One of the deadliest foods in the world is eaten by half a billion people, and its widespread popularity may account for it having a deadly reputation if not prepared right.
When we say it’s the ‘world’s deadliest food’ we really do mean food, as there are many other deadlier things you could be eating which would not form part of your diet.
There are many things in this world you can eat which would kill you very quickly, but those tend not to be regular fixtures on the dinner plate.
Not many things that turn up on our dinner plates can kill us, but you’d be surprised how many people eat what is considered to be one of the ‘world’s deadliest foods’ (Getty Stock Image)
However, something called cassava is a staple food which 500 million people eat and hundreds of millions of tonnes of it are produced for eating every year.
It’s a plant that flourishes in tropical climates which is native to South America, though the world’s top producer these days is Nigeria.
Cassava is a popular food and part of the staple diet of half a billion people, but the roots, peel and leaves of the plant are dangerous to eat raw because they contain toxic substances which can produce hydrogen cyanide.
Sweeter versions of cassava can contain as low as 20mg of cyanide per kilogram, but among the bitterest strains that figure can increase to 1,000mg of cyanide.
Cassava is a staple food for 500 million people, but parts of the plant are toxic (Emmanuel Osodi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The World Health Organisation estimates that cassava poisoning kills about 200 people a year, so while it may be along the ‘world’s deadliest’ foods, the number of people who eat it regularly and are fine is very high indeed.
That’s because human beings are pretty clever, if we’re allowed to pat ourselves on the back a bit here, and have learned how to prepare certain foods that would otherwise pose a health risk to us.
There are chefs who train to prepare an incredibly poisonous fish that would make for a deadly delicacy if not prepared by expert hands and we’ve learned how to lower the risk of being killed by cassava.
Eating parts of cassava raw or not processing them properly can cause death, and has been linked to the neurological disorder ataxia as well, so there are health impacts from this food apart from death.
When prepared properly it’s a staple food for hundreds of millions of people, but it can expose people to hydrogen cyanide if things go wrong (Maskur Has/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Preparing the food properly, which can involve soaking the plant for up to 24 hours, is a key part of making cassava as safe as possible.
The danger posed by cassava seems to increase during times when food is scarce, as during famines and food shortages people may eat more of the bitter cassava which is more likely to contain higher amounts of hydrogen cyanide.
During food shortages in Venezuela in 2017, El Pais reported that people were dying because they were eating the bitter food to stave off starvation.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Photo
Topics: Food And Drink, Health, World News
Joe Harker
Oldest family in world revealed meal they’ve eaten for their entire life that experts swear by
The oldest family in the world have been eating the same meal for their whole lives
Depending on who you ask, most of us want to live for as long as possible.
And by eating just this one meal every day, could it be the answer?
Probably not, since you’ve got genes, health history, exercise, lifestyle and a heck of a lot to think about.
But the oldest family in the world swear by it, having eaten the same dish for their entire life.
The Melis siblings were once known as the world’s longest-lived family with a combined age of 818 years, and were given the Guinness World Record.
You might remember seeing them in a Netflix documentary series a couple of years back, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.
For those unaware, a blue zone is an area of the world where people are claimed to live longer than average and Sardinia is one of the most well-known.
What’s the meal?
Look familiar? (BBC Good Food)
So what’s the meal the Melis family munched on each day? You may want to reconsider your lunchtime options.
It is plant-based and contains foods full of vitamins. Explaining the meal, Buettner said: “Every day of their life they had the same meal for their lunch.
“A sourdough bread, a three bean minestrone soup – a chunky minestrone with garden vegetables.
“It always had three beans; a garbanzo, a pinto and a white bean.
“And then they had a small glass of red wine. I’m talking a two to three-ounce glass.
“Now this wasn’t because ‘my diet requires me to do it’.
“No, they loved it.”
The Melis family (ETTORE LOI/AFP/GettyImages)
Samantha Cassetty Cassetty, a New York City dietitian, told Today.com: “People who live the longest, healthiest lives tend to eat half a cup to a cup of beans daily.
“It’s also noteworthy that the soup uses three types of beans and multiple vegetables.
“Research suggests that eating 30 unique plant foods per week can improve your gut diversity, a marker of a healthy gut.
