The recent increase in the number of patients being diagnosed with a variety of illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Diabetes, and Parkinson's Disease may be linked to a nitrate compound found in many of the unhealthy meats that people are consuming such as hot dogs and bacon.

 While researchers certainly do not believe that these nitrates are the only cause for such diseases which are a result of a combination of factors it is clear that nitrates do have a negative effect on human health. The link between nitrates and various forms of cancer have already been established; however, researchers are now studying the effect that these compounds can have on the human brain that may lead to disease. 

Nitrosamines are a toxic byproduct that is produced by certain industries in the production of rubber or latex and can be extremely dangerous. Certain types of meats, mainly hot dogs and bacon along with colored types of fish use the compound sodium nitrite as an additive and preservative to the meat to enhance and preserve the coloration. When the meat is cooked or digested it then produces the same dangerous nitrosamines found in hazardous byproducts which are of concern to health researchers.

The study being conducted by Dr. Susan De La Monte which appeared in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, also showed results that suggests the damage caused by these nitrates increase over time with longer exposures, in other words, the more meat that you consume with these nitrates the higher the risk of disease and the more severe the disease may be. Other products that can contain these nitrates include root vegetables grown with fertilizers that have added nitrates including potatoes and beets which may make eating organic even more important.