Current scientific findings indicate that these compounds can have dual effects, both beneficial and harmful, on health. Dietary nitrates are naturally abundant in fruits and vegetables or can be introduced as additives, notably in processed and cured meats.
Nitrates are added to fertilizers, which is one way that fruits and vegetables obtain nitrates. Obtaining nitrates from your vegetables should not be a problem due to the vitamin C that they contain because vitamin C prevents those nitrosamines from forming, but buying organic is the way to go.
Nitrates are molecules made of nitrogen and oxygen that are found naturally in air, soil, water, and some foods. Some of the foods high in nitrates are green leafy vegetables and root vegetables....
Foods High in Nitrates and Why You Should Avoid Them - WebMD
“Nitrates and nitrites are natural chemicals that are found in soil and water as part of the earth’s nitrogen cycle,” Peart explains. “They’re naturally present in the human body and in some foods, and nitrates are also added to some foods.”
What Are Nitrates and What Foods Have Them? - Cleveland Clinic Health ...
Nitrates are produced by a number of species of nitrifying bacteria in the natural environment using ammonia or urea as a source of nitrogen and source of free energy.
Nitrates in food have long been associated with negative health consequences, putting many of us on high alert when we see food products with added nitrates, like processed meats.
Nitrates and nitrites are made of the same elements but structured differently: nitrate is NO3- and nitrite is NO2-. The body produces nitrate, but it can also come from sources like food, medication or groundwater, Greenhill says.