Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition's midweek segment called Ask a Nutritionist.

My name is Brandy Burrow, and I'm a registered and licensed dietitian here at Nutritional Weight and Wellness.

On today's show, I'll be discussing

a topic that I get asked a lot of questions about, nitrates. So let's start with the question,

what are nitrates and where do they come from? Nitrates are compounds that are found both in nature

and as a food additive. And you've probably already

heard about nitrates in the context of processed meats, things like bacon, sausages, hot dogs,

and deli meats, right? And that's true. Nitrates are often added to these foods as a preservative. They do help

prevent bacterial growth, but they're also added as a way to enhance flavors and give them

their appealing pink color or that bright red color that we're used to seeing. But did you know that

nitrates are also naturally found in a lot

of vegetables that we eat all the time, things like spinach, celery, and beets? In fact, most of the

nitrates that we consume in a healthy diet are from vegetables. But here's the twist. The nitrates

and vegetables are actually beneficial for us.

They come along bundled with antioxidants like vitamin C, and that vitamin C actually helps

prevent those nitrates from turning into harmful compounds in your body. In fact, the naturally occurring nitrates from

vegetables turn into something called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide has health benefits like

better blood pressure and overall heart health along with other health benefits. However, when

nitrates are added to processed meats,

and when those meats are cooked at high temperatures,

the situation starts to change.

The nitrates added to processed meats turn into something called nitrosamines,

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