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Nitrate and nitrite: Dietary occurrences and health implications for humans
Abstract
Studies were conducted to investigate the effect of nitrate and other inorganic contaminants on human nutrition and health. In Study I, levels of nitrate and other inorganic contaminants in drinking water of 453 Nebraska communities were compared with health data for counties in which those communities were located. Health data included death rates from heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, pneumonia and chronic lung disease plus rate of congenital anomalies. Although levels of nitrate and selenium exceeded Nebraska Dept. of Health standards in a number of communities, they were not significantly correlated with any of the health effects examined. Only barium, fluorine and chromium were weakly but significantly correlated to one or more of the health risks. For Study II, twelve human subjects were fed a sequence of four laboratory controlled diets. These diets included low and high nitrate in the form of vegetables and low and high vitamin C in the form of fruit juices. Analysis of urine samples showed a significant variation in mean nitrate/nitrite levels for subjects on the high nitrate versus low nitrate diets. When fruit juices high in vitamin C were added to these diets, mean urinary levels of nitrate/nitrite tended to be reduced. In Study III, nitrate and nitrite content of commercially processed and home processed beets and spinach were analyzed and compared. Home processed beets were found to be significantly higher in nitrate content than commercially processed beets. This difference was thought to be due to processing methods. Pickled and Harvard beets contained significantly lower amounts of nitrate/nitrite which was probably due to the diluting effect of added sucrose. Home frozen spinach showed a trend toward lower nitrate content than commercially frozen spinach, although the difference was not significant. Length of storage of home processed beets and spinach did not appear to affect nitrate or nitrite content.
Subject Area
Nutrition
Recommended Citation
Bednar, Carolyn Marie, "Nitrate and nitrite: Dietary occurrences and health implications for humans" (1989). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9004668.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9004668