As unbelievable as this may sound, News of the Weird* published a recent story describing a health craze marketed in Canada. At a street festival on June 17th they were promoting Hot Dog Water. People were invited to pay $38 to try it and told it was gluten-free (true), Keto diet-compatible (true), and each bottle contained a hot dog (true).
I was not surprised to hear that people lined up to purchase bottles of Hot Dog Water and took this product seriously. Though guess what? It was a prank designed, "in response to the snake oil salesman of health marketing". The CEO of the company even added a disclaimer on the bottle:
"Hot Dog Water in its absurdity hopes to encourage critical thinking related to product marketing and the significant role it can play in our purchasing choices."
Whether or not people paid for the drink knowing it was a joke is neither here nor there. The story got me thinking. I have purchased ludicrous items like this in the past (gag gifts aside)...pills that supposedly burnt calories while I slept (they didn't), followed crash diets that promised results (they didn't feel good/weren't sustainable), and eaten many junk foods that, if I was honest with myself, knew they were horrible for my health. Foods like overly processed, gunk-filled hot dogs.
Many people say they don't want to know what is in a hot dog and only care that it tastes good...which is of course their prerogative, we are all adults and can eat what we want. Taking responsibility for those choices is the key. There are direct consequences to every food, beverage, or pill that we put into our body. When I ate poorly I steadily gained weight, rarely slept well, experienced constant skin problems, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and found myself with chronic conditions like thyroid disease and osteoarthritis. The lesson of buyer beware reminds me that I take full responsibility for my health knowing that my actions and behaviors impact how I feel. These days I choose to keep things simple and do my best to feel better.
Poor dietary choices increase my inflammation, cause my shingles to flare, my joints will ache more often, and I risk losing bone that is already declining with time. Ask yourself when you make a dietary choice/dietary purchase..."Do the major players in the food, supplement, and 'diet' industry truly have your best interest at heart?"
Be Well! ~Tiffany
* See excerpt and details: Salt Lake City Weekly, July 12, 2018, pg 47
SOURCE: thelogicalbro / YouTube