The great American hot dog!!!

Hot dogs are so convenient & loved by millions of American children especially when drenched in Ketchup! But did you know they are also processed with nitrates &/or nitrites? If you don't know what nitrates/nitrites are, I will enlighten you a little bit. But be warned, you may not like what you read!

Consuming water or products with nitrates have been linked to diabetes & significant increased risk of cancer, especially the major childhood cancers (leukemias, lymphomas, and brain cancers).

Here are some eye opening statistics:
1. Children who eat 12 hot dogs per month have nearly 10 times the risk of developing leukemia compared with children who do not eat hot dogs.
2. Children who eat hot dogs once a week double their chances of brain tumors; eating them twice a week triples the risk.
3. Pregnant women who eat 2 servings per day of any cured meat have more than double the risk of bearing children who have brain cancer.
4. Kids that eat the most ham, bacon, and sausage have 3 times the risk of lymphoma.
5. Kids who eat ground meat once a week have twice the risk of acute lymphocytic leukemia compared with those who eat none: eating 2 or more hamburgers weekly triples the risk.

Okay, don't panic! There are a lot of practical solutions if your child can't live without his weekly hot dog fix. Make them at home! If you buy any processed meats make sure they are either organic or nitrate/nitrite free. You can easily find this additive on the ingrediant label.