Bad news: a study at the University of Michigan in 2021 found that eating a hot dog carried a health burden equivalent to losing 36 minutes of life.
But the study actually measured DALY – Disability-Adjusted Life Years – which takes into account the years you live in poor health and weighs them as being worth less than the years when you were fit.
Hot dogs aren’t even the worst food for DALY scores – corned beef sandwiches take 71 minutes off your healthy years.
The good news is that peanuts, salmon and beans were all found to improve your DALY score.
In fact, taking the study results at face value, eating a peanut butter sandwich right after a hot dog almost exactly cancels the action out!
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Cillian Kirk, Wakefield) 'Should I stop eating hot dogs?'
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