were discovered to contain nitrate which gets converted to nitrite during processing and are responsible for the characteristic color. Adding sodium nitrite also enhances flavor and retards bacterial growth.
ReplyDeleteIt's really fortunate that vitamin C supplements (such as those VitaC drink mixes) are becoming so commonplace because it's an easy way to still get vitamin C in a diet that may lean more heavily on processed meats and less on fresh fruit. It's not the best as eating an actual orange, but any amount of reduced carcinogens can help.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty cool. thanks for posting this, I know people that would find this interesting:), cant wait to share. I like this post because its a small diet tweak that can be beneficial to everyone.
ReplyDelete