Most Harmful Foods People Keep Eating

They say you are what you eat, and if that’s true, then going by the jaw-dropping bombshells we’ve got coming up, most of us are surprisingly dangerous. You may not know it, but many of the foods you eat every day contain hidden toxins, parasites and poisons that can cause disturbing, and sometimes deadly, side effects! From poisonous cherries to worm-infested sushi, get ready to explore the terrifying truth behind these tasty treats.

Processed Meat

If you’re a committed carnivore, here are some bad news for you. Processed meat may taste delicious, but it comes with some alarming risks.

It turns out, any meat that’s been modified to improve taste or increase shelf-life, like salami, bacon or sausages, is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. That means that, based on countless extensive studies, scientists are certain that eating processed meat increases your cancer risk.

The problem comes from the way processed meat is prepared. Nitrates and nitrites are used to keep meat fresh for longer, but when we eat them, our bodies can convert them into chemicals called nitrosamines. These can damage our DNA, contributing to cancer risk over time.

When meat is cooked at high temperatures, like on the BBQ, more of these harmful compounds are produced, increasing the risk even further. In fact, a study of half a million meat-eaters in the UK found that eating 76g of either red or processed meat a day, the equivalent of just 3 slices of ham, increases your risk of bowel cancer by 20%!

This doesn’t mean that you have to go vegan, but nutritionists agree that limiting your intake processed meat is definitely a healthy choice. So instead of bringing home the bacon, try something non-processed like free-range chicken, turkey, or even a meat-free alternative!

Casu Marzu

From Mozzarella to Parmigiano-Reggiano, Italy is famous for its delicious cheeses. But did you know that the Italian island of Sardinia is home to the world’s most dangerous cheese, a regional specialty with a stomach-turning secret ingredient? Casu Marzu, which literally means rotten cheese, gets its ripe flavor from thousands of live maggots!

To produce this eyebrow-raising delicacy, a fly-infested wheel of cheese is stored in a dark hut for 2-3 months. The fly eggs hatch into maggots, which munch on the cheese, digest it, and excrete it in the form of a thick, soft cream. Brave diners then spread that creamy cheese onto flatbreads and tuck in.

There are two rules for eating Casu Marzu. Rule one: always close your eyes before you take a bite! The cheese-fly maggots used to make Casu Marzu can jump up to 6 inches in the air, and you don’t want one to land in your eye! Rule two: once the morsel is in your mouth, be sure to chew thoroughly! Any maggots that get swallowed alive could set up camp in your intestines, potentially resulting in a parasitic infection.

For this reason, it’s illegal to buy or sell Casu Marzu in the EU or US. In spite of its reputation as a health hazard, Sardinians claim the cheese is a powerful aphrodisiac.

Fruit Juice

So fruit juice isn’t exactly a food, but it’s made from food, so we'll discuss it anyway! It may shock you to learn that according to US obesity expert Dr Robert Lustig, “calorie for calorie, fruit juice is worse for you than fizzy drinks.”

Sounds crazy, but a 2019 study on 14,440 American adults found that each 12oz daily serving of juice was associated with a 24% higher mortality risk, compared to drinking none at all. The same quantity of soda, meanwhile, only increased mortality rate by 11%.

So why is juice so bad for us? Well, most of the sugar in fruit is fructose, which has some pretty unhealthy side effects. It’s addictive, and it can trick our brains into thinking we’re still hungry even when we’ve consumed our fair share of calories.

When we eat a piece of fruit, the fiber content counteracts these effects by slowing the absorption of fructose and helping us to feel full. Juicing, meanwhile, releases the sugars in fruit while tearing apart most of the fiber. As a result, drinking juice has very few of the health-boosting benefits of eating fruit, and is linked to obesity, tooth-decay, and an increased risk of Type-2 diabetes.

Fugu

Would you be willing to risk certain death in order to eat a fish? The image below shows a pufferfish sushi, known as fugu, a much-sought-after delicacy in Japan. The fish is reportedly so delicious that every year, people are literally dying to try it.