“Your gut regulates health functions, like blood pressure and cholesterol, inflammation, mood, weight and nutrient absorption, so you’ll be more likely to live a longer and healthier life if you have a healthy gut.”
Why was the Melis soup recipe so healthy?
The pinto beans are packed full of nutrients, protein and fibre with zero cholesterol to be seen. Garbanzo beans are the same.
White beans are known as a ‘nutrional powerhouse’ according to Healthline, as they’re packed with fibre and protein and are a good source of micronutrients including folate, magnesium, and vitamin B6.
Where are the Melis family now?
In more recent years, members of the Melis family have passed away.
Consolata Melis died in 2015 aged 108 and was her town’s longest-surviving citizen, The Guardian reported in 2021. She was the eldest in the family of nine.
Her sister, Claudina, died in 2016 aged 103, Maria passed away at 100 and Antonio died aged 97.
Additional words by Gregory Robinson.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Blue Zones, LLC
Topics: Food And Drink, Health, World News
Anish Vij
Severance season 2 is the best show on TV and more than justifies costing $200 million to make
The best show on TV is back
Severance season 2 solidifies the series as the best show on television right now, and is worth every penny as fans question how it cost the huge amount it did to make.
Season 2 continues to be a mind-bending watch that leaves you with five more questions every time it answers one and is so engaging it’s impossible to look away.
The series follows workers at a company that allows people to separate their memory of going to work.
They arrive at work, close their eyes for a second, and then suddenly the entire day has passed, and you’re done.
The show then asks the haunting and mind-bending question, what happens to the version of you that then proceeds to work all day? What do they work on? Do they have friends on the floor? Lovers?
The first series was a sleeper hit, the kind of show that bit by bit you hear more people talking about, its fame only increased over the three years between season one and season two.
Discussion around the series has exploded heading into season two, with the show making headlines for costing $200 million, more than double the cost of season one, despite being an office-based show with minimal CGI and only ten episodes.
As for the reasons behind why the season is so expensive, the Telegraph reports the 2023 writers and actors strike were a major factor, compounded by expensive talent hires such as House of Cards writer Beau Willimon.
Screenwriter Dan Erickson also admitted in a Vanity Fair interview that the creative team’s high standards also caused costs to mount up, with some shooting locations ditched after considerable resources had already been ploughed into them.
Severance season two comes out later this week (Apple TV+)
This then leads to the question, is season two worth the $20 million an episode?
Having been shown the first six episodes of the new season, we can happily reveal that it is worth that and much more, as Severance season two takes the show to new heights.
There are a lot of shows out there with fantastic season ones that fall off after the initial concept must be built upon.
Severance does what Breaking Bad, Succession, Goodfellas, The Wire, and every other contender for the best show ever did – it improves and elevates everything it introduces in season one.
The series continues right from where the season one finale leaves off, revealing many of the questions you will have about the crazy cliffhanger.
Adam Scott and Britt Lower lead the show brilliantly as Mark and Helly, with John Turturro and Zach Cherry continuing to steal scene after scene as Irving and Dylan.
Milchick has an increased role in season two (Apple TV+)
Ben Stiller is sneakily becoming one of the most accomplished directors around, and the scripts from creator Dan Erickson continue to be some of the best out there.
The most important thing about Severance, however, is the impeccable vibe of the show and the fact that it’s the best mystery on TV, and this continues in season two.
The issue with talking about Severance season two is that as best you can, this is a show above all others that you should go into blind.
It is mind-bending, thought-provoking, and all-round brilliant, and ironically the best series of 2025 has already come out in January.
If you aren’t sure of whether or not to tap in, start watching Severance now so you can hold over all your friends how right you were when everyone else finds out what is already obvious – that it’s the best show on TV, and one of the best ever.
★★★★★
Severance season two comes out on Apple TV+ this Friday.
Featured Image Credit: Apple TV+
Topics: TV and Film, TV, Apple, Reviews
Michael Slavin
Expert explains the four common food and drink mistakes that might explain why you have yellow teeth
A dentist has shared some changes to make
No matter how much you brush, how often you floss and how quickly you get through bottles of mouthwash, it sometimes seems you just can’t shake that shade of your teeth.
Maybe you’ve tried countless TikTok hacks and products at this point and yet your gnashers are still yellow. And sure, basically no one ever notices and has never commented on them, but we’ve all got our own insecurities.
