Posted on 08/14/2006 3:32:06 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Everyone knows hot dogs aren't exactly healthy for you, but in a new study chemists find they may contain DNA-mutating compounds that might boost one's risk for cancer.
Scientists note there is an up to 240-fold variation in levels of these chemicals across different brands.
"One could try and find out what the difference in manufacturing techniques are between the brands, and if it's decided these things are a hazard, one could change the manufacturing methods," researcher Sidney Mirvish, a chemist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, told LiveScience.
Mirvish and his colleagues examined hot dogs because past research had linked them with colon cancer. Hot dogs are preserved with sodium nitrite, which can help form chemicals known as N-nitroso compounds, most of which cause cancer in lab animals.
Extracts from hot dogs bought from the supermarket, when mixed with nitrites, resulted in what appeared to be these DNA-mutating compounds. When added to Salmonella bacteria, hot dog extracts treated with nitrites doubled to quadrupled their normal DNA mutation levels. Triggering DNA mutations in the gut might boost the risk for colon cancer, the researchers explained.
"I won't say you shouldn't eat hot dogs," Mirvish said. Future research will feed hot dog meat to mice to see if they develop colon cancer or precancerous conditions, he explained.
James Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute Foundation in Washington, noted this study is "a preliminary report that the author concedes requires further investigation. The carcinogenic risk to humans of the compounds studied has not been determined."
The possible hazard presented here is not just limited to hot dogs. Salted dried fish and seasonings such as soy sauce may contain similar levels of these chemicals, Mirvish said.
Mirvish and his colleagues reported their findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Bottoms up and Bon Appetite!
Oh, I love that one! My Basset Hound wants one that makes him look like a Bratwurst. ;)
How many do we have to eat in order for all this to occur?
Why aren't they in the headline, then?
Hey, if we don't mutate, how will we ever get to the point (as a species) where we don't like hotdogs? Sounds like this isn't that much of a problem.
I sure don't relish the prospects of dying over some rat parts and hot pink fat.
"...If sodium nitrite is so dangerous, why do food producers continue using it? The chemical is added primarily as a color fixer that turns meats a reddish, fresh-looking color that appeals to consumers. Packaged meats like hot dogs would normally appear a putrid gray, but with enough sodium nitrite added, the meats can seem visually fresh even if they've been on the shelves for months..."
http://www.newstarget.com/007133.html
And then you eat it and the sodium nitrate 'pickles' your digestive system - no thanks!
I'll take my mutation the good old fashioned way thanks - radiation works best!
deep-fried pork hot dog ping
What's blooming from China's budding space program? Bigger flowers and supersize veggies: For more than a decade, the Asian nation has made use of Earth's upper atmosphere (thick layer of surrounding gas)--up to 402 kilometers (250 miles) high--for seed-breeding research. A variety of seeds, including corn and water-melon, have traveled in space for up to two weeks in recoverable satellites and high-altitude balloons.
How did space affect the seeds? Evidently, the high radiation (strong invisible energy waves) of space mutated, or genetically modified, the seeds' DNA--hereditary material stored in their cells, reports China's Xinhua News Agency.
These mutations may explain why peony flowers grown from "space seeds" are larger and more colorful than normal; the mutations may also explain jumbo, half-pound bell peppers and a new breed of fast-growing rice...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1590/is_11_59/ai_98541295
So, I gather, it's the atmosphere that's stopping us from becoming a race of giants hmmm?
Ironically, these researchers derived their data from long-term feeding hot dogs (or "hots", if you're from upstate NY; or "hawht dahwgs" if you're from Boston) to rats.
oh boy, I'm in big trouble.
If you need to be wormed after eating a delicious hot dog, chase it with 4 tablespoons rounded of dryed Fresno chili peppers.
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