Would you buy gray ham? How about gray lunchmeat or gray pepperoni? No, I wouldn't buy them either. But that's because we've all been conditioned to believe that the proper coloring of processed meats is somewhere in the pink-to-red spectrum. But here's a dirty little color secret: Most processed meat manufacturers add sodium nitrite to their products to make the color more appealing. And that would be just fine if that was all sodium nitrite did! But that seemingly innocent coloring strategy has actually been linked to a sharp increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer. So, of course, FDA and USDA officials must be tripping all over themselves to ban this carcinogen and protect us from its use. Well…not quite. Actually, the USDA once tried to put a lid on sodium nitrite use, but dropped the effort due to pressure from politicians and lobbyists. I guess the pepperoni lobby is one of those quiet powerhouses in D.C. For more information about the dangers of sodium nitrite, I highly recommend an article titled "Bacon, sausage, hot dogs and processed meats hike cancer risk by 67% due to chemical preservative," written by nutritionist Mike Adams of NewsTarget.com. I recently met Mike, and even I would be hard pressed to find anyone more passionate about maintaining good health through dietary choices and avoidance of drugs than he is. Read more at: http://www.newstarget.com/HSI.html -- and think twice before you order that pizza tonight! | 
