It’s old news that processed meats (e.g. hot dogs, bacon and sausage) are linked to diabetes and heart disease. In fact, over 1,600 separate studies showed evidence that each 1.8 oz serving of processed meat – the equivalent of one hot dog – increases the risk of heart disease by 42% and diabetes by 19%. So I assumed the story about hot dogs was going to just be an old story with a new twist. Boy was I wrong.

The story wasn’t about diabetes or heart disease; it was about cancer.

I find the debate surrounding this hot topic so interesting, I want to share the facts with you and ask you to share your opinions.

Here’s the story, from a few different sides…

A watchdog group, known as the Cancer Project, is bringing attention to the correlation between hot dogs and colorectal cancer. The group warned that, “downing one dog a day can increase the risk for colorectal cancer by 21%. Each year, about 143,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and about 53,000 die of it.”

“We’ve had an epidemic of colorectal cancer for decades,” said the group’s president, Dr. Neal Barnard. “Only fairly recently has it become clear that a big part of the reason is the American appetite for hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and other processed meats”

The group, which promotes vegan diets, thinks that the link between hot dogs and cancer, heart disease and diabetes should be taken more seriously. “Like cigarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk.”  They erected the billboard (below) near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, issuing a stark warning to the legions of weiner lovers who show up for races.

As you can imagine, the group’s billboard and statements have not been well-received by the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council. The Council president, Janet Riley, said, “This is an absurd claim. Trying to link a food product that has clear nutritional value with a product like cigarettes, which have no redeeming qualities, is inflammatory and alarmist.”

Now, before you’re quick to dismiss the relevancy of the research, because of the “dog a day” specification, think about this…

In 2006, Americans consumed more than 1.6 billion pounds of hot dogs. That’s a lot of dogs! The average person eats 32 pounds of some form of smoked ham, bacon, or processed pork.  That equals about 1.4 ounces of processed meat a day. An average hot dog is 1.8 ounces. The warning about eating a “hot dog a day” for 63% of Americans is actually pretty relevant!

Apart from backyard BBQs, street vendors, ballparks, and other sporting events, when I think about hot dogs, I think about our kids. I’ve heard several moms say that they feed their kids “dogs”, because it’s all that they’ll eat.

Well, the debate about the dangers of eating hot dogs also extends to our children. Parents are also being warned about the perils of feeding their children hot dogs for two major reasons.

First, research has proven that children from birth to age 10 that eat more than 12 hot dogs per month have 9 x the normal risk of developing childhood leukemia.  Even eating hot dogs 1- 2 x per week while pregnant can increase the baby’s risk of brain cancer.

Second, hot dogs are a significant choking hazard. About 17% of food-related asphyxiations are caused by hot dogs. More than 10,000 children under 14 go to the emergency room each year after choking on food, and up to 77 die.

“If you were to take the best engineers in the world and try to design the perfect plug for a child’s airway, it would be a hot dog,” says statement author Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “I’m a pediatric emergency doctor, and to try to get them out once they’re wedged in, it’s almost impossible.”

Dr. Smith goes on to state that, “The Consumer Product Safety Commission requires labels on toys with small parts alerting people not to give them to kids under 3. Yet there are no required warnings on food, though more than half of non-fatal choking episodes involve food.”

Janet Riley, the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council president, which thinks comparing hot dogs to cigarettes is “absurd”, does supports the American Academy of Pediatrics’ call to better educate parents and caregivers about choking prevention. “Ensuring the safety of the foods we service to children is critically important for us.”

Now that you’ve got a feel for the argument about hot dogs from a few different perspectives, I want to know what you think. Do you think hot dogs are dangerous, and those containing nitrites should have health warnings?  What about choking warnings, should they be mandatory?

I do believe, label or not, that moderation is key to living a healthy lifestyle. Achieving good health requires “big picture planning”. You must consider what you purchase for your home (e.g. convenience foods), at fast food places, at restaurants, and what you eat at social gatherings. Whether you decide to eliminate processed meat (e.g. hot dogs) completely, or decide to decrease your intake slowly each week, you have to create a plan.  Your plan has to fit your budget, lifestyle, beliefs, and ultimately lead you towards living a healthier lifestyle.

