Doctors are issuing a warning about hot dogs and here's the reason why

While hot dogs are among the most beloved meals for children – and some adults – experts have issued several warnings about how harmful they can be.

The Hearty Soul reported that since the 70s, several investigators have carried out studies that show that consuming hot dogs could severely damage people’s health and increase their risk of cancer due to their nitrosamines.

Nitrosamines are chemical compounds used in the manufacture of some cosmetics, pesticides, and in most rubber products. Due to its components, nitrosamines are carcinogenic.

THE INVESTIGATIONS

Back in 1970, scientists William Lijinsky and Samuel Epstein found out that human cancer might be caused by nitrosamines formed in the body from ingested nitrites.

Their research help set the phase for different studies about the relationship between processed meat and cancer. Lijinsky and Epstein studied 155 cases of children aged six and less diagnosed with brain tumors.

THE RISKS OF BROILED AND PROCESSED MEAT

With the analysis, they discovered a pattern between mothers who ate cancer-linked preserved meats and youngsters who developed the most widely recognized childhood brain tumor, astrocytic glioma. Another study also proved that broiled and processed meat consumption during pregnancy was related to cancer in children.

The researchers found out that expectant women who ate one or more hamburgers or hot dogs per week were more prone to giving birth to children with leukemia and/or brain tumors.

MORE STUDIES

Cancer Causes & Control revealed that children who ate 12 or more hot dogs a month were nine times more likely to get cancer. The investigation about that disease and processed food are far from being over as the American Journal of Epidemiology also published a study about it in 2009.

According to the population-based case-control research, out of 145 acute leukemia cases, investigators found that children consuming cured/smoked meat and fish more than once a week had a higher risk of getting cancer.

ANTIBIOTICS IN MEAT

Apart from the risk mentioned above, CBS revealed that 22 of the top 25 burger chains in the U.S. failed when the Center for Food Safety, Consumer Reports, Food Animal Concerns Trust, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Friends of the Earth, and Natural Resources Defense Council reviewed their practices and policies on the use of antibiotics in their beef products.

McDonald’s, Burger King, Five Guys, and some others got the “F” rating "for lacking any announced policy to source beef raised without the routine use of antibiotics."

Many meat producers give antibiotics to their animals to encourage quicker growth and stave off diseases. However, overuse of antibiotics in livestock can cause resistant bacteria to spread, putting humans at risk of developing life-threatening infections.