By the time we're adults, we should have a pretty good idea of what foods will make us sick. If I'm about to pour cow's milk on my cereal, for example, I reflexively check the nose: if it's the least bit sour, I dump the whole carton. Likewise, if I see any pink in my chicken, I send it back to the kitchen, or I take it there myself if I'm at home.

But it never occurred to me that I should also be leary of alfalfa sprouts, canteloupe, or packaged salad greens.

As someone who's constantly looking for a healthier diet, this click-through annotated slideshow from MSN.com instantly caught my eye.

Since reading up on the potential benefits and dangers of unpasteurized dairy products for a previous post, however, I'm now more leary of our dietary paranoia than I am the food we eat.

On a recent trip to Paris, I was surprised to see my host lighten his coffee with milk that smelled decidedly rotten to me. He responded, "I might not drink a whole glass, but for coffee it's fine."

In other words, it's all relative.

The same friend frequently insists that one can eat chicken raw, a claim I've disputed tooth-and-nail many times.

Obviously Avian Flu, E.Coli, and Salmonella are dreaded illnesses, and should be avoided. But is MSN's list of ten "dangerous" foods valid, or just another example of our nation's collective nervous stomach?