Health risk and benefit of Nitrates
The question on the significance of nitrates in the body of human beings is debatable. A nitrate is a radicle with molecular mass of 62.0049g/mol and a molecular formula of NO3- and is essential to the human being as compound chemical structures. Nitrates are found in many foodstuffs consumed by human being on a day-to-day basis (Givens, 2008). The group of elements occurs naturally in fresh vegetables and most instances; it is added to meat as a preservative. Nitrates combine with water in the body to form nitric oxide, which reduces high blood pressure (Hatfield & Follett, 2008). Nonetheless, a high concentration of nitrates is detrimental especially to the infants since it causes methemoglobinemia. Therefore, this paper discusses the benefits as well as the health risk associated with ingestion of nitrates into the human bodies.
Many controversial issues have been surrounding the effectiveness or significance of nitrates in human dietary, some of which are fact less as other are scientific research. Nitrates being highly soluble in water they occur in tissues of plants in solution form as nitric oxide. The compounds of nitrates such as nitric oxide are very useful and are beneficial to the human body since they reduce hypertension (Hatfield & Follett, 2008). However, in high concentrations, the compounds are very toxic and have numerous health risk especially to infants. Therefore, the questions become, should nitrates be eliminated from human beings diet due to the health hazard it beholds? If so, what about the significant benefits of the human life it beholds. The following are some of the health risks that nitrates pose to the life of people.
Health risks
Infant methemoglobinemia
High concentration of nitrates in human dietary is harmful and detrimental; this substance gets into human dietary though the food substances such as vegetables and canned meat, the more intake of canned meat one do the higher concentration of nitrates is being ingested. The high level of nitrates is very toxic to infants (Hatfield & Follett, 2008). The substance makes the infants very vulnerable to a very severe condition called the methemoglobinemia, which is always caused as result of metabolization of triglycerides by the nitrates. The methemoglobinemia is also known as the blue baby syndrome since infants with the condition develop a bluish skin. Over the years, drinking water has been thought to be the primary contributing factor and scientific doubts whether such links exists. After some through research, the methemoglobinemia is considered to be as a result of different factors, such as protein intolerance, diarrheal infection, and heavy metal toxicity, with nitrates just playing an insignificant role.
Low stomach acid
In adults, some adults are susceptible and prone to the low stomach acid to their natural conditions. These kind of people are vulnerable to the effect of nitrates than others because they lack or under produce the methemoglobin reductase enzyme because of inherited mutation. The enzyme is responsible for breaking down the methemoglobin and hence individual who like the enzyme breaks down the substance slower than those who have the enzyme. Continuous intake of nitrates by people with this condition leads to circulation and accumulation of methemoglobin in their bodies resulting low stomach acid. This condition of low stomach acid is linked to many other medical conditions such as gallstones, food allergies, asthma, and hepatitis. Moreover, the individuals are also sensitive and susceptible to the effects of nitrates (Givens, 2008).
Carcinogenic Substance
In meat canning, nitrates are always used as preservatives. Nonetheless, the problems occur only there is the formation of nitrosamines, which only happens when the food is subjected to high heat, cooking. When nitrates are exposed to high temperatures in the presence of Amino acids, the chances are high that the substance will form a compound called nitrosamines. Naturally, there exist many types of nitrosamines, but a majority of them is protein carcinogens (In Motarjemi et al., 2014).
For instance, processed meat, bacon, and hot dogs contain a high content of sodium nitrate at the same time thy are a source of amino acids meaning protein foods when exposed to high heat creates a perfect condition of the formation of nitrosamines. So, therefore, this kind of scenario arises only if the protein foods are subjected to high cooking temperatures, although vegetable is the primary source of nitrates they cannot form the carcinogenic compound since they are rarely exposed to high temperatures during cooking. Other health risks of nitrates have no proper scientific knowledge and proofs hence remain claims, such as the risk of neural tube effects in women.
Benefits of nitrates
On the other hand, nitrates have many advantages to humans and are very significant in human dietary not only as a source of nutrient but also as a medicine and factor of food production. In a nutritional approach, nitrates are used as fertilizers, color enhancing agents, as well as preservatives in meat processing. Additionally, the compound is also used in the meat industry to provide the cooling effect during meat processing.
Nitrates as medicine
Nitrates and nitrate compounds can also be used as medicines. For instance, nitrates are used in the treatment of angina pectoris. A compound of nitrate called the Nitroglycerine has been used to treat angina pectoris and one of the constituent therapies for CAD, the coronary artery disease (Givens, 2008). Moreover, recent scientific research on animals asserts that dietary nitrates enhance the dilation of coronary arteries as well as protect them from infractions and ischemia. In arterial dilation, nitric oxide is a gas that is responsible or bold circulation in the body.
For the arteries such as the coronary artery receives low pressure from the heart due to their structure and functions hence any small coagulation inside blocks blood from passing through especially cholesterol. The production of nitric oxide dilates the coronary artery and prevents calcification of the arteries or coagulation of blood in the arteries. The above happens when the endothelial nitric oxide synthase accomplishes systematic nitric oxide in the vascular endothelium (In Motarjemi et al., 2014). Nitric oxide with its amino acid precursors is the arginine, which increases plasma nitrite and nitrate and in turn produces NO, nitric oxide. The same is the case with anther amino acid found in watermelon called the Citrulline, which at some instance always prove more importance than arginine.