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Need help with your “big picture plan” to wean  off of processed food? The Skinny Gene Project can help. The nutrition team will provide you with the resources you need to make live a healthier lifestyle. Just click here to get started.

 ABOUT ME

: My name is Marlayna. I’ve recently shared my story about why I chose to LIVE MY LIFE WITH INTENTION- my life’s journey towards becoming who I am today (click here to read it). I’m a mother, wife, friend, and a diabetes prevention advocate. I occassionally blog about living a healthy lifestyle.

 * The opinions represented in this post are my own, and do not express those of the Skinny Gene Project or J. Moss Foundation

By Eye so green

By Nancy Juarez, Skinny Gene Bilingual Nutritionist

During  the course of our lives, we go through many stages, whether it is childhood, adolescence, or the transition to becoming an adult. But there is one thing that NEVER changes – the love and support from our FAMILY.

Over these last several weeks, I have encountered different ways in which I affect the lives of not only these wonderful individuals I have the pleasure of working with, but their families as well. For me, this is a way of giving a piece of myself to make the world a better place. Keeping it true to the saying “even the smallest things can make the biggest difference.”

At each appointment, I have the chance to ask every patient how their week went. I enjoy these opportunities to get to know a little more about each of them and gain a better understanding of what’s going on in their lives.  During my normal chat with Alice, I learned something interesting. Something I’d like to now share with you.

From the very beginning, Alice has done extremely well in the program. She’s shown her dedication to improving her family’s health in addition to her own. Her family consists of herself, her husband, and 6 children. As you may know, this is quite a handful!

Alice makes the time to continue with the program and apply what she learns at home. Creating a healthy home is particularly important for this family of 8. Her son has suffered from high blood pressure since he was small. Alice had been to many doctors to try to find an answer to this problem, since the main contributing factors (which are weight and heredity) are not an issue in her family.

This week she came in extremely happy. She was happy to report that her son has had his blood pressure controlled during these past few months, solely based on what she had taught him!

Alice’s son isn’t the only one in the house that is benefiting from Alice’s healthy lifestyle changes. Her mother, who has had an extremely difficult time losing weight in the past, is amazed by her own weight loss. Even Alice’s husband slimmer waistline is feeling the effects of this new healthy home. It’s apparent, that in this house anyway, health is contagious!

It makes feel so accomplished to know that Skinny Gene is not only making positive changes in Alice’s life, but also her family’s.

And it brings me to want to share this quote with you from the Dalai Lama “With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.”

This makes me feel that not only am I helping an individual person, but we are helping make the world a healthier place one person at a time.

What More???

Meet Nancy

Lose a little, Gain a lot

Your Body’s Talking, Are You Listening?

Great Things Happening for Skinny Gene in TX

The benefits of Vitamin D are outstanding!  Vitamin D has been found to reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and many types of cancer.  Vitamin D also plays an important role in the absorption of Calcium and the strength of our bones. 

The body makes Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight for 10 or 15 minutes a day.  With our busy and somewhat sedentary lifestyles, 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight may not be included in our routine.  The other major problem with relying on the sun for our Vitamin D is sunscreen, blocking cancerous rays of sunlight as well as 98% of Vitamin D.  Darker skin and your location from the equator also affect your exposure to the sun’s Vitamin D.   Call your family and friends north of San Francisco to Boston and let them know they are at high risk for Vitamin D deficiency!

Other than the sun, where can you look to meet your Vitamin D needs?  Good sources include cod liver oil (good luck with that!), fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna, and foods fortified with Vitamin D such as milk and juices.  But it may not be that easy.  Researchers have looked at the levels of Vitamin D in the fortified foods and found unbelievable results! 

Of the tested milk fortified with Vitamin D, 15% did not have any detectable Vitamin D and over 50% of the milks tested had less than 80, yes 80% of the level it was supposed to have.  

The current recommendation for Vitamin D is 400 IUs (International Units) per day, of which most of us fall short.  Research is showing that this recommended intake may need to be increased to 800 IUs or more!  Our best bet is to be sure we are drinking our milk every day, getting our sun exposure, and taking a multivitamin to allow ourselves the benefits of Vitamin D.

