Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

America's summertime treat may cause cancer
By Michael Bott
The California Aggie (UC-Davis)
08/24/2006

(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. — A recent study does not bode well for Nathan's Famous hot dog-eating competition champion, Takeru Kobayashi, who ate 54 hot dogs in 12 minutes. According to Sidney Mirvish, a University of Nebraska chemist, eating hot dogs may be linked to cancer.

Sodium nitrite, an additive used to preserve meats such as hot dogs, bacon and lunchmeats, was found to be carcinogenic due to its tendency to mutate DNA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture tried to ban sodium nitrite in the 1970s, but was thwarted by the meat processing industry.

According to a study done in 1982, the ingestion of hot dogs also increased rates of leukemia by 700 percent. Other studies have linked nitrites to brain tumors among children. However, some feel sodium nitrite is not entirely bad. According to experts, it has some benefits as an antidote to several poisons such as cyanide, an intestinal relaxant and preventative of botulism.

Nitrites are present in a variety of foods, including green vegetables, but are only carcinogenic when cooked or smoked.

Andy Rosenblat, a San Francisco-based cardiologist, said poor dietary habits formed in college can be difficult to break later.

"I think a lot of people sacrifice a healthy diet for convenience," Rosenblat said. "Some of that is related to a socioeconomic class. As a general rule, it can happen, but it does not always happen."

Rosenblat also noted that along with being linked to cancer, sodium nitrite might also damage the linings of blood vessels.

However unhealthy hot dogs may be for the American public, they are still a staple of the American diet. At baseball stadiums across the country one can find at least a dozen custom variations of the hot dog, from the Dodger Dog to the Fenway Frank to the Chicago Red Hot.

In Davis, The Hotdogger on E Street provides the widest selection of dogs. The most hardcore, the "Gut Bomb," is slathered in mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, chili, cheese, onions, tomatoes, hot peppers and hot salsa.

Zoe Garcia, a Hotdogger employee, said people are not exactly being tricked into eating something unhealthy.

"I mean, anyone who knows anything realizes what a hot dog is made of," Garcia said. "You are eating something that does not come from the best part of the animal. But for me, I don't care. Life is too short."

For those having trouble reconciling a love for hot dogs and a fear of cancer, leukemia or brain tumors, nitrite-free hot dogs are now on the market, according to the Cancer Prevention Coalition.

Because of modern refrigeration methods, nitrites are not as important as they once were, but are still used to give hot dogs a reddish hue. Nitrite-free hot dogs are browner in color, which apparently doesn't appeal to consumers, shown by a drop in sales.

Mirvish admits there is more research that needs to be done, including studying various hot-dog manufacturing techniques that will help explain why there is a 240-fold variation in nitrite levels across the plethora of hot dog brands. Until then, everything in moderation. Including hot dogs.

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