Awareness is the first step to change

This week the all American hot dog has been put to the test.

A nonprofit Cancer Project Group filed a lawsuit in New Jersey to compel companies to place cancer-risk warning labels on hot packages sold in New Jersey.

Hot Dog lovers are outraged. How can you question an American institution, what is a summer barbecue without a hot dog.

It is almost un-American to question the nutritional value of the hot dog, after all Americans have been enjoying them for 100 years, and the group asking for the labeling is a Vegan Group (they do not eat anything that contains or is from the flesh of an animal) and are therefore imposing their own beliefs on the rest of us.

According to the cancer project, it is not just the meat that they object to, but the role of nitrites, preservatives used in cured and processed meats, such as hot dogs, in the development of cancer forming agents. During digestion, nitrates break down into nitrosamines and other N-nitroso compounds that are considered carcinogens.

Definition of Nitrates from Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives by Ruth Winter, M.S.:

Potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate, also known as saltpeter and niter is used as a color fixative in cured meats. Both nitrates are used in matches and to improve the burning properties of tobacco. They combine with natural stomach saliva and food substances to create nitrosamines, powerful cancer causing agents. Researchers at Michael Reese Medical Centers’ dept. of Pathology in Chicago induced cancer in mice by giving single doses of one three-thousandth (0.3 microgram) of a gram of nitrosamine for each gram of animal’s weight. This is in contrast to the way other researchers have induced cancer in laboratory animals with nitrosamines by using repeated small does or single large doses. The tumors that developed were analogous to human liver tumors. Nitrosamines caused pancreatic cancer in hamsters, similar to human pancreatic cancers.

Potassium and sodium nitrates are used in cured meats, bacon, bologna, frankfurters, deviled ham, meat spread, potted meats, spiced ham, Vienna sausages, smoke-cured tuna fish products and in smoked cured shad and salmon.

To reduce the nitrosamines in bacon the U.S. Dept of Agriculture requires that meat packers add sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate (vitamin C) to the curing brine. This offers only a partial barrier because ascorbate is soluble in water.

The American Institute for Cancer Research report cites in the law suit that one 50 gram serving of processed meant (one hot dog) consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer 21% on average.

So, what to do!!! Do we give up our favorite barbecue item… not necessarily; they do sell hot dogs that are made from free range meats (from animals that are not fed antibiotics or other drugs and are allowed to roam free) and are FREE OF NITRATES.

Applegate Farms produces a line of Nitrate Free, bacon, hotdogs, sausages, and lunch meats. You can find them at Whole Foods Markets, Health and Health Food Stores.

Ask your local market to carry the brands of food that are healthier and safer for you and your family. If you do not see it, ask them to order it for you. The more you ask, the more they will provide it for you.

Unfortunately, they may not taste as good as the hot dog your family is used to eating, but they can provide a healthier substitute for what you are eating, especially, if you are eating them on a regular basis. Many families find that a hot dog dinner is the answer to a quick meal, consuming cold cut sandwiches on a daily basis for school lunches and quick snacks, using processed meats everyday can be dangerous to your health.

Are you having an occasional hot dog at a barbecue or are you running out to lunch and grabbing a hot dog everyday??? Are you eating sandwiches for lunch every day??? Are those cured and processed meats a major part of your families diet???

Think about it. Take a few minutes to calculate just how much you are consuming. REMEMBER one hot dog or 50 grams of processed meats consumed daily puts you in the 21% range for cancer.

Will warning labels stop people from eating hot dogs or processed meats? No, it did not stop people from smoking and it will probably not stop people from eating foods that are dangerous to their health.

However, my tag line is Awareness is the First Step to Change. If you are aware that something may be harmful to your health or the health of your family, and then at least you can make a change, even a small change, is better than nothing at all. Just be Aware and Conscious of what you eat.

READ THE LABELS; KNOW WHAT IS IN YOUR FOOD.

Barbara Maida

Wholebodyawareness.com

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