It's not an exaggeration. Pufferfish are laced with tetrodotoxin, a poison 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide. Each pufferfish contains enough to kill 30 people, and there’s no known antidote! Regardless, many Japanese chefs spend two-to-three years earning a special license that allows them to prepare fugu and serve it after carefully removing the toxic skin and organs. Because of the intensive training required to earn a fugu-preparing license, the dish can cost upwards of $200.

Fugu | how to prepare the deadly pufferfish as shown by "Uosei" chef Rikizo Okamoto | Tokyo by wocomoCOOK

Given that eating incorrectly-prepared fugu can cause paralysis and death, it’s banned in the EU, the UK, and most of the US. If you’re absolutely determined to try it, remember that nearly all fatalities occur when untrained or unlicensed people prepare the fish, so make sure your fugu is served by a puffer-professional!

Extremely Hot Chili Peppers

A spicy chili pepper can leave you feeling pretty hot and bothered. But few people realize the side-effects of munching on excessively-hot chilies can be much more gruesome than merely a painful toilet visit the next day.

Of course, chili peppers can’t actually burn you, unless they’re on fire when you eat them. Instead, chilies contain a chemical compound called Capsaicin, which activates the neurons in our brains responsible for feeling heat. This tricks our brains into activating our burn-defense system, which is where the trouble can begin.

This can cause inflammation as blood vessels send more blood to the affected area; vomiting, as your stomach tries to get rid of whatever’s burning it; and even blistering, as your body inflates fluid-filled sacs to protect deeper tissues. The hotter the pepper, the more extreme the side-effects as our bodies attempt to douse the imaginary flames!

If you want to avoid these symptoms, take a peek at the Scoville Scale before you pick up your next pepper. This scale measures the concentration of capsaicin in different varieties of chili, ranking them according to heat. Your average jalapeno pepper measures a moderate 5,000, while the ghost pepper, which boasts 1,000,000 heat units, is so hot that it’s even been weaponized by the Indian army in the form of ‘chili grenades’!

The official hottest chili in the world, the Carolina Reaper, meanwhile, reaches a whopping 1,569,300 units. There’s even a new pepper, known as Pepper X, which reportedly boasts an astounding 3,180,000 Scoville units, though this figure is yet to be officially confirmed.

Soda

We all know soda isn’t exactly the healthiest choice. But did you know the excess sugar in sweetened drinks can damage our cells, making us look older?

One recent study found that can actually alter the parts of our chromosomes linked to ageing, known as telomeres. Drinking a daily 20oz serving over 3 years was found to lead to changes consistent with getting 4.6 years older for a non-soda-drinker. Over longer periods, these changes wither skin and raise the risk of an early death.

Sadly, diet drinks aren’t much better. Though they contain fewer calories, they’re packed full of artificial sweeteners which can actually cause you to put on weight!

When we taste artificial sweeteners, our brain assumes we’ve just consumed sugar, and prepares for an influx of calories. But when they fail to arrive, we’re left craving the calories our brains were expecting, making us likelier to overeat later in the day. So, with dangers on both sides of the fence, it’s probably best to avoid being a sucker for the fizzy stuff entirely.

San-nakji

Would you eat a wriggling, writhing octopus? Gross though it sounds, this dish is actually considered a delicacy in Korea. It’s called San-nakji, and it’s made by killing a small octopus and eating it while residual nerve activity keeps it twitching.

Would You Eat Live Octopus? | National Geographic by National Geographic

The unusual delicacy comes with a substantial health warning: if diners don’t chew their morsel thoroughly, it can prove deadly! Even after the octopus is killed, the suction cups on its tentacles can still attach to surfaces, meaning they can stick to the inside of your mouth or throat on the way down.

Once attached, the tentacles can be devilishly difficult to remove, creating a choking hazard. In fact, 6 daredevil diners die every year from choking on San-nakji! You might call it the octopus’s revenge, but you could also call it a reason never to eat it.

