TURNING OFF CANCER 45In 1970, the journal Nature reported that the nitrite we consume may
be reacting in our bodies to form nitrosamines.^7Nitrosamines: A scary family of chemicals. No fewer than seven-
teen nitro sa mines are "reasonably anticipated to be human car-
cinogens" by the U.S. National Toxicology Program.^8Hold on a second. Why are these scary nitrosamines "anticipated to
be human carcinogens"? The short answer: animal experiments have
shown that as chemical exposure increases, incidence of cancer also
increases. But that's not adequate. We need a more complete answer.
Let's look at one nitrosamine, NSAR (N-nitrososarcosine). In one
study, twenty rats were divided into two groups, each exposed to a differ-
ent level of NSAR. The high-dose rats were given twice the amount that
the low-dose rats received. Of rats given the lower level of NSAR, just
over 35% of them died from throat cancer. Of rats given the higher levels,
100% died of cancer during the second year of the experiment.^9 -^11
How much NSAR did the rats get? Both groups of rats were given
an incredible amount. Let me translate the "low" dose by giving you a
little scenario. Let's say you go over to your friend's house to eat every
meal. This friend is sick of you and wants to give you throat cancer
by exposing you to NSAR. So he gives you the equivalent of the "low"
level given to the rats. You go to his house, and your friend offers you a
bologna sandwich that has a whole pound of bologna on it! You eat it.
He offers you another, and another, and another. ... You'll have to eat
270,000 bologna sandwiches before your friend lets you leave.^9 , 12 You
better like bologna, because your friend is going to have to feed you this
way every day for over thirty years! If he does this, you will have had
about as much exposure to NSAR (per body weight) as the rats in the
"low" -dose group.
Because higher cancer rates were also seen in mice as well as rats, us-
ing a variety of methods of exposure, NSAR is "reasonably anticipated"
to be a human carcinogen. Although no human studies were used to
make this evaluation, it is likely that a chemical such as this, which
consistently causes cancer in both mice and rats, can cause cancer in
humans at some level. It is impossible to know, however, what this
level of exposure might be, especially because the animal dosages are
so astronomical. Nonetheless, animal experiments alone are considered
enough to conclude that NSAR is "reasonably anticipated" to be a hu-
man carcinogen.^9