25 ridiculous food lies we actually believed as kids

Eating spinach will make you strong like Popeye. Carrots make your eyesight better. These are just two food myths we were taught to believe as kids. Here are some all-time favourites.

Rebecca Nittolo

3 min read

March 6, 2023 - 5:34PM

Takeaway v Fakeaway - taste.com.au's food editor Michelle Southan get cooking

Carrots will help you see in the dark. Crusts will make your hair curly. Lies, all lies.

We know this now … but when we were younger, we fell for many a food fib. (In fact, we’re probably all using some of them on our own children and grandchildren now).

Here are a few of our favourite old wives tales — provided by taste.com.au readers — that we were spun in childhood. Don’t believe a word.

Share your ones in the comment section below.

Some food myths: carrots make you see better; eat spinach like Popeye and you’ll get strong; and eat your crusts and you’ll get curly hair.

“That if the ice-cream man was playing music, it meant he was out of ice-cream.” – Megan

“That crumpets go out of season. I believed this my whole life until I moved to Melbourne after finishing Year 12. Every time I went to the supermarket I kept seeing crumpets regardless of season and rang my Mum in astonishment saying ‘Mum, it appears crumpets are in season all the time here’.” – Nicole

“Told my kids that the brown bits on bananas were caramel and they used to fight over who got to eat it.” – Val

“My sister told me that caraway seeds were the fluff from old ladies belly buttons … my mum used to make cakes with them in and apparently they were her favourites. She told me this so she could eat my share … it worked. ‘Til this day I can’t stand caraway seeds.” – Deb

“For years I had my son believing you could only have an ice-cream sundae on Sunday …. saved me lots of money back then.” – Donna

“If you swallowed watermelon seeds, watermelons would grow in your belly. At 58, looking at my stomach this could be close to the truth …” – Tapita

“Told my kids fizzy drink is juice that has gone off … they have never touched it. Even when given lemonade they say ‘my water is yucky’.” – Mim

“Eating the crusts on my sandwich would give me curly hair. I’m still waiting for it to work.” – Katharine

“If I’d swallow bubblegum, bubbles would blow from my butt when I tooted. Thanks Grandpa!” – Ang

“So my mum is a bit of a stirrer and my sister really gullible. We had my sister believing for years that Tic Tacs were made from the leftovers in toothpaste tubes.” – Leigh

“I was told by my Mum, a nursing sister, that if I swallowed a cherry seed it would get stuck in my appendix and I’d have to go to hospital.” – Melinda

“My mum used to make sago pudding and told us it was frogs egg pudding. One day there was a massive amount of rain and there were little frogs jumping outside everywhere. One managed to get in the kitchen and we thought the pudding was hatching!” – Suzie

“That in Qld they employed banana benders cos bananas actually grow straight … I was a Sydney boy of 10 at the time.” – Peter

“Eat your spinach, and grow big muscles like Popeye!” – Leon

“My Nana always told me that if you ate raw bread dough whilst baking your boobs would grow REALLY BIG. Well I ate it, lots of it, and no big boobs here.” – Diana

“You can’t eat yoghurt and tomato paste on the same day as it will make you sick.” – Georgette

“My mum and dad told us that fish have fingers, but they all get cut off to make fish fingers in the box in the freezer. Lol.” – Alison

“Clean your ears or spuds will grow out them.” – Campbell

“We used to tell our youngest brother that if he ate the hole from the doughnut that he would get indigestion. For many years he used to leave a little bit around the hole and then throw it out. This worked until they started selling doughnut holes.” – Sharyn

“If you swallow chewing gum your ribs will stick together.” – Danielle

“Eating cheese after 8pm will give you nightmares …” – Narelle

“Dad would say that ice-cream and jelly lollies were made from horse hoof but we still ate it as we didn’t believe him.” – Nadine

“Asian parents will tell the kids, if we [don’t] finish all the rice on the plate they will cry. Picture of crying rice inside the bin still haunting me now.” – Jessica

“That green veggies put hair on your chest.” – Tracy

“That black jelly beans were made of dirty rotten socks.” – Anna

Originally published as 25 ridiculous food lies we actually believed as kids