This article is the original of translational medicine network, please indicate the source when reprinting
By Liz Zee
Introduction: I believe that everyone has heard of similar words such as "nitrate poisoning, carcinogenicity, and death", and have also seen many similar articles. However, this paper is based on a New Zealand scientific study that estimates that nitrate contamination in drinking water can lead to as many as 100 cases of bowel cancer and 40 deaths in New Zealand each year.
About a month ago, the media reported the news that "using vegetable water to milk to poison babies" set off a discussion about nitrates on the Internet. There have also been many articles about nitrate and popular science for the masses, but there are always some articles that are too extreme, claiming that nitrate is harmless in the name of popular science. But in my opinion, in the final analysis, this is a fluke mentality! That being said, we don't have to refuse to eat any food that contains nitrates because of this.
However, after drinking water, vegetables, grains, fish, meat products, pickled sauerkraut, overnight stir-frying, etc. containing a large amount of nitrates and nitrites are eaten by people, a large amount of nitrite can be directly poisoned, and nitrates can also be reduced to nitrites in the human body. Not only that, nitrite in the human body inside and outside the action of secondary amines to form nitrosamines, it is a carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic substance when it reaches a certain dose in the human body, which can seriously endanger human health.
A new Study in New Zealand estimated that nitrate contamination in drinking water can cause as many as 100 cases of bowel cancer and 40 deaths in New Zealand each year. This estimate is based on an international study examining the relationship between nitrates in drinking water and bowel cancer, as well as on the nitrate content in New Zealand drinking water.
A joint study by the University of Otago, Loughborough University, The University of Auckland and the University of Victoria found that 800,000 people in New Zealand were exposed to water with too high levels of nitrate (higher than dangerous levels found by international studies).
Dr Tim Chambers, a senior fellow in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago in Wellington, said the study ( the first to assess nitrate levels in New Zealand's drinking water and the first to collate a national drinking water quality dataset ) found that a large number of New Zealanders had nitrates in their drinking water, which could increase their risk of bowel cancer.
The study was published in the international journal Environmental Research in an article titled "Nitrate contamination in drinking water and colorectal cancer: Exposure assessment and estimated health burden in New Zealand."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121016236?via%3Dihub
Dr Chambers said, "This study highlights the potential health burden of nitrate contamination, especially when there is further evidence to reinforce the link between nitrate and bowel cancer." The findings suggest the need for preventive measures against nitrate contamination in New Zealand. However, the study did not directly assess the link between nitrates and bowel cancer as some overseas epidemiological studies have done. ”
Following the 2016 Campylobacter north outbreak (about 8,320 people were sick, 42 were hospitalized, and 4 died), the initial work of further research is to assess the potential impact of New Zealand water quality on public health.
Dr Chambers said, "The findings also highlight the need for New Zealand's Three Waters Reform. Our recent Official Information Bill calls for district councils to rectify it, and some local councils have not tested for major pollutants in drinking water for many years because current legislation does not require them to do so. ”
The researchers collated data from all 67 districts and their regional councils, plus samples from private water supplies, to generate a dataset of national nitrate levels. They then used mate analysis from eight studies( all of which looked at the link between nitrates and bowel cancer in drinking water) to estimate the risk of bowel cancer.
"This study, along with a broader range of evidence, links nitrates in drinking water to preterm birth, low birth weight, and congenital malformations that are increasingly of concern." Other environmental studies have also shown the negative impacts of nitrate pollution on freshwater ecosystems and the wider environment. ”
Nitrate pollution in New Zealand is mainly caused by livestock farming, especially the intensive dairy industry. Nitrates seeping from the urine of livestock and poultry are the largest source of nitrate contamination in the livestock industry. Since 1990, nitrate exudation has increased significantly, and many groundwater levels have continued to decline.
The possible biological mechanisms by which nitrates increase the risk of bowel cancer are complex and can be influenced by diet, especially red meat (meat that appears red before cooking), the balance of fruits and vegetables, and the gut microbiota. The interaction of these factors determines the amount of N-nitroso compounds (a class of carcinogenic chemicals) formed in the intestine, a process called endogenous nitrosation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concludes that "nitrates or nitrites (class 2A carcinogens) ingested under conditions that cause endogenous nitrosation may have carcinogenic effects in humans." ”
New Zealand has one of the highest incidences of bowel cancer in the world, with an average of 35.3 cases per 100,000 people ( a statistical processing of demographic data by the same standard age composition , designed to eliminate the different influences of population age and ensure the comparability of statistical indicators ) , an average of 3,000 cases per year. Bowel cancer is the second largest cancer killer, killing an average of 1,200 people per year. Known bowel cancer risk factors include obesity, alcohol consumption, inactivity, smoking, and consumption of red and processed meat products.
This is a study of New Zealand, but let's not be indifferent and hang high. In recent decades, with the development of industrial and agricultural production, there are different degrees of nitrate pollution in the groundwater of rural and urban areas in China. The nitrate in the soil is mainly absorbed by crops, and water irrigation also allows nitrate to infiltrate and pollute the groundwater body. Vegetables are very easy to absorb and enrich nitrate, and surveys have shown that excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer has significantly increased the nitrate content in the soil, which directly leads to excessive accumulation of vegetable nitrate, especially leafy vegetables.
I hope that this article can attract enough attention from the majority of readers, and in daily life, we must pay special attention to these diets containing nitrates. Fear life and don't take chances!
Resources:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-nitrate-cases-bowel-cancer-year.html
Note: This article is intended to introduce the progress of medical research and cannot be used as a reference for treatment options. For health guidance, please visit a regular hospital.
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