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According to Dr. Megan Rossi, gut health nutrition expert, "study after study has convincingly linked the frequent consumption of processed meats such as bacon, sausages, hot dogs, corned beef and salami to cancer, in particular colon cancer".
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While we still don't know definitively what the link is, there's strong evidence that at least part of the issue is the added chemicals (nitrates and nitrites)used to process or preserve these meats.
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These additives stop bacteria growing in the meat, keeping it "safe" to eat and looking pink for much longer than normal.
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But these combination of additives, protein, iron and high cooking temperatures facilitate the conversion of nitrites to cancer-causing nitrosamines (also one of the many toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke).
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Nitrates can also be found in plants, such as spinach, beetroot and carrots and in much higher quantities.
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However, our oral microbiota (the microbes in our mouth) are able to convert those nitrates to nitrites to nitric oxide, which helps dilute our blood vessels.
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