The food we consume plays a significant, if nor crucial, role in maintaining good health. Having said that, moderation is the key. Consuming too much of certain food can affect our overall well-being.

We should all strive for a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains if we want to maintain good physical and mental health.

Speaking of foods that can have a negative impact on our body, there is a certain Thai dish that is so dangerous to consume it is believed to take the lives of 20,000 people each year.

The ingredients themselves don’t impose any danger, except for one key component.

This dish, known as Koi Pla, is made of raw fish, lemon juice, herbs, and spices, but it is considered a salad by the people living in modern-day Laos and Isan. Sometimes, galangal, shallots, and mint are used for added flavor.

The fish used to prepare this dish is caught from a body of water in the Mekong region which contains parasitic flatworms.

Sadly, people consume this dish, they are likely to end up with the parasites in their body. These parasites attack the liver and cause liver cancer.

This type of cancer is mostly present in people of East Asia.

Doctor Narong Khuntikeo is trying to raise awareness of the dangers of Koi Pla. His own parents died of liver cancer after consuming this dish.

Unfortunately, the Lao people won’t listen. They simply won’t give up their tradition of preparing and consuming this dish that can lead them to death.

“It’s a very big health burden around here,” Dr. Khuntikeo told Agence France-Presse. “But nobody knows about this because they die quietly, like leaves falling from a tree.”

In 2017, the doctor, along with a group of scientists, performed ultrasound scans and urine tests at the people of the region where the dish is consumed on a daily basis.

The results showed that around 80 percent of the people from different communities have had the parasite.

When sharing the findings with the residents, most of them won’t care.

“Oh well, there are many ways to die,” one of them said. “I’ve never been checked before, so I think I will probably have it because I’ve been eating (koi pla) since I was little,” another added.

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