Processed meats no doubt contribute to a large number of childhood cancers. According to the National Cancer Institute, over 1,500 children die each year in the United States from childhood cancer (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet…).
According to a L.A. Times article:
Children 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 cancer research journal. Two other reports in the same issue of Cancer Causes and Control suggest that children born to mothers who eat at least one hot dog per week during pregnancy have double the normal risk of developing brain tumors, as do children whose fathers ate hot dogs before conception.
Hot Dog Cancer Risks
Here are the chemical additive ingredients that cause cancer and other diseases. Here are the ingredients for Oscar Meyer hot dogs:
MECHANICALLY SEPARATED TURKEY, PORK, MECHANICALLY SEPARATED CHICKEN, WATER, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, FLAVOR, SODIUM LACTATE, CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, SODIUM DIACETATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, SODIUM NITRITE.
Message from The Hearty Soul: Processed meats like hot dogs pose an unnecessary health risk to children, but they are dangerous for adults too!
We’ve added the following section to shed more light on the effects of hot dogs and other processed meats on the body over time.
Peter Clifton, professor of nutrition at the University of South Australia, puts it this way: “All data says processed meat is bad: more diabetes, higher mortality, more cardiovascular disease.” Clifton has run studies that found a direct correlation between processed meat consumption and type 2 diabetes (he compared them to regular red meat consumption- and processed was far worse).
Mariana Stern, a cancer epidemiologist at the University of California says about the questionable chemical found n processed meats, “Regardless of where the nitrates come from,” says Stern, “they can be converted by oral bacteria intro nitrites, which in turn can react in the stomach … to form N-Nitroso compounds, which are well-established cancer-causing agents.”
Americans eat roughly 20 billion hot dogs a year, as well as large amounts of bacon, cold cuts, and other processed meats.
Each daily serving of processed meats increases the risk of dying prematurely by 20 percent, including from cancer, according to a study from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Every year, more than 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and more than 50,000 die of it.
Eating processed meats increases the risk of colorectal cancer, according to a large number of studies, including the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.
Studies also show a strong link between other types of cancer and processed meats. An NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, for example, found that processed red meat was associated with a 10 percent increased risk of prostate cancer with every 10 grams of increased intake.
A study in Taiwan showed that consumption of cured and smoked meat can increase children’s risk for leukemia. A study in Australia found that women’s risk for ovarian cancer increased as a result of eating processed meats.
What to Eat Instead
So the next time you’re tempted to grill up some hot dogs for yourself and the kids, or line everybody’s sandwiches with processed turkey, you’d better think twice about it.
But that doesn’t mean goodbye to convenient lunches for good! Try some of these recipe and meal prep ideas to help keep you out of the kitchen, but full of nutritious, non-cancer-linked food.
1. Make a batch of chia seed pudding the day before and top with whatever you like! We’re big fans of coconut chips, pumpkin seeds, and berries.
2. Fill up on plant-based protein sources– no need for processed meats here!
3. Craving bacon? You might want to try this famous seaweed that tastes uncannily like bacon (and it’s even better for you than kale).
4. There’s nothing wrong with a peanut butter sandwich! Choose raw, organic peanut butter (not the stuff from you know who) or any of your favorite nut butters, for that matter. Almond butter or cashew butter, topped with some slices of banana? Delicious.
5. Use your slow cooker!
