Avoid Eating Hotdogs All The Time

Reasons Why Parents Should Avoid Feeding their Kids Hotdogs All the Time



Hotdogs may be a savior for time-pressed parents and a favorite among picky eaters, but the perennial favorite among adults and kids alike is found out to be a serious danger. A respected health body says it can be potentially deadly.

Based on the nutrition facts, it is clear that hotdogs are way too high in sodium and fat. However, there are more dangerous facts parents need to know about hotdogs and all processed food.

There is evidence that links eating processed meats such as hotdogs to childhood leukemia and other forms of cåncer. The culprit? Sodium nitrite which is used as a chemical additive in processed meats. Other deli meats such as luncheon meat, salami, and bacon carry the same risk. Preservatives such as sodium nitrite inhibit certain bacterial growth and preserve color during the curing of meats.

This is a serious threat, especially to children. Those who eat more than 12 hot dogs per month have nine times the normal risk of developing childhood leukemia, a USC epidemiologist has reported in a cåncer research journal.

Two other reports in the same issue of Cåncer Causes and Control suggest that children born to mothers who eat at least one hotdog per week during pregnancy have double the normal risk of developing brain tumors, as do children whose fathers ate hotdogs before conception.

According to Shania Khialani, a dietician/nutritionist at Marie Claire O Shea Dieticians, “(hotdogs) should only be consumed in moderation as they can be a source of ingredients associated with health problems. Hotdogs are often high in sodium and saturated fat linked to an increased risk of heart disease.”Cooking meats at high temperatures like barbecuing which creates char marks on meats promote the production of carcinogens such as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. She adds, “A recent meta-analysis study also found sausage consumption to be associated with increased gastric cancer risk (Zhu et al. 2013).

This is linked to the high nitrite compounds found in processed meats and production of carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from cooking meat at high temperatures.”

The recent findings, which are generating a great deal of controversy and concern, could help explain why the incidence of childhood leukemia and brain tumors has been increasing over the last two decades, say the researchers.

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