Children who regularly eat cured meats like bacon and hot dogs may be more at risk for leukemia, says a new study in the online journal BMC Cancer.
When researchers looked at 515 Taiwanese children and teenagers with and without acute leukemia, they found those who ate cured meats and fish more than once a week had a 74 percent higher risk of leukemia than those who rarely ate them. But kids who often ate vegetables and soy products had about half the leukemia risk as those who avoided them.
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I’ve stayed away from cured meats, etc for a while now. I wonder if some of the processed soy products have nitrates in them also?
I guess I’ve heard this before anecdotally – nitrates and all – but it’s still disturbing, especially since my kids DO have a hot dog or bacon once in a blue moon. I wonder if the meats are cured nitrate free (is that even possible?) if the risk is the same.