Farmed Salmon

There’s something fishy about farmed salmon. Maybe it’s the fact that, despite being rich in Omega-3, it’s absolutely riddled with harmful chemicals! Specifically, Norwegian specimens of the fish are unusually high in polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs: hazardous industrial chemicals that have been banned in the US since 1976.

PCBs were used for insulation in electrical equipment, but when inadvertently consumed by humans, they’re classed as a probable cause of cancer, and are known to damage the immune system and cause reproductive problems. So how did these chemicals end up in Norwegian farmed salmon?

Farmed salmon are fed pellets made from the ground remains of small fish. As a result of improper waste disposal by factories along the waterways they reside in, these tiny, individual fish contain trace amounts of PCBs and other harmful industrial chemicals. When multiple fish are concentrated into a single pellet, the result is unusually high in these chemicals.

Farmed salmon then consume these pellets, absorbing the PCBs into their fatty tissues, which are ultimately eaten by humans. In 2018, toxicology researchers found farmed salmon contained five times more toxins in general than any other food tested, so next time you fancy fish, you might want to stick to the wild kind!

Fast Food

With high levels of sugar, sodium, saturated fats, carbohydrates, and calories, fast food isn’t exactly healthy. Most people realize the regular consumption of fast food is linked to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. But did you know it’s also bad for your brain?

A 2011 study published in the Public Health Nutrition journal found that those who regularly eat fast food are 51% more likely to suffer from depression. Although more research is needed to establish precisely what causes this link, scientists agree eating junk-food affects our brains in a number of troubling ways.

Research from Western University in Ontario, for example, revealed excessive consumption of high-calorie food can actually restructure the brain, resulting in poor impulse control and cravings. This is because eating junk-food triggers the release of dopamine, giving us a powerful feel-good rush. If we experience this high too often, our brain responds by reducing the number of dopamine receptors, meaning we need to consume more junk-food to achieve the same dopamine high.

With this elevated tolerance, regular junk-food eaters can start to feel unhappy if they don’t get their junk-food-fix. The best advice is to keep fast food to a minimum if you want to keep your mind and body in tip-top condition.

Cherry Pits

Did you know that all cherries contain a deadly poison? The tasty red flesh is safe to eat, but the cherry pit contains a naturally-occurring substance called amygdalin. When we ingest this compound, our bodies break it down into the infamous poison, cyanide! In significant quantities, this is poison.

Don’t panic, you’ll probably be fine if you accidentally swallow a cherry pit whole. The poison is contained within seeds at the centre of the pit, which is indigestible. This means, in most cases, it’ll pass through your system intact, preventing your body from absorbing the lethal substance hidden inside.

However, if you cut, crush, or chew the pit, the poison could get into your bloodstream, preventing your cells from using oxygen. The amount of amygdalin in a pit varies from cherry to cherry, but generally, two-to-three are enough to produce potentially-deadly symptoms!

Other stone fruits, including apricots, plums and peaches, also contain the poisonous substance, though you’d probably be at more of an immediate risk of choking with those. Similarly, apple seeds also contain amygdalin, although the quantity is so small that it would take upwards of 100 to kill you. Still, probably best to avoid munching apple seeds like peanuts.

Hot Dogs

As you already know, processed meats increase your risk of cancer. But that’s not the only reason why you might want to beat your hot dog habit. These sausage-shaped snacks are actually a leading cause of choking in children under 14, meaning that they should be served up with a side order of extreme caution.

It makes sense, when you think about it, hot dogs are soft, slippery, and the perfect size to block an airway. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics is so concerned about the risk that in 2010 they called on manufacturers to redesign the iconic hot dog shape! Until that happens, though, you might want to thinly slice hot dogs before serving them to children, or yourself, if you can’t be trusted to chew!

Bagels

Would you believe that bagels are one of the most dangerous foods in your kitchen? It’s true, but not for the usual reasons that make food dangerous. Every year, about 2,000 Americans end up in the Emergency Room having cut their hands preparing bagels. In fact, these embarrassing slip-ups are so common that doctors have a name for them, B.R.I.’s, or bagel-related injuries.

