• Question: what the most unhealthy food in the world?

    Asked by anon-176564 to Ali, Jenny, Mark on 22 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Ali Hill

      Ali Hill answered on 22 Jun 2018:


      Probably lard. It’s full of saturated fat that can be bad for your heart and fat has the most amount of energy in it per gram compared to carbohydrates or protein. But I don’t know many people who will just chug it down. Having said that, I’m working with some people who are trying to cross Antarctica. They’re going to be using up to 10 000 calories a day – four times what the average man needs. So they’re going to need to eat things like butter sticks just to make sure they get the energy they need. Also, because they’re so calorie-dense (have so many calories in it) it means they’re lighter. As they need to carry all their food, having lighter food is a good thing. So sometimes, in sports nutrition, the rules for what people should eat aren’t always what you’d consider healthy. Isn’t it funny how they’re so different!

    • Photo: Mark Kirkwood

      Mark Kirkwood answered on 22 Jun 2018:


      As a microbiologist, I would say, food contaminated with Botulinum toxin is the unhealthiest in the world 😀

      This is a chemical made by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum, which can sometimes get into canned food and cause disease (really rarely though!)

      Scientists just found a new version of the toxin, and sniffing just one 13 billionth of a gram could kill you!
      Deadly, but amazing!

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