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC

Want More?? Check out these posts from Emily…

Meet Emily

Summertime Drinks that Won’t Bust Your Diet or Your Waistline

Best Defense Against Cellulite

Water Filled Summer

Value Menu-Eat now, Pay later

Different ages, different requirements to be healthy

Kids Really Do Like Fruits and Vegetables

Spring into Green

 The McDonald’s Dollar Menu, El Pollo Loco’s Loco Value Menu, Taco Bell’s Why Pay More value menu and  the Wendy’s Super Value Menu are all great for our pocketbooks, but what about our waist lines?  When it comes to eating out, everyone would like a deal, but after reviewing the $1 menus at several fast food restaurants, a deal may not be what our body really wants….or needs!

When it comes to fast food, the tricky part is figuring out if a true “value” is being offered, or if it’s an “eat now, pay later” kinda thing? 

Fast food is notorious for being two things, cheap and loaded with fat – especially our heart’s enemy, saturated fat.  Although the cost of the food may leave you with a few extra dollars in your pocketbook for the week, the high fat content can really do some damage on the scale and to your long-term savings. 

What if $1 today would cost you (not your insurance) more than $10,000 in the future? Not sounding much like a value now, does it?

The American Heart Association recommends eating foods with less than 25- 35% of calories coming from fat, eating foods with calories from fat >35% can greatly increase your risk of heart disease, especially if you have high blood pressure or extra weight!  Heart Disease is the #1 killer in the US, and one of the most expensive diseases to treat. Yikes!

So, knowing that we want to keep the % of calories from fat below 35% (ideally below 30%), here’s what I found out about the real value offered at these fast food giants…..

Let’s start with Wendy’s. The Wendy’s Super Value Menu has some delicious items, such as the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, 5-piece Chicken Nuggets, French Fries, and 3 types of Chicken Go Wraps, but on average 46% of the total calories of all of these “value” items comes from fat!  This (meaning the 46%)  is 150% of our desired maximum calories from fat, which should have 30% or less of the total calories coming from fat.

So these $1 dollar deals are not the best, but what can you order that won’t put your heart and health in danger?  The Grill Chicken Go Wrap has the lowest % of calories from fat at 36%, this would go nicely with a side salad, mandarin orange cup, or baked potato that would decrease the meals fat composition closer to 30%. 

America’s favorite fast food chain, McDonald’s, received the wrath of the media with the documentary “Super Size Me”, but also responded with an attempt to make their menu items “healthier”.   But how did they do?  Yes, they are using healthier oils, trans fat free, and have added the Apple Dippers, yogurt parfaits, and a variety of  salads to the menu, but what about the Dollar Menu?  The lunch (or non breakfast) menu contains one sandwich, the McDouble, which has 44% calories from fat, again 150% of our desired maximum calories from fat (which should be less than 30%) and don’t forget the fries, another whopping 45% calories from fat! 

The dollar menu does include healthier options of the side salad and Yogurt Parfaits, both great choices all around! 

This topic could go on and on, including the Jack in the Box Value Menu as well as the Taco Bell Why Pay More Menu, both containing multiple items with 50% calories from fat! 

When eating out, you must do your homework!  Look for key words such as grilled and baked and ask for no mayo or dressings!  Looking for healthy dining choices marked on the menu or check out www.healthydiningfinder.com to find the best choices on the run!    

Oh, and don’t fall into the label trap! Nutrition labels can be very misleading. Remember to look at the cute little line “Calories from fat”, it is hiding below the total calories, to see what percent of the calories in your food is coming from fat.  Our goal is to have the calories from fat be less than 20-30% of the total calories.   The other line that says total fat, followed by daily value % is usually a small number that doesn’t tell us what we really need to know! 

Still a little confusing? Here’s an example…. Quaker Corn Bran cereal has 90 calories per 3/4 cup serving – 10 of the 90 calories are from fat, therefore we can conclude this in an excellent choice of cereal with a total of 11% calories from fat!  The confusing part of the label says the cereal is 2% daily value of fat, but that is based on a 2000 calorie diet – but it’s not specific to you!  Another reason this cereal is a great choice is the 5 whopping grams of fiber, but we can talk more about that later!

If you have questions about reading labels and finding  the % of fat, please email me at healthyhome@jmossfoundation.org.

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC