Nitrate: a Protective Factor in Leafy Greens

Cancer Link and Food Sources

Nitrate (NO3) is a molecule that has received a lot of bad press over the years. It was initially thought to promote digestive cancers, in part due to its ability to form carcinogens in the digestive tract. As it's used as a preservative in processed meats, and there is a link between processed meats and gastric cancer (1), nitrate was viewed with suspicion and a number of countries imposed strict limits on its use as a food additive.

But what if I told you that by far the greatest source of nitrate in the modern diet isn't processed meat-- but vegetables, particularly leafy greens (2)? And that the evidence specifically linking nitrate consumption to gastric cancer has largely failed to materialize? For example, one study found no difference in the incidence of gastric cancer between nitrate fertilizer plant workers and the general population (3). Most other studies in animals and humans have not supported the hypothesis that nitrate itself is carcinogenic (4, 5, 6). This, combined with recent findings on nitrate biology, has the experts singing a different tune in the last few years.

A New Example of Human Symbiosis

In 2003, Dr. K. Cosby and colleagues showed that nitrite (NO2; not the same as nitrate) dilates blood vessels in humans when infused into the blood (7). Investigators subsequently uncovered an amazing new example of human-bacteria symbiosis: dietary nitrate (NO3) is absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream and picked up by the salivary glands. It's then secreted into saliva, where oral bacteria use it as an energy source, converting it to nitrite (NO2). After swallowing, the nitrite is reabsorbed into the bloodstream (8). Humans and oral bacteria may have co-evolved to take advantage of this process. Antibacterial mouthwash prevents it.

Nitrate Protects the Cardiovascular System

In 2008, Dr. Andrew J. Webb and colleagues showed that nitrate in the form of 1/2 liter of beet juice (equivalent in volume to about 1.5 soda cans) substantially lowers blood pressure in healthy volunteers for over 24 hours. It also preserved blood vessel performance after brief oxygen deprivation, and reduced the tendency of the blood to clot (9). These are all changes that one would expect to protect against cardiovascular disease. Another group showed that in monkeys, the ability of nitrite to lower blood pressure did not diminish after two weeks, showing that the animals did not develop a tolerance to it on this timescale (10).

Subsequent studies showed that dietary nitrite reduces blood vessel dysfunction and inflammation (CRP) in cholesterol-fed mice (11). Low doses of nitrite also dramatically reduce tissue death in the hearts of mice exposed to conditions mimicking a heart attack, as well as protecting other tissues against oxygen deprivation damage (12). The doses used in this study were the equivalent of a human eating a large serving (100 g; roughly 1/4 lb) of lettuce or spinach.

Mechanism

Nitrite is thought to protect the cardiovascular system by serving as a precursor for nitric oxide (NO), one of the most potent anti-inflammatory and blood vessel-dilating compounds in the body (13). A decrease in blood vessel nitric oxide is probably one of the mechanisms of diet-induced atherosclerosis and increased clotting tendency, and it is likely an early consequence of eating a poor diet (14).

The Long View

Leafy greens were one of the "protective foods" emphasized by the nutrition giant Sir Edward Mellanby (15), along with eggs and high-quality full-fat dairy. There are many reasons to believe greens are an excellent contribution to the human diet, and what researchers have recently learned about nitrate biology certainly reinforces that notion. Leafy greens may be particularly useful for the prevention and reversal of cardiovascular disease, but are likely to have positive effects on other organ systems both in health and disease. It's ironic that a molecule suspected to be the harmful factor in processed meats is turning out to be one of the major protective factors in vegetables.

Day 58/365 Blood Donation

I gave blood today.  I have always enjoyed doing it.  Such an easy way to bless another life.  Today I hit the two gallon mark.  16 people have received my blood throughout the years.  It would have been a whole bunch more but you can't donate while pregnant and it's a good thing to avoid while your nursing so you don't mess with your fluids.  After spending the last decade doing both, I haven't been a regular at the blood bank.

If you have never given blood, I encourage you to give it a try.  They are so good to you at a blood bank and it's painless.  Today, I didn't even feel a poke, she was that good.  Did you know it takes less than 10 minutes to squeeze out a quart when you are hydrated?  (Be sure to drink a BIG glass of water a couple of hours before you go in.)  If I could do this weekly, I would.

What I did today:
Elliptical Trainer 15 min. @ level 15

Day 57/365 Maintenance is the key to success!

I feel so guilty and lame.  I love this journey, I really do, and I feel I have let others down with doing the same thing day after day.  I like to shake things up, spice it up and I haven't been and I apologize.

I have been working on a project and any free moment I have, I am thinking about it.  I will share what it is soon, I promise.  Might be a few months, but I will share at some point.

Until then, I will continue to post every couple of days something more than just "what I did today."

I have to admit, being super busy makes it hard to try to do good, in fact, if you are like me, when you are busy, you like to take it out in your eating. "I'm too busy to think about it, I'll think about it when x is finished." Yea, I have found several pounds with that thinking in the past for certain.

So it's important to remember that no matter what's going on in your life, whether it's happy events, or sad events, busy or slow, whatever it is, you have to remember to keep the thinking that you are going to take care of yourself.

I will say that when I am in a busy mode, I probably won't be actively loosing weight.  But this is okay.  Just don't gain during that time.  If you can just maintain during the busy time you can continue where you left off when you can focus on weight loss again.

I'll explain the pattern:

Loose+maintain+maintain+loose+maintain+loose+maintain=HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS

Loose+Gain+Maintain+Loose+Gain+Gain=YO YO (Not healthy & VERY frustrating)

So take the pressure off of the "I have to loose" mentality, because it puts on too much pressure.  If you keep the "Healthy choices" mentality and that maintenance is your best friend during stress, you will always come out on top.

What I did today:
Elliptical Trainer 15 min. @ level 15

Three Keys to Lasting Weight Loss Surgery Success

By Kaye Bailey

Nearly a quarter-million people in the United States will undergo weight loss surgery this year to arrest their morbid obesity and lose weight. In spite of the drastic nature of gastric surgeries not all patients will reach a healthy weight and some may eventually regain weight they lost initially with surgery. Obesity is not a simple cosmetic problem of excess body weight than

Sex After Weight Loss Surgery - When is it Okay?

By Kaye Bailey

People recovering from bariatric surgery for the treatment of morbid obesity often look forward to a healthy sex life that may have alluded them due poor health associated with obesity or simply the mechanics of sexual activity with a morbidly obese body. Surgeons are frequently asked how soon a patient will be able to enjoy sexual intimacy following bariatric surgery.

Day 56/365

What I did today:
Elliptical Trainer 15 min. @ level 15

Day 55/365

What I did today:
50 crunches