Nitrates a fuel to physical performance by athletes
Many scientific studies reveal that physical performance, especially under high-intensity nitrates can enhance endurance in the exercise process. As a result, many athletes uses bet roots because of their high content of nitrates to serve this purpose. Biologically, it appears that due to the presence of nitrates in the blood increase the efficiency of mitochondria responsible for the production of energy (In Motarjemi et al., 2014). Furthermore, researchers have shown that beetroots, which have a high content of nitrates, have the ability to reduce oxygen cost of exercise by a percentage margin of 5.4 percent and at the same time increase the time exhaustion by 15 percent and improving the printing performance by 4 percent.
Dietary nitrates lower high blood pressure
Nitrates dissolve in water to form nitric oxide meaning that nitrite loses one oxygen atom and forms nitric oxide, which is a very vital molecule in the human health. Although the nitric oxide is a short-lived gas because of its high volatility, it serves various function in the human body (Bryan, & Loscalzo, 2017). It is a signaling molecule, to begin with; the molecules are used by the body endocrine system to send relaxation signals to the artery muscles cells as they move within the arterial walls. The relaxation of arterial wall will mean that the blood vessels have dilated which eventually makes the blood pressure to go down hence in the process controls hypertension. Essentially, this is how the commonly known drug nitroglycerin works. It merely supplies Nitric oxide to the heart and arterial muscles to dilate the blood vessels and reduce the blood pressure.
The gas is not only responsible for reducing blood pressure but can also reverse or prevent angina, and chest pain experience when the heart receives less oxygen as a result of low blood pressure. Therefore, due to these benefits chances are that rich nitrate supplements such as beetroots or their juices can be used to reduce blood pressure over a period of few hours. High blood pressure is one of the prominent and dangerous risk factors for heart disease. Thus this shows the centrality of this gas in the human health (Sparks, 2013).
Personal judgment
In my personal viewpoint or personal judgment, nitrates and its compound are very hazardous to the life of human being in high level. Furthermore, to the extent that it facilitates the contraction of one of the world leading killer disease called cancer. It also facilitates or accelerates infant mortality rates by causing a condition called Methemoglobinemia or the blue baby syndrome as well as low stomach acid conditions. However, the benefits the substance has to the life of the same human beings outdo its health risks (Hatfield & Follett, 2008).
Argumentatively, nitrates compounds are very useful the human body to the extent that the body itself manufacture for itself a substantial amount of nitrates. It is understood that, for every kilogram of body weight one carry, the body produce about a milligram of nitrite in return naturally. In addition, the health risk that only occurs in extremes but not naturally (Sparks, 2013). What I mean is these, look at the health problems caused by the nitrates and its compounds all the way from infants to cancer in adults, to low stomach acid only occur in exceptional cases or extremes.
On the same note, nitrates are essential molecules and compounds in meat processing industries since they are used ad coolants, preservatives, and appealing color addition to meat hence critical. The problem only occurs when the processed meat, which is now a compound of nitrates and amino acid, is subjected to high temperatures to form carcinogenic nitrosamines. Meaning, if the process is controlled and such as high cooking heat is evaded then no problem at all. The same is with naturally occurring nitrates found in vegetable, which rarely gets to such temperatures during the kitchen (Bryan, 2010).
Similarly, in the case of the vulnerability again the nitrates compound are very essential for growth, but the problem only occurs when there is an excess of it that causes susceptibility of the infant to acquire the blue baby syndrome. For the case of low stomach acid, it is very special one since it only occurs to a special group of individuals. The condition only affects people, which low content of methemoglobin reductase enzyme, which is a rare case, and the condition only makes them vulnerable but can still be controlled (Bryan, & Loscalzo, 2017). Therefore, since the benefits of nitrates and its compounds surpass its health risks to a human being as shown in this discussion, I uphold its use in human dietary.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the issue of the significance of nitrates in human dietary is contentious and debatable. Although the substance is very useful in human life, it poses a threat to the survival of the same human being. Due to the controversial aspect, that this matter beholds many scientific types of research has been undertaken to look into the core of this issue. Clear consensus and agreements have not been made or agreed upon concerning this case but so far, the existing proof points at the centrality of the nitrates and its compound to the life of human beings. The above claim has been proven strongly by the self-synthesis of nitrates by the human body itself to serve in some essential body functions such as the endocrine system. Therefore, nitrites are necessary to the human body, and in case there will need to abandon its use in human dietary then a discovery of a substance that matches of its significance is required.
Reference list
Bryan, N. S. (2010). Food, nutrition, nitric oxide pathway: Biochemistry and bioactivity. Lancaster, Pa: DEStech Publications, Inc.
Bryan, N. S., & Loscalzo, J. (2017). Nitrite and nitrate human health and disease. Cham: Humana Press.
Givens, D. I. (2008). Health benefits of organic food: Effects of the environment. Cambridge, MA: CABI North American Office.
In Motarjemi, Y., In Moy, G., & In Todd, E. C. D. (2014). Encyclopedia of food safety. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic Press, 2014
Hatfield, J. L., & Follett, R. F. (2008). Nitrogen in the Environment: Sources, Problems, and Management. Amsterdam: Academic Press/Elsevier.
Sparks, D. L. (2013). Advances in Agronomy: Volume 119. Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press.
