Hot dogs are less likely to carry diseases like listeria after being cooked in the microwave.

So a new study was recently published in the Journal of Food Science that will come as music to the ears of frankfurter fans:  Hot dogs may not be as potentially poisoned with food-borne diseases as originally suspected.

As most people know, hot dogs bought in stores come fully cooked.  As such, when re-heating hot dogs, most people are not altogether concerned about how cooked the hot dog is after taking it out of boiling water, off the grill, or out of the microwave.

But too often, people underestimate just how “fully cooked” these frankfurters are when bought, as thousands of people become severely ill from the food-borne diseases these dogs are often dogged with.

According to researchers from the University of Colorado, though, they’re less likely to carry diseases like listeria after given a good nuke in the microwave.

What qualifies as a “good nuke”?  At least 75 seconds, so long as the microwave can generate at least 1,100 watts of power.

But this study shouldn’t serve as a go-ahead, or as a green light to start chowing down on hot dogs.  Not because they’re on the low end of the totem poll for nutritional protein sources, which they are.  And not because they’re loaded with preservatives to sustain shelf-life, which they are.  No, you shouldn’t eat them because they increase your risk for several types of cancers.

Hot dogs are burdened by the same problem almost all  processed meats have:  They’re loaded with sodium nitrites.  Sodium nitrites give cold cuts and meats their salty flavor, but they’re also responsible for increasing the risk for different stomach cancers.  In a study of over 200,000 people, researchers from the University of Hawaii found that people whose diets relied on processed foods like bacon, hot dogs and sausage increased their pancreatic cancer risk by 67 percent.

The study was presented in 2005 to the American Association for Cancer Research.

Any study that demonstrates how to reduce one’s risk for acquiring a food-borne disease I’m all for.  So at the very least, this study provides that.  However, let’s not forget that an absence of food borne diseases doesn’t equate to a reduced risk for long-term diseases like cancer.

As I’ve written in past postings, I highly recommend you avoid processed meat consumption entirely.  An occasional (and I stress occasional) hot dog won’t hurt.  In those rare instances, I recommend you consume extra vitamin C.  The vitamin C will help reduce nitrite’s ability to convert into nitrosamines when they’re absorbed.  It is this conversion into nitrosamines that increases the risk for cancerous tumor formation.

Mark  Twain once said that there are two things no one should ever have to watch:  the making of laws and the making of sausage.  Now you know why he said it.  On the sausage end, at least.

Sources:
Food Production Daily
Natural News