A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have found a substantial
link between increased levels of nitrates in our environment and food with
increased deaths from diseases, including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus, and
Parkinson's.

Led by Suzanne de la Monte, M.D., MPH, of Rhode Island Hospital, researchers
studied the trends in mortality rates due to diseases associated with aging,
such as diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, and cerebrovascular
disease as well as HIV. They found strong parallels between age-adjusted
increases in death rate from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes and the
progressive increases in human exposure to nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines
through processed and preserved foods as well as fertilizers.

Other diseases including HIV-AIDS, cerebrovascular disease, and leukemia did
not exhibit those trends. De la Monte and the authors propose that the increase
in exposure plays a critical role in the cause, development, and effects of the
pandemic of these insulin-resistant diseases.

De la Monte, who is also a professor of pathology and lab medicine at The
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, says, "We have become a
'nitrosamine generation.' In essence, we have moved to a diet that is rich in
amines and nitrates, which lead to increased nitrosamine production. We receive
increased exposure through the abundant use of nitrate-containing fertilizers
for agriculture." She continues, "Not only do we consume them in processed
foods, but they get into our food supply by leeching from the soil and
contaminating water supplies used for crop irrigation, food processing, and
drinking."

Nitrites and nitrates belong to a class of chemical compounds that have been
found to be harmful to humans and animals. More than 90 percent of these
compounds that have been tested have been determined to be carcinogenic in
various organs. They are found in many food products, including fried bacon,
cured meats and cheese products as well as beer and water.

The investigators propose that the cellular alterations that occur as a result
of nitrosamine exposure are fundamentally similar to those that occur with
aging, as well as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

De la Monte comments, "All of these diseases are associated with increased
insulin resistance and DNA damage. Their prevalence rates have all increased
radically over the past several decades and show no sign of plateau. Because
there has been a relatively short time interval associated with the dramatic
shift in disease incidence and prevalence rates, we believe this is due to
exposure-related rather than genetic etiologies."

The researchers recognize that an increase in death rates is anticipated in
higher age groups. Yet when the researchers compared mortality from Parkinson's
and Alzheimer's disease among 75 to 84 year olds from 1968 to 2005, the death
rates increased much more dramatically than for cerebrovascular and
cardiovascular disease, which are also aging-associated. For example, in
Alzheimer's patients, the death rate increased 150-fold, from 0 deaths to more
than 150 deaths per 100,000. Parkinson's disease death rates also increased
across all age groups. However, mortality rates from cerebrovascular disease in
the same age group declined, even though this is a disease associated with
aging as well.

The researchers graphed and analyzed mortality rates, and compared them with
increasing age for each disease. They then studied United States population
growth, annual use and consumption of nitrite-containing fertilizers, annual
sales at popular fast food chains, and sales for a major meat processing
company, as well as consumption of grain and consumption of watermelon and
cantaloupe (the melons were used as a control since they are not typically
associated with nitrate or nitrite exposure).

The findings indicate that while nitrogen-containing fertilizer consumption
increased by 230 percent between 1955 and 2005, its usage doubled between 1960
and 1980, which just precedes the insulin-resistant epidemics the researchers
found. They also found that sales from the fast food chain and the meat
processing company increased more than eight-fold from 1970 to 2005, and grain
consumption increased five-fold.

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AplusA-online.de - Source: Environmental Protection