Food Detectives on Food Network is going to be awesome and here is why:

Has your mom ever told you that a swallowed piece of gum stays in your stomach for seven years? Can an apple a day really keep your doctor away? Old wives’ tales and food myths like these are put to the test on the quirky new Food Network show Food Detectives.

“It’s like MythBusters for food, with a little bit of Jackass” says the host, Ted Allen. Did you hit that? Ted Allen is hosting Food Detectives! How cool is that? “We take these henchmen, people we call food techs, and use them to conduct different experiments,” says Allen.

Of course, it is not a job for the weak of stomach – tasks like sniffing out reeking refrigerators and gobbling superspicy foods are enough to ruin anyone’s appetite! “In one experiment, we had them eat a bunch of hot dogs,” he says. “Then we put them in seriously nauseating situations like spinning around in their chairs to see if ginger helps.” (It does!)

Ted insists there is a method to the Food Detectives‘ madness. “We observe the scientific method to the extent that we have a control group and overseers,” he says. “We’re looking for real results.” But he admits that the show, which also investigates the origins of popular dishes like Caesar salad, is mostly about having “a heck of a lot of fun.

On our last shoot, I was putting very inappropriate things in the microwave oven, like a cell phone, and turning it on until they burst into flames. It can get a little absurd,” he says. “We destroyed at least three microwaves!”

Food Detectives premieres Tuesday, July 29, at 9PM on Food Network. Do not miss it! [via]