The foods that give you cancer*

*if you believe the press. Here's why you should take what's written in the papers with a pinch of salt.

Beware candle-lit dinners!

Founded in 2009 by ‘grumpy internet person’ Hugh Davies, ‘The Daily Mail list of things that can give you cancer’ Facebook group collects all the articles written by the paper over the past three years which link something or other to cancer. And it’s mainly different foods which come under fire.

According to the paper, all of the following may increase your chances of getting the disease (take a deep breath):  bacon, beef, beer, biscuits, bread, burgers, caffeine, candle-lit dinners (!!), canned food, carbohydrates, cereal (plus the cereal box), cheese, chicken, chillies, chocolate, chips, coca cola, coffee, cooking in general, curry, diet coke, dieting, eggs (especially free range), an English breakfast, fizzy drinks, fruit, fruit juice, grapefruit, ham, honey, hula hoops, lamb, milk, peanut butter, pickles, pizza, pork, potatoes, Pringles, rice, sausages, sweets, tea, water, well-done meat, and Worcestershire sauce. Phew.

Keep the lights off

If you don’t believe me, there are links to every offending article on the Facebook page. I wouldn’t worry about it though – we’re pretty sure most of it is made up. Especially because the same paper also claims that turning on the lights at night to go to the loo, being left-handed, and hugging all increase your risk of getting cancer, too.

Hugh calls all the articles “jaw-droppingly ludicrous”, and hopes that the page will help dispel the “mass paranoia and fear” created by such scare stories.

Russell’s song

Perhaps inspired by the Facebook group, comedian Russell Howard made up his very own ‘Daily Mail cancer song’ on his show, Good News. Have a gander below...   

Are you fed up of cancer scare stories? Or do you prefer to take them seriously? Talk to us in the comments box below…

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