The doctor goes viral on TikTok with a list of five foods to avoid at all costs

A doctor and TikTok influencer went viral after sharing a list of five foods to avoid for health reasons.

The warning came from Dr. Jessica Kiss, a family medicine specialist and medical doctor who regularly shares health advice under her TikTok handle @askdrmom.

“Here are five things I will never eat as a doctor,” she says at the start of the video. “That last one is super weird, but very important.”

The first taboo from Dr. Kiss was: warmed rice. As she explains, cooked rice at room temperature cultivates a type of bacteria known as B cereus. If rice is then inefficiently reheated in the microwave, these bacteria and their spores are “reactivated”.

“Eat once,” she says. “If you have it warm, like in a rice cooker, it will probably be fine… but if it's room temperature, don't eat it again.”

The second from Dr. Kiss forbidden food was “picnic food.” As she explains, the fact that picnic food is typically left out means the risk of food-borne illness is significantly increased.

“After holiday weekends, you get inundated with people suffering from foodborne illnesses,” she says.

Thirdly, Dr. Kiss against eating foods that are unnaturally colored and come in bright pink or neon shades. While this isn't an “absolute” rule, the influencer explained, “Ninety-nine percent of the time, I don't eat things covered in food coloring.”

“It's just not good for your system… I avoid it like the plague.”

The fourth category, according to Dr. What you should avoid is canned food that looks dented. “If a can is dented and I wasn't the one who saw me drop it on the spot, I worry about botulism,” she says.

If a can is dropped and dented, there is a risk of air and moisture ingress, which can lead to a serious illness such as botulism.

“Botulism is not a funny thing,” she continues. “So I just won’t eat it. It’s not worth the $1.50 if I had the opportunity to get a can that didn’t have dents.”

The fifth and probably most surprising entry on the list is actually a type of fruit: grapefruit.

The reason why Dr. Kiss advises caution when consuming grapefruit is that it can have harmful interactions with “a ton” of prescription medications.

She says, “If you are taking medication for any reason, you should always check to make sure there is no interaction with grapefruit that will alter how the medication works on your body.”