Think twice before you give your kid a hot dog (or any cured meat for that matter)

Alright, alright. I know, not all studies are impartial (often they are extremely partial), and it’s difficult to know if one is indeed legit (scientific, peer-reviewed, unbiased).

But I was perusing a new site, http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/. A great site, btw, I still have to see all that it offers, one thing she does discuss under her FAQ’s is the great soy debate…is it good, bad, or just plain evil?

My personal take on it is that it’s fine as a condiment and as a whole food (whole non-GMO soybeans, as opposed to other funky altered stuff like isolated soy protien). I use tofu in dips and spreads and other side dish things, and isn’t used to “replace” meat. I usually rotate between different non-diary milks, so soy milk is by no means a staple in my house.

Anyhow, I don’t think it’s the cause of all that is bad in this world, but then again, this is not the topic of discussion here.

What is, is this excerpt from Bryanna Clark’s website. This is from, How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with Natural Medicine (by Michael T. Murray, ND; Tim Birdsall, ND; Joseph E. Pizzorno, ND; and Paul Reilly, ND) (NOT a vegetarian book, by the way). A little something to think about:

“Children who eat 12 hot dogs per month have nearly 10 times the risk of
developing leukemia compared with children who do not eat hot dogs.

Children who eat hot dogs once a week double their chances of brain
tumors; eating them twice a week triples the risk.

Pregnant women who eat two servings per day of any cured meat have more than double the risk of bearing children who have brain cancer.

Kids who eat the most ham, bacon and cured sausage have 3 times the risk of lymphoma.

Kids who eat ground meat once a week have twice the risk of acute lymphocytic leukemia compared to those who eat none; eating 2 or more hamburgers weekly tripled the risk.”

(Footnotes: Preston-Martin S, Pogoda JM, Mueller BA, et al. Maternal
Consumption of cured meats and vitamins in relation to pediatric brain tumors.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1996;5:599-605.
Blot WJ, Henderson BE,
Boice JD Jr. Childhood cancer in relation to cured meat intake: review of
epidemiological evidence. Nutr Cancer 199;34:111-18)

So maybe someone out there is trying to spin the hotdog, meat-curing industry as the big evil cancer causer. I think it’s more likely that this study has some truth to it. I mean, think about it, how could eating nitrates and other iffy chemicals on an ongoing basis, not be toxic to your body and have some negative effect? Our bodies weren’t meant to process, Sodium lactate, Flavor, Sodium Phosphates, Monosodium Glutamate (YIKES!), Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate (MADE FROM SUGAR), & Sodium Nitrate, all ingredients in the all-American Oscar Meyer weiner (does anyone say weiner anymore, anyway? isn’t it hot dog?).

Regardless of this study’s authoritativeness, they didn’t have to do a study on this to convince me. I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist to realize that hot dogs and other cured meats are not too good for you (carcogenic would be my word for them, but then again, that’s just me).

And just for the record, there are “veggie” hotdogs out there (as well as uncured meat hotdogs). I do give my kids these soy concotions on rare occasions. Usually when we go to parties where I know there will be hot dog eatin’. I just bring a few along for good measure. And whatever the soy hotdog’s faults may or may not be, they’re nothing compared to their cured meat hot dog counterparts. Lesser of the two evils, I guess you might say, if you want to look at it that way.