Normen, nitraat & wijsheid

En dan nog een onderzoek in relatie met kanker:

Conclusion

"A long history of safe use as a food additive, minimal endogenous production of N-nitrosamines and natural metabolism of ingested nitrite all argue that nitrite as currently used in foods is a safe food additive and even beneficial to human health. Dietary intake of nitrate is a well-known marker of a health-promoting fruit and vegetable diet. In addition, nitrite and nitrate per se, as individual chemical compounds, have never been shown to be carcinogens in animal or human studies. Nitrate itself is not capable of reacting with amines to form N-nitrosamines. One could ask the question then, how simultaneous ingestion of nitrite/nitrate and nitrosatable amines/amides could be prevented or reduced by public policy considerations stemming from IARC’s “probably carcinogenic to humans” conclusion, when the majority of ingested (swallowed) nitrite is endogenously produced in saliva and the major source of nitrate is the consumption of health-promoting fruits and vegetables. Thus, to eat is to ingest nitrite, nitrate,amines and amides, regardless of the specific diet. Specifically, the consumption of processed, cured meats would be no more or less risky given the low amount of residual nitrite in such products ready to consume (approximately 10 ppm in individual servings, and sometimes even undetectable).

There will very likely be considerable debate about the emerging health benefits of dietary nitrite and nitrate in light of the fact that we have been told to limit their intake. However, when considered in the context of evolving research about the biological function of all nitrogen oxides (including nitrite and nitrate) and their metabolism, any changes to current food regulations on nitrite are simply unwarranted, as are any regulatory implications for the unavoidable presence of nitrate in fruits and vegetables. The use of nitrite as a direct food additive represents only a small addition to the body burden of endogenously produced nitrogen oxides. It is hard to believe that the ingestion of nitrite from cured meats or nitrate from fruits and vegetables could have any potential adverse toxic outcomes. As more is understood about the human metabolic nitrogen oxide cycle, it will become apparent that nitrite is a safe and appropriate food additive providing many more benefits to society than risks, and nitrate naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables and some drinking waters poses insignificant risks. In fact, the inherent nitrate content of Traditional Chinese Medicines and their ability to convert nitrite to NO in essence provide over 5000 years of phase 1 safety data in humans with known curative properties for certain ailments and conditions [94].

Consumers should avoid getting caught up in fads to the point where they might ignore sound science and common sense. Dietary fads seem to have varying lifetimes, sometimes 3 months to even 3 years and, often in retrospect, some common sense critical thinking at the early stages of dietary research reporting could avoid a lot of poor dietary advice. We have seen a variety of diet vs. disease fads, some spanning decades, such as the low-fat craze which, according to some observers, has led to significant increases in the incidence of both obesity and type 2 diabetes. Such fads may have negative consequences where they not only fail to improve public health, but actually result in unintended adverse health effects. The importance of dietary variety, balance and moderation should be stressed along with the importance of protective factors (including adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables) in the total diet, combined with a physically active lifestyle. We believe that the weak and inconclusive data on nitrite and nitratecancer risks described here are far outweighed by the health benefits of restoring NO homeostasis as described by the volumes of published work over the past 10 years [72], [95], [96], [97], [98], [99], [100] and [101]. The risk/benefit balance should be a strong consideration before there are any suggestions for new regulatory or public health guidelines for dietary nitrite and nitrate exposures."

Source: Nutritional epidemiology in the context of nitric oxide biology: A risk–benefit evaluation for dietary nitrite and nitrate Nitric Oxide, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 11 September 2009
Andrew Milkowski, Harsha K. Garg, James R. Coughlin, Nathan S. Bryan

Helaas kon ik geen nieuwer onderzoek van EFSA vinden,

Noot: De bronnen die ik heb gebruikt zitten in een gesloten databank vandaar geen links.

In de database van Science Direct vond ik een artikel van de EFSA:

Overall conclusion

"The human health risk assessment of food constituents is an internationally agreed and well-established process. The recognition that some foods/food substances have the potential to exert both health risks and health benefits requires to an expansion of the basic risk assessment process to allow a scientific evaluation of the benefits as well as the risks. Such risk?benefit assessment should be decided on a case-by-case basis, particularly when the levels of intake associated with risks and benefits are close. The outcomes of both the risk and the benefit assessments, the comparison between risks and benefits, and a detailed description of the assumptions made and uncertainties linked to the assessments should be provided to the risk managers to take regulatory and practical actions.

EFSA and several EU-funded research projects are currently cooperating in order to develop a harmonised science-based methodology for risk?benefit assessment, and identify suitable ?common currencies? that would allow a quantitative weighing of risks and benefits."

Source: Risk?benefit health assessment of food ? Food fortification and nitrate in vegetables
Bernard Bottexa, , , Jean Lou C.M. Dornea, David Carlandera, Diane Benfordb, , Hildegard Przyrembeld, 1, , Claudia Heppnera, Juliane Kleinera and Andrew Cockburnc,

Trends in Food Science & Technology, Volume 19, Supplement 1, November 2008, Pages S113-S119 EFSA Forum: From Safe Food to Healthy Diets

En dan vraag ik me weer af zit er genoeg handel in? Zoals in alcohol en tabak. Want zoals Jurgen aangaf zitten er goede en slechte kanten aan Nitraat die zijn ook te vinden rondom wijn (bloeddruk) en zelf voor een sigaret kan je positieve effecten als stress verlagend vinden. Het ligt er dus maar aan wat zijn je grenzen.

Hola, even terug. Wat gebeurt er? Niks zegt Jurgen. En hij heeft gelijk. Wetenschappelijk blijft de boel onbeslist zolang het dat is. Daar heeft'ie alle gelijk van de wereld in.

Maar het bootje van de praktische handel moet varen en er moeten regels worden vastgesteld. Wat gebeurt er dan? Daar zit m'n vraag.

Hey Jurgen, klopt zover was ik ook. Hoopte dat je meer inside kennis had dan uit het artikel gehaald kan worden. Misschien staat de echte Nitraat kenner nog op en plaats zijn/haar stuk hier op foodlog.