This is considered by many, including myself, an excellent breakfast. Add sausages and baked beans...and you're in for a very simple but tasty feast.

Problem is...it is possibly one of the most carcinogenic ways to start off your day.

Nitrites are present in most processed foods, especially meats as a colour preservative, and impart the lovely red colour to bacon, ham, sausages etc.

Egg-whites are composed almost entirely of the protein albumin, an excellent source of amines that the proteins are composed of.

It is uncertain which of the multitude of alkaloids present in coffee is responsible for accelerating the conversion of nitrates and amines to nitrosoamines by the bacteria present in the stomach.

It is a well-known scientific fact that nitrosoamines are amongst the most potent carcinogens known to man, and are ironically synthesised by the body under certain circumstances. One such circumstance is having a concoction of nitrates, amines, and the catalyst contained in coffee to rapidly synthesise the deadly substance.

Good news is that Vitamin C and other antioxidants suppress the nitrosoamine formation in the stomach so simply drinking orange juice instead of coffee with your bacon and eggs can prove to be a life-saver in the long term.

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