Nitrate

[RRM]

I am just considering the fact that we got nitrate for a long time in our human evolution due to the fact that there is good evidence we used to eat several green vegetables

Throughout evolution, there is little use of fertilizers.
So, throughout evolution our nitrate intake must have been much lower.

almsot all related to preassumptions of nitrate being bad and almsot every article uses well water. We don't want those articles

How about courgette soup?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16809905

it might have a very beneficial nutrient like effect on us.

Do you mean the effect that increases free radicals relative to anti-oxidants?

How much is too much??

If you are not suffering from NO insufficiency, any elevation of this free radical seems unwise.
There is no such thing as dietary nitrate insufficiency.

about the iodine, I also think that we got a lot more of that too in our evolutionary past

If you think your blood-iodine level might be elevated, please have it checked before self-medicating with nitrate.
Did you check out the thread about nitrate consumption increasing the endogenous formation of cancerous nitroso compounds?
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=3219

[overkees]

Well, if there are enought antioxidants and less stress in other parts of the body I still think it can do little harm.

I mean, on the wai diet with a lot of different colors in our fruits we don't have to worry about it. And also, beets and spinache contain a lot of antioxidants aswell, which might buffer the free radical again. I mean, NO is what the body produces itself, so there are good buffers if you're healthy. Again, I'm not advising to drink 1L of non organic spinache a day. It might therefore be a very good thing, as it relaxes muscles, vasodilates and therefore the blood can reach the parts that are infected better and disinfect those. Now I see where this is going again, and you don't respond to these properties of nitrate, so this again illustrates how we can differ in believes. I think these properties like vasodilation and muscle relaxation and improved oxygen delivery in tissue, outweighs all these "potential" negative effects.

If you don't have any chronic inflammation going on nitrate might be unnecessary and wai diet will be sufficient alone, without other things. We will see.

Now I didn't read the nitrosamine page, I am planning on doing this in the next couple of days. But I'm really busy and this discussion and hyperfocus of nitrate causes me to put school on second place and I don't want that. So, it might take a while before I get into that.

[RRM]

Again: Considering the relative lack of fertilizers during evolution, where did we get that nitrate from?

NO is what the body produces itself, so there are good buffers if you're healthy.

The proper balance between free radicals and antioxidants is very important.
Forcing your body to cope with more radicals may do more damage than you think.

I didn't read the nitrosamine page ... I'm really busy and this discussion and hyperfocus of nitrate causes me to put school on second place and I don't want that.

A hyperfocus brings about facts that you did not know yet.
Maybe next time you can do that kind of research before you start advocating / taking something controversial.
Nitrate in the WaiWiki

[Kasper]

Physical exercise (induced local hypoxia) naturally increases endogenous NO production, because more NO is required (increasing blood flow during exercise).

I don't see a source.
NO production could also be increased by increased (nasal) respiration during exercise.

[RRM]

For what part specifically would you like a source?
Physical excercise induces local hypoxia?
Physical exercise increases NO production?
More NO is required during physical exercise?
More blood flow is required during exercise?

NO production could also be increased by increased (nasal) respiration during exercise.

Sure.

[dime]

Sunshine Could Benefit Health and Prolong Life

Basically they discovered that skin exposure to UV increases nitric oxide production in the blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure.

[RRM]

Sunshine Could Benefit Health and Prolong Life
Basically they discovered that skin exposure to UV increases nitric oxide production in the blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure.

On the other hand, NO is a powerful free radical, and elevated NO is associated to rheumatic diseases and T-cell dysfunction; check out the WaiWiki page about nitrate

[dime]

It's interesting to figure out though, why would sun exposure trigger increase NO in the body.
Is it because of the damage that UV causes to skin? Or because of increased vitamin D production? Something third?
It's complicated :)

[RRM]

It's interesting to figure out though, why would sun exposure trigger increase NO in the body.
Is it because of the damage that UV causes to skin? Or because of increased vitamin D production? Something third?
It's complicated

Interesting, indeed.
Its probably the first.
UVB directly induces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increasing nitric oxide synthase Lee C et al and subsequent NO activity. Guo Z et al
If the body wants to lower its blood pressure (vasolidation; which isnt always beneficial), it can actively do so through pressure receptors, osmoreceptors, prostaglandins, bradykinin, adrenergic stimulation and calcium concentrations in vascular smooth muscle cells.
Vasolidation may be cGMP mediated (activated by NO), and it may be cAMP mediated (through adrenergic stimulation).
UV exposure increases NO, but reduces cAMP. Nakvasina MA et al (opposing effects)
Vitamin D3 and a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor both actually reduce UV-induced ("nitrative") DNA damage, including by suppressing the accumulation of nitric oxide derivatives (incl. nitrite). Gordon-Thomson C et al So, vitamin D3, evoked by sunlight exposure, protects against the ill effects of sunlight exposure.

Other (non-vitamin D-induced) pathways suggested (of the health effects of sunlight exposure) are melanin and endorphins. Juzeniene A te al
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