# Food myths **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225 "2017-03-02T18:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/101 "2019-01-03T07:33:12Z")
Tilapia is unhealthy “trash fish” (disproven) Turkey is laden with the chemical tryptophan which makes eaters sleepy (disproven, it’s over eating that makes diners woozy) Help on these: Clams or mussels served without the mouths open means they are undercooked and you should not eat them? Shellfish is so full of cholesterol that someone with a heart condition can get seriously ill eating a big meal of it? Meat served at many Mexican all inclusive resorts is actually horse meat? Beer + ice cream= tummy ache? There are worms in sushi that can turn into giant tapeworms that will live in your intestines? And is it really deadly to eat puffer fish if not properly prepared??? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/102 "2019-01-03T08:39:52Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Tilapia is unhealthy “trash fish” (disproven) > > Turkey is laden with the chemical tryptophan which makes eaters sleepy (disproven, it’s over eating that makes diners woozy) > > Help on these: > > Clams or mussels served without the mouths open means they are undercooked and you should not eat them? > > Shellfish is so full of cholesterol that someone with a heart condition can get seriously ill eating a big meal of it? > > Meat served at many Mexican all inclusive resorts is actually horse meat? > > Beer + ice cream= tummy ache? > > There are worms in sushi that can turn into giant tapeworms that will live in your intestines? > > And is it really deadly to eat puffer fish if not properly prepared??? Japanese law DOES require sushi chefs who wish to serve _fugu_ (puffer fish) to undergo three years of training. Raw fish served with sushi CAN host parasitic worms (no idea if they’re tapeworms). I don’t eat bivalves from the shell; only in chowdah (although I once ordered a cioppino by accident). I suspect that anyone who got a tummy ache after consuming beer and ice cream at the same sitting simply overindulged. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/103 "2019-01-03T08:44:23Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Eating uncooked hot dogs will kill you. Or give you a dangerous dose of food poisoning. > [@wolfman](#): > > It is possible get Listeria from uncooked hot dogs. I was under the impression that the process of making hot dogs involved cooking the ingrediments, so where the hell can I go to get an uncooked one of those? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/104 "2019-01-03T08:47:06Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Mountain Dew shrinks your testicles. > > Around 1990-1992, Michigan. Middle-school boys. We talked about it in school and in youth group, etc. HA! I _KNEW_ the show-offs in the commercials were over-compensating! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/105 "2019-01-03T08:48:08Z")
My food myth: Oysters are made out of it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/106 "2019-01-03T09:29:39Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I think you’re confusing Mikey & the Beaver. Eddie Haskell. 🙂 My mother always said swallowing your chewing gum will give you kidney stones. She also forbade me to eat mayonnaise that had been left out of the refrigerator. I had a girlfriend whose mother insisted that chewing ice would crack your tooth enamel. I also had a counselor in summer camp who said RC cola makes you sterile. To this day, I don’t know if he was serious. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/107 "2019-01-03T10:17:26Z")
As a kid I was told by several adults that eating bananas would repel mosquitoes. The no swimming until an hour after you eat thing is universal. Margarine is better for you than butter. A Goo Goo Cluster was a nourishing lunch (alright, I may be aging myself with this one but I’m not kidding. They even advertised it as so! :eek: ) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/108 "2019-01-03T11:16:05Z")
Drinking a lot of milk makes a woman’s boobs bigger Mountain Dew shrinks your testicles/lowers your sperm count 7-Up helps people with sore throats due to it’s carbonation and smooth taste. ---
**Author:** ![Didactylos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Didactylos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didactylos)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/109 "2019-01-03T13:51:52Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > 5 second rule is not a myth although it is misunderstood. It applies to social judgement not to sanitation. (2 year rule: its not _really_ a zombie) But has anybody got an idea what this means? If you pick up dropped food from the floor quicker than 5 seconds and eat it, people who watch won’t think you’re disgusting? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/110 "2019-01-03T15:48:43Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Clams or mussels served without the mouths open means they are undercooked and you should not eat them? Clams have visible mouths? Or did you mean the shells? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/111 "2019-01-03T16:32:45Z")
What do you think he meant? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/112 "2019-01-03T16:35:25Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > What do you think he meant? I don’t know, that’s why I asked. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/113 "2019-01-03T16:40:41Z")
> [@Didactylos](#): > > If you pick up dropped food from the floor quicker than 5 seconds and eat it, people who watch won’t think you’re disgusting? _Au contraire_, it’s as bad as getting caught eating an eclair out of the trash bin! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/114 "2019-01-03T18:45:10Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > I don’t know, that’s why I asked. Of course the shell is meant. What else could possibly be meant? Plus it’s a common food myth. And, yes, [it is a myth](http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/10/29/2404364.htm). > [@](#): > > At the other extreme, he found that some 11.5 per cent of mussels remained closed after a so-called “normal” cooking time. > > When he forced them open with a knife, every single one was both adequately cooked and safe to eat. You cannot tell anything about whether a mussel (or clam) was cooked long enough based on whether the shell was open or not. