MEAT-ing of the Minds

~By SHEILA GARCIA

Spring and summer: the seasons for grilling! Grilling lean meats like chicken is considered healthy. Throwing a steak on the grill on a Sunday night with a baked potato and salad? YUM. Football season equals brats and sausages, right? Heck, summer means barbecued hot dogs for most Americans! And EVERYONE knows wrapping food in bacon makes it ALL taste better!

But what is IN the meat you’re cooking?

The characteristic red color of hot dogs, bacon, sausages and steak may appear to be a healthy flush of red meat, and of course the poultry looks so bright and fresh, but we know that any meat being sold in stores was probably processed long, long ago.

That color in the meats actually comes from additives called nitrites and nitrates, which are toxic preservatives that kill off bacteria and other living things, thereby increasing the shelf life of processed meats.

In reference to food, “nitrate” really means sodium nitrate, but should really refer to sodium nitrite. While these are two completely different chemical compounds, they are often used interchangeably by those outside of the science realm.

Sodium nitrate is a type of salt, naturally found in Chile and Peru. It can also be created in a lab.

Sodium nitrite is also a type of salt, but is not found naturally and is created in a lab or as a byproduct of two other chemical reactions (i.e., when sodium nitrate is added to food and reacts with existing chemicals).

Since sodium nitrate is most often added as a preservative (and then breaks down into sodium nitrite), research efforts are concentrated on the latter.

Sodium nitrite is so toxic to the human liver and kidneys, and could increase your heart disease risk, that the FDA unsuccessfully tried to ban it in the 1970s. Nitrites are potent preservatives and also give food a distinctive flavor, so food producers have been reluctant to phase them out..

It’s thought that sodium nitrate may damage your blood vessels, making your arteries more likely to harden and narrow, leading to heart disease. Nitrates may also affect the way your body uses sugar, making you more likely to develop diabetes. And you already know that processed meats are high in sodium and saturated fat, which can disrupt a heart-healthy diet.

Here’s how to keep nitrates and nitrites off your plate:

1. Minimize consumption of processed foods and cured meat products like hot dogs, sausage, and cold cuts. Check labels carefully, though — these compounds are also found in other products that contain processed meat and even some meat-free products.

2. Don’t be fooled by “uncured” or nitrate-free brands. These products typically contain high amounts of nitrates obtained from ingredients like celery juice, which means they could contain as much as if not more than their traditional counterparts.

3. Eat organic foods. They’re not grown with synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which can boost a crop’s nitrate content significantly.

4. If you live in an agricultural region, consider treating your water with a home water distiller, a reverse osmosis filter, or an ion exchange filter to remove any fertilizer nitrates that have accumulated in the groundwater.

5. Eat a diet high in antioxidants. Certain vitamins, like vitamin C, can reduce the conversion of nitrates.

Consumer pressure is finally starting to yield results on the store shelves. “Nitrite-free” meats can now be purchased in certain sections of grocery stores, often colored with annatto or other plant-derived dyes. If you eat meat, it’s best to limit processed meat and instead choose lean, fresh meat and poultry, and keep serving sizes small. For greater heart health, consider going one step further and increasing the amount of seafood in your diet.

Keep your healthy lifestyle and legacy in tact – read labels and be conscious and aware of what you’re putting in your body……a great strategy meat-ing!