To improve my diet, I would swap out a quick microwaved Hebrew National Hot Dog for a Great Value Tilapia fillet. A 4oz tilapia fillet provides 20 g of protein while one hot dog only provides 6g. Typically I would make three hot dogs for lunch, which totals at 24 g of protein, but the hot dogs each contain a 20% daily value of sodium (or 60% if I eat three servings at lunch). The tilapia only contains 2% daily value, or 40 mg of sodium. A high sodium diet increases risks associated with high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.1 As far as fat goes, the tilapia is again the better choice. The hot dogs not only contain trans fat (.5 g per serving), but 25% the daily value of saturated fat each (5g). The tilapia has high protein, but very low-fat content, providing only .5 g or 3% dv of saturated fat and no trans-fat. In total, the tilapia provides 2g of fat, which means there are actually some healthy unsaturated fats which While trans fats are slowly being eliminated from the market and varieties have been banned for human consumption and should be completely avoided, a diet with unsaturated fat has been connected to healthy HDL cholesterol levels and decreased risk of heart disease.2 Finally, the tilapia is less processed than the hot dogs, and so the protein provided is complete, feeding the body with all 9 essential amino acids, while the hot dogs. Studies show that the mechanisms involved in processing cause meats to become less digestible and nutritious, so any amino acids present in the beef hot dogs might be destroyed or inaccessible to the body anyway.