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/115 "2019-01-03T19:02:59Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > There are worms in sushi that can turn into giant tapeworms that will live in your intestines? Not so much tapeworms, but parasitic infections due to contaminated sushi are [a thing](http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bugbitten/2017/06/02/does-your-sushi-contain-parasites/), though quite low-risk in commercial sushi. Do not click on link if you don’t want to see cool parasitic worm pix. > [@](#): > > […] there are examples of both tapeworms and roundworms whose larvae live in the muscles of fish and develop into mature worms in animals that feed on infected fish, including humans. One such group of parasites are the anisakid nematodes. […] > > Infective larvae have been found in wild salmon, mackerel, herring and halibut as well as squid. In addition to eating raw or undercooked fish in dishes such as sushi or sashimi, people can be infected by eating lightly pickled or salted fish […] > > Anisakiasis, also known as herring worm disease, is caused by Anisakis simplex. It was first recognised in the 1960s and predominately occurs in countries were raw or undercooked fish forms a large part of the diet. […] > > […] recommendations by European Union regulatory bodies and the US Food and Drug Administration concerning the freezing of fish prior to consumption should, in general, protect diners in Japanese restaurants and sushi bars in these areas. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/116 "2019-01-03T20:09:19Z")
> [@TYphoonSignal8](#): > > Quite seriously, I was surprised yesterday to read that there is no science to support the contention that bananas solve magnesium deficiencies. Magnesium? Or potassium? Because the latter is true, so far as I’m aware, although you’d have to eat a half-dozen or more bananas a day to get your allowance. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/117 "2019-01-03T21:40:05Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I get all of this except the mayo. I don’t eat it myself so never paid that much attention, but isn’t it lethal if it goes bad? Of course, that’s probably the myth part. I’m trying to remember if it was NPR or a podcast that recently addressed mayo and refrigeration. As was discussed previously, mayo by itself is acidic enough to be safe at room temperature. Once you mix it into potato or chicken salad, however, the other food will raise the mayo’s pH, leaving it pH neutral and therefore vulnerable and unprotected. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/118 "2019-01-04T04:26:23Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > That you have to store mayo, kechup, mustard, pickles, relish, bottled sauces in the fridge after opening. > [@jz78817](#): > > I _think_ commercially produced mayo (e.g. Hellman’s/Best Foods) is too acidic to foster the growth of baddies like C. botulinum. Mayo made with raw eggs can carry a salmonella risk. IIRC when Alton Brown talked about this, he said that most times when people think mayo in potato salad gave them food poisoning, it was really cross-contamination from another source. > [@DCnDC](#): > > Commercially prepared mayonnaise is made with pasteurized eggs and is too acidic for most bacteria or molds to grow. The label instructs you to “refrigerate after opening” to preserve the quality of its taste, not its safety. > > The problem with mayonnaise (one of them, at least) is people contaminate the jar by sticking their utensil into it, spreading it on something, then sticking that same utensil back in the jar with crumbs and shit still on it. > [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I wanted to mention that we in foodservice can get bulk mayonnaise from Sysco in two packaging formats: sealed 30-pound buckets, or a cardboard box lined with a plastic bag containing the 30# of mayo, and the plastic bag is not sealed. Both are delivered unrefrigerated, and can be stored unrefrigerated. The bucket packaging is preferred, because hey, free buckets, and it’s easier to scrape the last of the mayo out of a bucket than to squeeze it out of a big plastic bag. > > The “unrefrigerated” part only becomes a hassle when we end up with a substitute driver who delivers it directly to the kitchen, and we’re left to pack 150 pounds of mayonnaise back down to the downstairs walk-in cooler that the driver passed on his way to the elevator. Okay, I know that our mothers’ fears about mayo going bad after a few hours are based on handed down (and mostly obsolete) experience with old homemade recipes, and that commercial mayo doesn’t go bad so quickly. But does anyone here actually not refrigerate mayo after opening the jar?!? How long do you keep an unrefrigerated jar before using it up? Does the taste or consistency change over time? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/119 "2019-01-04T12:45:40Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Okay, I know that our mothers’ fears about mayo going bad after a few hours are based on handed down (and mostly obsolete) experience with old homemade recipes, and that commercial mayo doesn’t go bad so quickly. But does anyone here actually not refrigerate mayo after opening the jar?!? How long do you keep an unrefrigerated jar before using it up? Does the taste or consistency change over time? If I spend the time to prepare a “good” meal, I’m going to also prepare the mayonnaise from scratch. Emulsions are fun to create. There won’t be any leftover homemade mayonnaise. If I come home buzzed and want a cheese sammich. We keep a small squeeze bottle of commercial mayo in the refrigerator _because it tastes better cold_. Plus, the racks on the refrigerator door work great as a place to store various sauces and condiments. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225/120 "2019-01-04T14:28:30Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Clams or mussels served without the mouths open means they are undercooked and you should not eat them? If I remember right, if they don’t open during cooking, they were not appropriately fresh beforehand. > [@russian\_heel](#): > > Shellfish is so full of cholesterol that someone with a heart condition can get seriously ill eating a big meal of it? Shrimp in particular are really high in cholesterol despite being virtually fat free- a 3 oz serving of shrimp is 19 grams protein, 1.4 grams total fat (less than 0.5 gram saturated fat), and 100 calories. Yet despite all that, it also has 179 milligrams of cholesterol, which is more than twice the 75 mg in the same amount of lean beef. I don’t know about oysters, clams, mussels, lobster, etc… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-myths/781225.md?page=7)