I know that the concept of french-fries, potato chips and other starchy foods being deadly is hard to believe but this is no joke, it’s true! Studies, performed by scientists and the World Health Organization (W.H.O), have actually proven that these foods, so essential in today’s fast paced society, can actually be harmful to your health.

A study carried out by Stockholm University and scientists at Sweden’s National Food Administration, showed that heating foods that are rich in carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice and cereals all formed a substance classified as a possible human cancer causing substance. This substance is acrymalide; it is white, odourless and is flake-like. Besides being a cancer causing substance, Acrymalide is also known to cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous system. In its natural form, Acrymalide is used in the purification of drinking water, the making of dyes and chemicals and in the construction of foundations and tunnels.

Leif Busk, head of the Food Administration’s Research Department, said that he had never seen anything like this in his 30 years of research.

The W.H.O has found that most ordinary bags of potato chips may contain up to 500 times more Acrymalide than the maximum amount allowed in drinking water by WHO. Mr Busk also said that “it may now be possible to explain some cases of cancer caused by food.”

Swedish researchers estimated that acrymalide is responsible for several hundred of the reported 45,000 cancer cases each year in Sweden. French-fries sold at Swedish franchises of Burger King and Mc Donald’s have also surpassed the top amount of acrymalide allowed. This time the amount of acrymalide is only 100 tinmes the maximum limit allowed by the World Health Organization.

Solution to all this? There isn’t one. The fast foods are too ingrained in our society to take them out and sadly, the W.H.O does not have enough inspectors to keep tighter controls on industries and organizations like frito lay and McDonald’s. What can we do as worried consumers? Well, we need to try to eat well balanced meals and refrain from chowing down on food that is high in carbohydrates. Depending on your eating habits, this might be hard, but unless you want to be a subjected to cancer causing agents in your food, this is your defense for now. So eat healthy and refrain from eating those oh so tempting french-fries and potato chips. After hearing this...maybe Lay’s will have to change their slogan. Maybe, if their chips are going to contribute to cancer... you will now want to eat only one!