Across headlines, documentaries, and social media posts, nitrate-cured processed meats are often talked about with the same language once used for cigarettes. Bacon, hot dogs, deli turkey, pepperoni—foods many people grew up eating—are now linked in people’s minds with colon cancer and claims that nitrates are “poisoning” us. Meanwhile, Americans consume billions and billions of dollars of processed meat each year. So what gives? How should we think about nitrates and processed meats? And are “uncured” meats really safer? Join us, two registered dietitians, as we explore what the research actually says about the connection between processed meats and cancer risk.

Want to support the show and get bonus episodes? Join our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/nutritionformortals

Leave us a voicemail that may be featured on a future episode! Call us at (562)-N4M-POD1 (562-646-7631).

We’ve got MERCH! Check it out HERE

Don’t want to miss any episodes in the future? Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts!

Things we talked about and additional reading: 

• Trends in meat consumption in the United States
• 1980 NYT: U.S. Will Not Seek to Ban Nitrite From Foods as a Cause of Cancer
• N-nitrosamines in processed meats: exposure, formation and mitigation
• IARC Monographs Volume 114 
• Agents classified by the IARC Monographs
• IARC Q&As
• Role of Nitrite Exposure from Processed Meat Consumption in the Development of CRC
• Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat
• CRC Facts & Figures 2023-2025
• Geographic and age variations in mutational processes in colorectal cancer
• Trends in Daily Cigarette Consumption Among Smokers: A Population Study in England, 2008–2023
• Low-intensity smoking and increased risk of earlier death

For feedback or to suggest a show topic email us at [email protected]

Feel free to contact our real, live nutrition counseling practice

**This podcast is for information purposes only, is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice, and does not constitute a patient-provider relationship**