The problem is bagels often need holding in place to be sliced. This is why the majority of B.R.I.’s are sustained on the non-dominant hand, which holds the slippery bagel during the treacherous cutting process.

And bagels aren’t the only food to watch out for when handling knives. In 2019, researchers at Emory University warned about an ‘epidemic’ of injuries caused by cutting avocados, with more than 27,000 incidents reported between 2013 and 2017. Avocados are round and slippery, a risky combination when you’re handling a knife, leading the phenomenon to be nicknamed avocado hand! Mind your fingers, people!

Nutmeg

Did you know that your favorite festive spice is a hiding a toxic secret? Nutmeg contains a substance called myristicin, which can affect the central nervous system, causing wild hallucinations, vomiting and, in extreme cases, death.

Once myristicin is absorbed in the body, it stimulates the release of a protein called cytochrome-c, which causes cell death, and in significant quantities, leads to organ failure. As a result, it’s highly toxic, just one teaspoon of the spice is enough to cause symptoms of myristicin poisoning, and two teaspoons could kill you!

Luckily, most recipes that include nutmeg only require small amounts and feed multiple people. But definitely think twice before you sprinkle too much over your Christmas eggnog, otherwise that myristicin could have you feeling like death and seeing double.

Raw Almonds

As innocent as they seem, you might want to think twice before picking wild almonds! The almonds we see in shops are a tasty variety known as the sweet almond. But these nuts have an evil twin known as the bitter, or wild almond, which is highly poisonous when eaten raw!

Bitter almonds contain amygdalin, the same substance you find in cherry pits, which breaks down into cyanide. Even a small handful of bitter almonds is enough to cause severe poisoning, while between 7 and 50 could kill you, depending on your weight!

Bitter almonds were once the only variety around, until a few thousand years ago, when a genetic mutation developed which inhibited the nut’s ability to produce amygdalin. This gave rise to the sweet almond, which does still contain amygdalin, but only in trace quantities, meaning eating them won’t make you ill.

After thousands of years of selective planting, it’s now rare to see bitter almond trees at all, in fact, they’re highly-regulated in the US, where it’s illegal to grow or sell them commercially for food. They’re still eaten in some parts of the world, though, and can be found hidden in German fruit cake, Greek syrups, and even in Japanese KitKats! But don’t worry too much, these bitter almonds are cooked to reduce the amygdalin content, making them relatively safe to consume. Just don’t go adding bitter almonds to your raw-only diet!

Ackee Fruit

The ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica, which plays a starring role in many traditional Jamaican dishes. The fleshy center of this tasty tropical treat has a nutty flavor and a soft texture, and pairs perfectly with salt fish. Be careful, though, because the Ackee fruit has a dark side.

Unripe ackee contains a poison called hypoglycin, which causes an illness known as Jamaican Vomiting Sickness. As the name suggests, this involves nasty nausea and diarrhea, and in severe cases, it can even lead to a coma or death.

Luckily, the amounts of hypoglycin massively diminish as the fruit ripens, which means they’re perfectly safe to eat as long as they’re picked at the right time. So next time you’re in Jamaica, remember to only look out for ripe red pods that have split open along the seams, unless you have a very strong stomach.

Leftover Pasta and Rice

Did you know that if you leave cooked rice or pasta out of the fridge for too long, they can undergo a deadly transformation?

Spores of a bacterium called Bacillus Cereus commonly live in uncooked pasta and rice, and can survive the cooking process. When a rice or pasta dish is left to sit for several hours at room temperature, these spores can grow into bacteria, which multiply and secrete harmful toxins known as enterotoxins.

Once absorbed by our bodies, these attack our organs, causing everything from vomiting to fatal liver failure. Further cooking or reheating won’t remove the toxins from your food, and several strains of this hardy bacteria are cold-tolerant, meaning they can continue to survive and multiply even when the dish is stored in the fridge!

