When nitrate becomes harmful nitrite How does it harm your health?

Nitrate is not bad at first, but if bacteria turn it into nitrite it can endanger your health. We show what to look for.

Limit values ​​for water
Drinking water in Germany may be 50 mg per liter, and water suppliers mix nitrate-rich water with low-nitrate to meet the limit. Water treatment with nanofilters also reduces the nitrate level in drinking water.

Nitrate is transformed by bacteria into nitrite, which in turn produces dangerous nitrosamines (jeepbabes / fotolia.com)

Too much nitrate in drinking water?
Nitrates are safe under the limit values, and even above that they are more likely to be indicative of nitrogen pollution than of human hazard.

Beware of babies
Not dangerous, however, is nitrite. In infants, it prevents the red blood cells from transporting oxygen, and the subsequent lack of oxygen can even lead to suffocation - the infamous Blue Flag.

Even a dysfunctional intestinal flora converts nitrate increasingly into nitrite.

nitrosamines
Nitrite, together with amines, can form nitrosamines and are considered carcinogens. One example of this is cigarette smoke, and even mascaras with carcinogenic nitrosamines made headlines.

Vitamin C protects against nitrosamines
Nitrosamines form best at a pH of 3-3.5, so especially in fruits and vegetables. When roasting, amines are increasingly released when amino acids break down. Vitamin C and Vitamin E stop the nitrite before it combines with the amines.

Less nitrate means less nitrite
Without nitrate, neither nitrite nor nitrosamines form. A lot of nitrate contains rocket, lettuce or spinach. Spinach strengthens the muscles, and it would be wrong to give up this healthy vegetables.

Stop bacteria
If they do not leave lettuce and do not reheat spinach, they prevent bacteria from being able to convert nitrate into nitrite. Avoid airtight packaged salad and food: Here, the nitrite-forming bacteria can spread.

Buy summer salad
In leafy vegetables, plants harvested in the summer contain less nitrate than winter vegetables because the nitrate increases with less light.

Do not heat cured meat
In pickling products such as Kassler or salami, nitrite pickling salt is already present, especially in ham, black pudding and salami. When heated, nitrosamines can form. Beware than with salami pizza. Therefore, they should warm Kassler slowly in the water and neither grill nor roast. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)