Hot dogs are enjoyable snacks not only for children but also for adults.
But things are changing after it has been found out that hot dogs can cause certain cancers.
An article published by LA Times said that children who eat more than 12 hot dogs every month could increase their chances of developing leukemia 9 times more than people who do not eat hot dogs.
Cancer Causes and Control also shared two reports explaining children whose mothers eat at least one hot dog per week during pregnancy have higher risks of developing brain tumors. Aside from mothers, fathers also play a major role as they can cause the same medical condition when they consume hot dogs before their partner conceived.
Hot dogs contain nitrites – an additive that forms carcinogen. Three studies explain how childhood cancer can be caused by consuming hot dogs regularly.
Nitrates are added to prevent botulism, which is food poisoning caused by botulinum, a bacterium that develops on processed or canned goods.
When cooking hot dogs, the nitrates combine with amines to produce N-Nitroso compounds and can cause cancer. Although there are no studies to prove it, nitrates are believed to form the carcinogenic compound once they join amines.
As the two combined, this could result in cancers in the oral cavity, esophagus, brain, urinary bladder and stomach.
Other foods that have nitrites are every cured meat in stores, such as bacon and fish.
It may be surprising to know that vegetables like green lettuce, spinach, and celery also contain nitrites. But they do not cause cancer as vegetables themselves combat cancer.
Veggies have vitamins including D and C to stop the formation of N-nitroso.
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