But perhaps it’s less about your cleaning and hygiene and more down to mistakes your making with food and drink.
Dr Derek Chung is a dentist in Canada and shares videos to the page ‘Paste Dental’ to offer up advice on dental health. And in one clip, he shared four common mistakes that may be the reason for your yellow teeth.
The dentist advises using straws. (Getty Stock)
Drinking through a straw
The dentist says it could be because ‘you’re not drinking coffee through a straw’.
Now, this is probably more to do with iced coffee, because who is drinking their hot cuppa through a straw?
Chung reckons doing so will ‘send beverages past your front teeth’ and therefore, you reduce the drink’s ‘ability to discolour them’.
Water to wine
Another reason you could have yellow teeth could apparently be because ‘you’re not drinking water between glasses of wine’.
Usually, the trick advised to help with a hangover, Chung says: “Swishing your mouth out with water after drinking wine can help to wash away the tannins that stick to your teeth and leave those ugly stains behind.”
All those cuppas could take affect. (Getty Stock)
Energy drinks
A tough one for those who have that go-to pick me up, the dentist claims energy drinks could be a culprit of your yellow teeth.
Chung says: “Energy drinks and sports drinks are a no-go because they’re super acidic.”
He says that the caffeine hits tend to ‘wear down your enamel’ and therefore make your teeth ‘weaker’.
Tea and coffee
Perhaps the most obvious one, it’s not one a lot of us want to hear – the dentist advises cutting down on tea and coffee.
Just like we’d use them as kids to make ‘old looking paper’, he explains that the drinks are ‘culprits for staining’ due to their tannins, which ‘seep into your teeth’ and leave dark marks.
Don’t start panicking about your yellow teeth though lads, in most cases discolouration is simply a cosmetic issue rather than a health one.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Food And Drink, Lifestyle, Health
Jess Battison
How morbidly obese man managed to survive without eating food for more than a year
Angus Barbieri made the decision when he weighed over 30 stone
Stereotypically, when you think of a morbidly obese person you might imagine a person who eats a large amount of food pretty consistently.
However, one 32.4 stone man managed to survive for more than a year on a fast.
In June 1965, Angus Barbieri made a life-changing decision. The Scot reportedly wanted to overcome his food addiction and shed his weight as a morbidly obese man.
So, in his late 20s, he admitted himself into the Royal Infirmary of Dundee to undergo a short fast. Only it didn’t end up being particularly short as he decided to go without food for a whopping 382 days.
Yep, Barbieri went without a morsel of solid food and could instead only drink the likes of black coffee, electrolytes, sparkling water, tea and yeast. Yum.
In 1966, Angus Barbieri made a choice no one else thought he could accomplish. (DC Thomson)
Consuming pretty much zero calories, it’s reported he was shedding about 22 pounds a month on the fast.
And while it might seem like an impossible feat, he was able to survive the huge amount of time without food – although of course, he did have to quit his job at his dad’s fish and chip shop to stay away from the temptation.
Doctors only thought it would last a few days so ended up taking extra steps to ensure Barbieri stayed as healthy as possible.
Frequent checkups
Barbieri had regular trips to the hospital with many overnight stays so doctors could monitor his wellbeing.
Regular tests were performed which confirmed while he experienced hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), he was still able to function.
Nutritional supplements
As he wasn’t getting any nutrients through eating food, doctors made sure the bloke got the vitamins he needed by giving him supplements including potassium and sodium.
He fasted for over a year with no solids. (DC Thomson)
Fat reserves
Because Barbieri was so overweight before his fast, his body had plenty of fat reserves to rely on when it needed to burn energy.
This was important because the body of course needs energy to survive and it can be dangerous if it runs out, with his fat reserves ensuring this wouldn’t happen.
After the body burns through fat, it can start to use muscle and cause physical changes.
Slow reintroduction of food
Having gone with it for over a year, Barbieri couldn’t go straight back into eating as normal as the shift of fluids and electrolytes could prove fatal.
He stopped fasting when he reached his goal weight of 180 pounds (12.9 stone) and had to slowly reintroduce food.
This began with a cup of black coffee to go with a boiled egg and a slice of bread with butter.
Experts stress that anyone considering fasting – especially in extreme instances such as this – should always consult a doctor beforehand.