That said, while it’s not 100% effective, getting those leftovers in the fridge pronto is still your best bet for avoiding a rice or pasta-related demise! Who would’ve expected such a betrayal from these heroes of the pantry!

Eggs & Heart Disease

Eggs are at the center of an intense debate, and it's not only sunny-side-up versus over-easy! For years, scientists have been arguing about whether their high cholesterol content is bad for our health. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that our bodies use to build cells, but too much cholesterol can clog our blood vessels, restricting blood flow and increasing heart disease risk.

In fact, a 2019 study of 30,000 adults found that for each half an egg eaten per day, risk of heart disease increased by 6%, while risk of an early death rose by 8%.

On balance, eggs are a great source of protein and vitamins, and do have a whole host of health benefits, so cutting them out entirely may not be wise. Research has linked phosphatidylcholine, a nutrient found in eggs, with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's, and the American Heart Association suggests that up to seven eggs a week can be part of a healthy diet.

Just remember to cook them thoroughly, as raw eggs can carry Salmonella, a bacteria which can cause severe food poisoning. Salmonella can survive even if an egg is lightly cooked, so it’s safest to prepare eggs that are firm all the way through. Your foodie friends might roll their eyes, but food safety is no yolk!

Cashew Nuts

You may think you’ve eaten a raw cashew nut or two in your time, but cashews sold as raw in shops have actually been roasted or steamed, removing dangerous toxins. Truly raw cashews look like the ones in the image below, and they’re the seed of a sweet-sour fruit called the cashew apple.

While the fruits are edible, the shells containing the cashew nuts contain urushiol, a substance also found in poison ivy. This can cause rashes or burns if it touches the skin, and is toxic when ingested! Depending on your sensitivity to poison ivy, even a handful of raw, de-shelled cashew nuts could be enough to kill you, as the urushiol can leak through the shell into the nuts. So, unless you cook them first to remove the urushiol, you’d have to be nuts to eat a handful of raw cashews.

Parasites In Sushi

If you knew that your sushi might come with a side order of parasitic worms, would you still eat it? A recent global study showed that the fish used in sushi are now infected with 283 times more parasitic worms than in studies carried out in the 1970s. While the exact reasons for this are yet to be determined, it’s a pretty horrifying concept.

In most cases, our digestive systems kill off these worms before they can do us any damage, but on rare occasions they can set up camp throughout our bodies and cause nasty infections. Horrifying X-rays show one Chinese man with a severe tapeworm infection contracted from regularly eating poor-quality sushi.

Luckily, incidents as extreme as this remain rare, as most sushi chefs are trained to remove worms. Still, if you’re making sushi, you’re best off flash-freezing your fish beforehand in order to kill off any unwelcome larvae. And never, under any circumstances, eat gas station sushi! That’s just asking for trouble!

Brazil nuts

Did you know Brazil nuts are probably the most radioactive ingredient in your kitchen? Well, it’s true, and here’s how.

Brazil nut trees can grow up to 160 feet tall, and have expansive root systems which burrow deep into the earth to draw up minerals. Due to the country’s unique mineral composition, the soil in Brazil contains unusually-high quantities of naturally-occurring radioactive element, radium, which is absorbed by the tree roots and fed into the nuts.

As a result, Brazil nuts can be a whopping 1,000 times more radioactive than other foods in your kitchen, though this is usually still not enough to be concerned about.

That said, you might feel more comfortable choosing non-Brazilian Brazil nuts. This is easier than you’d think, as almost 50% of the world’s supply is now grown in neighboring Bolivia. Although some radioactivity will likely still be present, it’ll be at a lower level due to the lower concentration of radioactive elements in the soil.

Wherever your source your Brazil nuts, though, you shouldn’t be eating more than 3 a day, as they’re a rich source of selenium, an essential mineral which can be toxic in large quantities. You should be fine as long as you don’t go nuts, everything in moderation!

I hope you were amazed at these harmful foods people keep eating! Thanks for reading.