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Should we worry about nitrate in our water? Peter Weyer, Associate director, Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination, University of Iowa, USA 1999

"leeching of nitrates into water sources.. can cause health problems" Motivations for organic agriculture Wikipedia

Canterbury concerns
Water nitrate a risk to infant health "nitrate levels had been increasing in about 30 per cent of tested wells - the main source of drinking water in rural areas - in the past 10 years. Ashburton was the most at risk, with 20 wells tested exceeding safe nitrate levels. Canterbury District Health Board medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey yesterday warned that a baby could die if nitrate levels were not more tightly controlled, calling it a 'ticking time bomb'. Of the 289 wells tested last year, 33, or 11 per cent, had nitrate levels that exceeded the maximum acceptable value for drinking water standards - 4 per cent higher than the previous year" The Press 22/10/2013
Rural parents warned over water "the danger nitrate-contaminated water on farms can pose to infants.. risks of bottle-feeding infants using farm water supplies.. as agriculture had intensified in Canterbury, the levels of nitrates in ground water had risen. That posed a threat to babies drinking it. 'The effect on the baby is very similar to carbon monoxide poisoning. The nitrate is converted to nitrite in the gut, then it binds very tightly to hemoglobin and the baby turns blue, hence the term Blue Baby Syndrome'" RadioNZ 9 April 2014
ECan.govt.nz is "Ensuring nitrate nitrogen concentrations in groundwater sources of drinking water meet NZ Drinking Water Standards, to protect human health" thru Water quality, quantity & ecosystems group of activities, Environment Canterbury Long Term Council Community Plan 2006-16, p.76 & "Nitrate is measured as nitrate (NO3), or as nitrate in the form of nitrogen (NO3-N). The NZ drinking-water Standard (2000) maximum acceptable value (MAV) is 50 mg/l of nitrate. When the ion is reported as nitrate-nitrogen the equivalent MAV is 11.3 mg/l. These drinking water standards are based on the prevention of adverse health effects on pregnant women and bottle-fed infants up to 6 months old. Older humans can take in higher nitrogen concentrations without undue health effects.." Water - What We Measure

Wider New Zealand

Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome "Australian study, CFS patients eliminated wheat, milk, benzoates, nitrites, nitrates, & food colorings & other additives from their diet.. compliance rate was approximately 50%, with 37 patients completing the protocol. Of the CFS patients who complied, the results were remarkable: 90% reported improvement in the severity of symptoms across multiple body symptoms, with significant reduction in fatigue, recurrent fever, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, joint pain, & cognitive dysfunction. Furthermore, the elimination protocol resulted in a marked improvement in IBS-like symptoms among all patients; a significant finding because CFS patients have a high rate of IBS" findarticles.com
Jeff Cole "anaerobic bacterial metabolism.. dissimilatory reduction of nitrate & nitrite to ammonia by enteric bacteria.. genetic & biochemical basis of Crohn's disease, Ulcerative Colitis, & Irritable Bowel Syndrome" Federation of European Microbiological Societies
Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome "Infection & Inflammation.. A theory was published by Dr. Martin L. Pall, a professor of biochemistry & basic medical sciences at Washington State University, in 2001.. observation that infections that precede & may therefore induce Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & related conditions act to induce excessive production of inflammatory cytokines.. series of reactions.. Inflammatory cytokines induce, in turn, nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which synthesizes excessive amounts of nitric oxide.. reacts with superoxide to produce the potent oxidant peroxynitrite.. acts via six known biochemical mechanisms to increase the levels of both nitric oxide & superoxide, which react to produce more peroxynitrite.. self-sustaining vicious cycle" immunesupport.com

Cancer?
Nitrate controversy and cancer causation: An environmental viewpoint AH Walters The Environmentalist Vol.3 No.3, June 1983
Some studies showing that nitrates cause cancer:
PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE STUDY ON NITRATES IN DRINKING WATER IN SLOVAKIA Found that there was a positive association between nitrates in drinking water & non-Hodgkin lymphoma & colorectal cancer;
JAPANESE CANCER ASSN JOURNAL Study on Nitrates in drinking water in Taiwan found a significant positive association between drinking water nitrate exposure and gastric cancer mortality;
JOURNAL OF DIABETOLOGIA Study of childhood diabetes mellitus in Yorkshire, northern England, is associated with nitrate in drinking water: an ecological analysis;
Nitrates in Veggies Protect Stomach, but Antibacterial Mouthwash Harms It "Nitrates in food have long been erroneously linked to an increased risk of cancer" naturalnews.com 15Jun08
Cancer concern over vegetable nitrates Scotland BBC.co.uk 16Feb02 quote:
The use of nitrate fertilisers in growing vegetables could be the cause of the fastest growing cancer in the UK, new research has claimed. Researchers have studied the link between nitrate-rich fruit and vegetables and gullet cancer, which claims the lives of more than 3,000 people in the UK every year.
Reported cases of the cancer, which affects three times as many men as women, have trebled in the last 20 years, according to Professor Kenneth McColl, who is heading the study at Glasgow University.
Permitted levels of nitrate use, which increased after the Second World War, have fallen in the last 20 years - however research shows that the rise in gullet cancer follows the same curve as the use of the fertilisers but with a 10-20 year time lag.
Nitrates occur naturally in fruit and vegetables but the use of extra fertilisers began in the 40s when the war effort demanded output was maximised.
Since 1980, permitted levels of nitrate use have decreased over growing health concerns. Prof McColl and his 10-strong research team have been investigating the link between high levels of nitrate and cancer around the gastro-oesophagael junction, where the oesophagus joins with the stomach. The team now plans to carry out further tests on humans in a bid to find out the extent of the problem, which appears to affect people in Scotland more than any other part of the UK.
Prof McColl, 51, said: "We are still carrying out this study and are certainly not saying people should stop eating vegetables. But our investigations have shown that there is definitely something happening here. Hopefully, with further human tests, we will be able to see exactly how and why this is taking place because at the moment it is a mystery, but one that is having severe consequences." He revealed that this form of gullet cancer was now more common than stomach cancer in the UK.
The professor also said some victims had been aged as young as 30 and that a number of sufferers died within a few years of being diagnosed. His team, which has received a £150,000 grant from the Scottish Executive to carry out the study, has found that human saliva plays a vital role in converting nitrates into carcinogens, which come into force at the gastro-oesophageal junction.
And it believes this form of cancer may be prompted in some people at the point when the saliva they swallow first meets the acidic juices in the stomach.
Prof McColl also revealed countries with less sunlight which grow the majority of produce under glass, such as the UK, are more at risk. He also said organic food would not prove to be a healthier option because it also contained substantial levels of nitrate, some of which came from natural fertilisers such as manure.
"It appears that the mass production of vegetables in the western world since the last world war may be the underlying factor that has led to such huge increases in this form of cancer," the professor said.
"We now want to determine if the permitted levels of nitrate fertilisers, which has fallen somewhat in recent years, may be partly to blame." He said research so far had showed that green and root vegetables contained the highest levels of nitrate.
In the last 20 years, the number of people suffering this form of cancer in Scotland alone has risen from 450 to more than 1,100, the professor said.
Refer to internet for USA & other studies + nitrates and cancer Google Search

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