HEALTH CHECK-UP FOR THE CHURCH

It is really difficult for families to make healthy decisions. Between the marketing lies and the intentional twist on words coupled with most public places continuing to serve food choices that cause cancer and then raise money to cure Cancer, it all can get a bit confusing for the average family. 


One struggle I have had as a Christian mother and healthcare provider is teaching my kids to NEVER put a hot dog in their mouths, organic or not, if they can help it! The church spends so much time praying over the sick but most spend minimal time educating themselves or the organization leaders about diet and its effects on the human body both good or bad. 

Countless schools, daycare centers, birthday parties and church events always serve hot dogs and for the life of me I do not understand why! Is it because it is cheap? Well sickness isn't cheap and the first business that should NOT serve hot dogs to its members should be the church. Jewish Temples seem to do the same, however they use certified kosher beef. The real issue here is if you think natural or organic is healthier you may want to think again! 


Juliette Simms from The Prevention Institute has gone on record by saying "nitrites are in these products whether they're added synthetically by sodium nitrite or whether they're added naturally by adding natural ingredients that still have nitrites in them." Simms points this problem to a flaw in Federal Labeling Mandates. The Federal Labeling Mandates require meat products with natural preservatives to label the products uncured and "no nitrates or nitrites added," even though they are cured and do contain the chemicals that have long been linked to cancer. 


When you're a teen or college student you don't want to stand out in a crowd so it is very difficult for teens to make healthy choices when adults at church events, youth groups, or church lock-ins do not provide healthy choices. It is about time that ministries of the church stop serving hot dogs at events, especially college outreach efforts. Many college students are Public Health, Health Promotion, Nursing or Biology students and they study numerous epidemiological studies that demonstrate this link between processed meat and cancer. 


My son Logan is currently in Bio 122 at Coastal Carolina University and came home this weekend and said "well mom I guess you were right" we have been learning about parasites and hot dogs!" All I did was smile and repeat what I have been telling him for as long as he can remember "do not eat hot dogs."


He was preparing for an exam on Invertebrates Lophotrochozoans, and the tapeworm life cycle slide made an impression him.  It all starts when the egg contaminated vegetation is ingested by the livestock and these eggs hatch into larvae and infect the animal's muscle tissues. Larvae form cysts in muscle tissue (meat). 
Cysts survive in raw or under cooked meat and the scoplex or head of tapeworm attaches to the human intestine.


 

As a lifelong church veteran I have seen my fill of donuts, bacon, sausage, and hot dogs! If I could leave health care tomorrow my next career would be to open a healthy church that teaches the Biblical Diet and only allows members to bring clean organic meat into the church. Hot Dogs would never be allowed, especially within the youngest population. The American Institute for Cancer Research reported a land mark study linking hot dogs and cancer risk based on 7,000 scientific studies. The study determined that a 50 gram serving of processed meat, such as a hot dog raised the risk of colorectal cancer by 21%! 


Other studies reported American's eat 50 hot dogs per year! Can you imagine what your risk of colorectal cancer becomes with 50 hot dogs per year! Studies blame the hot dog's carcinogenic effects on nitrates and nitrites. One hypothesis to explain this proposed link might be the presence of a carcinogenic infectious agent called polyomarvirus capable of withstanding cooking. Polyomaviruses are a ubiquitous family of thermostable non-enveloped DNA viruses that are known to be carcinogenic. Ground beef samples were found to contain three polyomavirus species. Examples of additional DNA virus families, included herpesviruses, adenoviruses, circoviruses and gyroviruses were all detected either in ground beef samples or in comparison samples of ground pork and ground chicken. 

We have known since 1994 in the published medical journals that the relationship between the intake of certain food items such as hot dogs were thought to be precursors or inhibitors of N -nitroso compounds and risk of leukemia was investigated in a case-control study among children from birth to age 10. (Peters, Preston, 1994) Today The Cancer Project's latest billboard shows a pack of hot dogs coming out of a pack of cigarettes.  

"A hot dog can send you to an early grave" says PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine nutritional education director Susan Levin, M.S., R.D. Processed meats like hot dogs can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and various types of cancer. Like cegarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label. 


Kids learn from their parents behavior and if parents eat hot dogs at church events or during recreational events than their children will grow up doing the same. Last year, at the Indianapolis 500 race, concession stands at the speedway served more than 1.1 MILLION hot dogs. Remember just ONE hot dog increases the risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent. 


A PCRM review of the Journal Diabetologia found that those who regularly eat processed meats increase their risk of diabetes by 41 percent. Studies also showed a strong link between other types of cancer and processed meats. There is a 10 percent increased risk of prostate cancer with every 10 grams of increased intake. A study in Taiwan showed that  consumption of cured and smoked meat can increase children's risk for leukemia and another study in Australia found that women's risk for ovarian cancer increased as a result of eating processed meat. 

One of my favorite courses that I will be teaching in the next month is The Food for Life: Cancer Project. This course promotes cancer prevention and survival through a better understanding of cancer causes, particularly the link between nutrition and cancer. Through research, education, and advocacy, we are saving lives! 

Join Dr. Carly Willeford as she teaches the The Cancer Prevention Project and Survival Nutrition and Cooking Class. We will be scheduling dates at area churches starting at Grand Strand Baptist Church, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Please follow Dr. Carly's Facebook Page for dates!