Reply #49: Hot dogs increase the risk of leukemia in kids, too

[conflictgirl]

I can't remember the exact amount of hot dogs consumed in a month that was supposed to increase the risk of leukemia, but I ran across the story recently in some research and the source seemed pretty credible. I'll look for it again. I remember thinking that the amount wasn't even that ridiculously high, either. I have young kids and they have some friends who eat multiple hot dogs every day.

We haven't banned hot dogs entirely in our house, but we do get the nitrite-free version from Trader Joe's, the "Best in Show" ones. They're priced fairly comparably to Oscar Mayer hot dogs, and they taste pretty good. I admit that I haven't been as impressed with some of the other nitrite-free brands or veggie dogs, but the Trader Joe's ones are good for the few times a year when we decide we really want to have a cookout.

I will say that in all the nutrition research I've done in my job, regular hot dogs are one of the absolute WORST foods I've found.