Ugh… my girlfriend actually tried telling me that there’s an ingredient in hot dogs that makes you stupid (kills brain cells?). And coincidentally, she’s a vegan. Anyways… I did some googling and I can’t even find this as an urban legend. Is it just her or do other people actually believe this? If anyone can find a cite that debunks this I’d appreciate it
It’s not the dog, it’s the condiments. Ketchup is known to make people stupid. Oops, wrong thread.
Propaganda, plain and simple.
Evidently, she ate too many hot dogs…
In an attempt to answer the OP, the US department of Agriculture
doesn’t seem to think so
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/focushotdog.htm
The folks at the url=[“http://www.hot-dog.org/HotDogQandA.htm”]national hot dog council, ingredients are
Maybe you should ask your GF exactly what the mystery ingredient is.
Coincidence? I think not.
Why not ask her for a cite? If she got it from some vegan website, for example, we could take a look at exactly what it says.
I was joking when i said “coincidentally”. She doesn’t have a cite, and she said she “read it somewhere.” Of course I didn’t take it seriously and groaned when she said it, but I just didn’t know if this was a widespread belief or what. Thanks for the links, ** Tapioca Dextrin **
They might be on somewhat firmer, though IMO still shaky, ground if they said “hot dogs give you cancer” - “curing agents” may include nitrites. Not all hot dogs have nitrites, and the jury’s still out on the amount of danger posed by nitrite consumption at levels present in many meat products. Current FDA rules state that food manufactures must show that nitrosamines will not form when the product is used in the intended manner.
Note that brain cancer is one type typically linked to nitrite consumption, which could get garbled into your GF’s assertion.
And ketchup is a measurement of effect, not a cause …
Interesting timing, here. NPR news ran a story today or yesterday claiming that nitrites can have a dramatic effect, reducing arterial cholesterol deposits.
javascript:getMedia(‘ATC’, ‘04-Nov-2003’, ‘14’, ‘RM,WM’);
It would seem the link got bollixed. Go to npr.org Then search for nitrites, and you can play the story.
Or get the audio link here
Alright, thanks everybody. I’ll be dumping her later tonight
Ketchup on a hotdog…???
Heathens…!!! 
'Cause she believed vegan propaganda?? Or is that just a coincidence?
Why not ask her what the ingredient in vegan food is that makes people gullible?
The same can be said for consuming hotdogs.
There’s no ingredient in hotdogs that makes one stupid, but there are obviously deficiencies in many vegan diets that greatly reduce critical thinking ability.