We can’t decide to not eat — food is essential for our survival. But we can choose what kind of it we eat — healthy, not so healthy, or maybe even straight-up detrimental to us.

Also, sometimes, when we think that we’re choosing something healthy, it might turn out to be quite dangerous. Recently, food scientist @hydroxide made a video pointing out exactly that. She explained what kind of foods she doesn’t eat, which made her video go viral pretty quickly.

More info: TikTok

Sometimes, the foods we assume are healthy turn out not to be as beneficial as we thought

Image credits: tontoey2531 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Recently, a food scientist posted a video online where she explained why she doesn’t eat raw sprouts or rare cooked meat

With healthy eating, you have to eat foods that will provide you with the most needed nutrients: protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water. 

Each nutrient can be obtained from specific foods. For instance, eggs, certain meats, and nuts contain a lot of protein. Vitamin C can be gained from citrus fruits, potatoes, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, and many others. And those are just a few examples; more can be found with a quick Google search. 

Image credits: @hydroxide

At the same time, some foods provide only so-called “empty calories.” This includes foods with a lot of added sugars, like cakes, cookies, and candy; you get the gist. Food items with a lot of fats and oil, for example, mayonnaise, and chips, aren’t good either.

You would think that eating any veggies, certain meats, and other beneficial foods is good enough to maintain a healthy diet. Well, TikTok user and food scientist @hydroxide is here to break this misconception.

At the end of 2024, she posted a video about foods she, as a food scientist, never eats. In less than a week, the video got over 6 million views and plenty of reactions (both serious and joking about snacks) from the netizens.

Image credits: mailafacchini / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Apparently, these foods carry bacteria, so when they aren’t cooked, there is a high risk of getting sick

So, what are these foods? The first one she mentioned was raw sprouts. These greens are packed with vitamins and minerals, plus they can be a perfect crunchy or flavor addition to salads, wraps, or sandwiches. But apparently, they can be pretty dangerous too.

As @hydroxide explained, sprouts grow in the warmest, moistest, and wettest environment you can imagine. These conditions are the perfect kind for foodborne bacteria that can cause illnesses like E. coli and salmonella. Since people usually like eating sprouts uncooked, getting ill is a serious risk.

Image credits: @hydroxide

Plus, there’s a risk that it can infect your kitchen supplies, like counters, sinks, cutlery, and many more. So, maybe you should opt for something else to give your salad a crunch or flavor, as food poisoning isn’t that tasty, is it? 

The second food mentioned in the video was raw meat. To be more specific, any kind of burger that isn’t well done. As she explained, if even a small part of the meat is infected, when it gets mechanically tenderized, that bacteria gets distributed everywhere. So, when it is barely cooked, the risk of getting sick is also high.

Watch the video here

@hydroxide Two foods I AVOID as a food scientist #foodscience #foodscientist #raremeat ♬ original sound – hydroxide – food scientist

Maybe you have noticed that both of the aforementioned products have one thing in common – rawness. So, what you should take from this is that sometimes, fresh isn’t the best way to consume produce, but cooking it is. After all, preparing food at at least 75 degrees Celsius is the best way to eliminate bacterial hazards and thus make it safer for consumption. 

Of course, this doesn’t apply to every single food item on Earth. Sometimes eating it raw instead of cooking is more beneficial, like with broccoli, onions, and cabbage, to name a few. Just remember that sprouts and meat aren’t among them. And if you’re unsure about anything else, you can always Google that and the internet will tell you everything (and more) you want to know.

Some people online were joyous someone was spreading such important information, while others simply joked about being relieved their favorite snacks weren’t mentioned

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