Dangers Associated With Hot Dogs

In this present generation, hot dogs have become a popular food. These tasty and favorite-of-almost-every-household food are fairly cheap, easy to cook, and can be bought anywhere. Hot dogs may be warmed on a stick with no embellishment, or grilled, boiled or steamed in water or beer, or be served with a bun and various condiments and toppings.

However, several studies have shown that consumption of this food is detrimental to our health. Here’s why:

Bad For Heart Health

Hot dogs are loaded with sodium and saturated fats. One hot dog contains over 14 grams of fat and over a quarter of our day’s sodium (562 mg sodium).

In a 2014 study published in Circulation, results revealed that Swedish men who consumed at least 75 grams of processed meat per day (such as a hot dog) had 1.28 higher risk of heart failure and 2.43 higher risk of death from heart failure.

Moreover, in a separate study which was also conducted in 2014 and was published in Public Health Nutrition, researchers have found that the more red and processed meat people ate, the more likely they were to die from heart disease.

Comes Alongside Other Unhealthy Foods

Hot dogs are not usually eaten with a veggie salad. They are instead consumed along with other unhealthy foods such as fries and sugary sodas or drinks. Moreover, an order of a hotdog also come in with a heavily processed bun and have condiments that are also packed with sodium and sugar.

Contains Cancer-Causing Ingredients

Hot dogs contain nitrates, which are preservatives that come from synthetic materials and give the meat longer shelf life and more color. Experts have found that when digested, these nitrates turn into nitrites, which have been linked to cancer.

Researchers revealed that consuming one hot dog per week may cause a child to have a 7 times higher risk of having a brain tumor as compared to developing one as a result of regularly using a cell phone.

Moreover, eating hotdogs also increases the risk of childhood leukemia by 950%. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found that eating 50 grams of processed meat daily, or just one hot dog, can increase our risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.

Additionally, with regular consumption, hot dogs have also been shown to increase a person’s risk of stomach, bladder and breast cancer.

May Increase Risk For Type-2 Diabetes

Hotdogs are loaded with nitrates and nitrites, two nitrosamine-forming compounds that can damage the pancreatic cells that make insulin, which helps control blood glucose levels.

In a study published in the journal Metabolism, results showed that the more hot dogs a person eats, the higher his chance of developing Type 2 diabetes (approximately a 20 to 30% higher risk of diabetes for every two-ounce serving of processed meats per day).