Happy Pear twins issue apology following breast cancer video
The Happy Pear
The Happy Pear brothers have apologised for a video in which they discussed breast cancer and diet with some of their statements being labelled "not true".
The Happy Pear - which consists of twin brothers Stephen and David Flynn - shared a now-deleted Instagram post to promote an upcoming podcast.
In it, among other things, they claimed that mushrooms could reduce the risk of breast cancer.
The pair have since taken to Instagram Stories to issue an apology, stating that their intention was not to cause upset.
"We posted a video recently about breast cancer and a number of people got upset. And we just wanted to say that was never our intention and we're really sorry for upsetting anyone."
"It was a snippet from a podcast that we recorded with a doctor on women's health. But just wanted to say apologies."
In a statement to the , they said: "The Happy Pear acknowledges that some of the content in a recent post (on Instagram and Facebook) promoting an upcoming podcast with Dr Nitu Bajekal, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist from London UK, has caused offence as a few of the statements were not qualified appropriately.
"We sincerely apologise for any offense caused, it is never our intention to mislead or to misinform."
The statement added that The Happy Pear does not represent itself as a medical expert.
"The Happy Pear partners with many highly qualified and experienced medical practitioners and we always defer to their professional expertise and opinions. The Happy Pear never represents itself as a medical professional or medical expert.
"Our main purpose serves to highlight some of the health and lifestyle benefits of plant-based eating. We will endeavour to ensure that this does not happen again."
The original post was criticised by many over the weekend, including by some in the medical community.
David Rober Grimes, a physicist and cancer researcher, said that it is not helpful when people link breast cancer to diet.
He wrote on Twitter: "Diet and cancer is complicated, and modifiable risk from diet less than you might think. Not helpful when wellness 'influencers' like Happy pear implicitly blame breast cancer on diet, needlessly shames patients."
He added that cancer is "primarily a disease of ageing".
Dr Liz O'Riordan, a surgeon, added that people should not believe everything they see on social media.
She said on Twitter that mushrooms, soy and a plant-based diet do not reduce your risk of getting breast cancer.
The Happy Pear own a cafe in Greystones and have released a number of cookbooks in recent years.