My Love Affair with Frank

Did you know...

that processed meats can be deadly to your health?

I guess you must know that on some level, right? I mean, does anyone actually believe that processed meat has any nutritional value? Even if we all know these deli delights aren't "health food," we might not realize how dangerous they are to our health and that of our children.

Processed foods such as cold cuts and packaged meats like bologna, salami, and processed ham are very high in sodium and very high in saturated fats, which we all know by now are linked to high blood pressure and heart disease, but you might not realize they also contain sodium nitrite. Nitrates are closely linked to cancer of the bladder, esophagus, stomach, and brain!

Sodium nitrite, found in processed meats, is the precursor to nitrosamines, the chemical that speeds up the growth of cancer cells. When processed meats, or anything containing sodium nitrite - even canned soup - are ingested, nitrosamines are formed, and they can start the development of the cancers mentioned above. The more the meat is treated with preservatives and processed, the greater the risk of the nitrosamines doing their deadly work.

Now, I would like to talk about one of America's most beloved foods: the All-American hot dog! I think we all try to block out the negative press directed at our much - relished hot dog because we just love 'em! I did for many years. It was not just any old dog that got me salivating. Oh, no! I craved nothing but New York City street vendor dogs, the ones you buy on the corner from the guy who looks just about as fresh as the water he pulls the dog from. When I wanted a hot dog, I looked the other way as he fished that baby out of the murky depths and flopped it onto the roll with hands that were clearly more familiar with hot dog water than soapy water. To be honest, nothing mattered as much as sinking my teeth into that spicy, crunchy dog - not even the mustard and sauerkraut dribbling down my chin. That was bliss. But alas, I could not continue to delude myself into thinking that the dirt those do-gooder health nuts had on the dog was false. Perhaps if I had stopped reading, I could have continued my love affair with "Frank"; but even though I did sneak out for a rendezvous every so often, (and wish I till could), I had to accept the awful truth: my love would ultimately break my heart...

Okay, so in my research, I found a study done on children who ate more than twelve hot dogs a month. Now that sounds like a lot of hot dogs, and you might be thinking, Well, of course that number of hot dogs isn't healthy, and those kids probably had problems. All things in moderation. But to put it in perspective, if one child were to eat twelve apples a month what negative effects would you expect? None, right? That's because apples are inherently good for your child (and you). However, children who ate more than twelve hot dogs a month had nine times the normal risk of developing childhood leukemia! Do you find that amazing! I think it's astonishing. Another study found that children who ate hot dogs one or more times a week had a higher risk of developing brain cancer. An even more astounding finding was that children whose mothers ate hot dogs during pregnancy had an increased risk of developing childhood brain tumors. So, if you are still too infatuated to end your love affair with "Frank," please use protection and at least eat the kind labeled, "nitrate-free" or "nitrite-free."

When you start reading the labels, you are going to run into a bit of confusion, so let me share what I have learned in order to help you make better choices. You should watch for any hot dog that includes the words "with by-products" or "with variety meats." The USDA requires this type of wording if the meat contains raw meat by- products such as heart, kidney, stomach, intestines, or liver. Also, watch for any hot dog that has a casing and artificial colors within the casing.

Another lovely thing done to this type of "meat": it is mechanically separated. This means that they force the bones with attached meat through a sieve to separate the bone from the tissue. Mechanically separated beef is now prohibited for human consumption since it has been closely linked to mad cow disease, but mechanically separated pork and poultry are still permitted. Products that exceed the USDA calcium content, due to the bone, must be labeled as containing "mechanically separated" meat. Other products labeled "beef franks" or "pork franks" or "chicken franks" can contain turkey or chicken meat, turkey or chicken skin and fat, and turkey or chicken by- products.

If that weren't enough, hot dogs have been found to contain a harmful bacteria called listeria. Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that is commonly found in soil, streams, sewage, water, plants, and food! Listeria, or the bacteria responsible for listeriosis, is a potentially lethal food-borne contaminent. To put it into perspective, the fatality rate for those who contract a severe form of this infection is about 25% compared to the more commonly known salmonella, which has a mortality rate of 1%!

I hope I have shed a little bit of light on the dark side of the bad boy of American cuisine, but I could no longer look the other way. Even I must admit that loving Frank isn't good for me. No longer can I even consider a secret rendezvous; it's just not meant to be. All of this wisdom did not come to me overnight; it took years of learning and discerning. So, please, teach your children that there are dogs out there that have no business poisoning their lives!

Information for this article came from both Wikipedia and Eat this and Live, by Don Colbert.