So as part of my dinner last night, I had two heads of romaine lettuce. Sounds like a lot, but I cooked it in stir fry and it cooks down to nothing. I usually only do 1 head, but decided to go with 2 as I was out of cabbage. I knew going in that romaine is pretty high in nitrate (if not more so that spinach/beet/celery), and that nitrates increase vein dilation.
Also I knew that nitrates can form nitrosamines in the gut (which are highly carcinogenic). I ate dinner as usual, and a couple hours later I took my shirt off and had veins popping like crazy. This sounds great, but I also got to thinking about nitrosamines (which form from nitrates). So my question is: Does anyone think too much of a good thing can be dangerous in this case? Has anyone else noticed anything similar?