The New Year has just begun, but there are already plenty of health theories out there that have the potential to turn 2014 into a very risky year. Here are five health-related stories to hit the news this year that, for one reason or another, we hope are not true. If they are, then 2014 could end up being a very sick year (and not in the good way).

The Cinnamon in Danish Cinnamon Rolls Can Destroy Our Livers

The European Union has determined that Danish cinnamon rolls and twists are against the rules because an ingredient in its delicious cinnamon makes it too spicy.

AP reports that The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration determined that there is too much coumarin in Danish cinnamon rolls and twists. Coumarin is a chemical compound found in the most common types of cinnamon. It is limited by EU rules because overindulgence of the substance could potentially harm consumers' livers.

As a result, the EU has requested that Danish bakers alter their recipes and put less cinnamon in their kanelsnegles and kanelstangs (cinnamon rolls and cinnamon twists, respectively). Danish bakers, on the other hand, argue that their pastries are not liver killers.

"A grown man like me could eat like 10 kanelsnegle every day for several years and not even get near the limit of what's dangerous to my liver," Anders Grabow, a spokesman for the Danish Bakers' Association, told AP. "I would probably get too much sugar in my body before that."

The EU allows only 15-milligrams of coumarin per kilogram of treats defined as "fine baked goods."  Fortunately for the Danish sweet tooth, the food agency will hold a meeting with the Danish Bakers' Association  in February to determine whether or not the Danish foods' classification can be changed.

Until then, 2014 will have to suffer through what many are calling kanselgate, or "cinnamongate."

Another Bird Flu Could Be Flocking To Humans

Last week, a less known avian influenza virus called H7N9 killed a medical worker in Shanghai. This bird flu is different from H1N1 and H5N1, which means that 2014 has met yet another bird flu with the potential to ruffle our feathers.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, the 31-year-old man died on Jan. 18 from the H7N9 virus. His death is part of seven different cases of H7N9 infections this year, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

 "...no human infections with H7N9 viruses have been reported until recent reports from the China," World Health Organization (WHO) says.

According to WHO, H7N9 is a subgroup of the avian influenza A H7 virus group. It is different from the infamous H1N1 virus in that H1N1 can be divided into viruses that typically infect people and viruses that typically infect animals. H7N9, on the other hand, is considered an animal influenza that can occasionally infect humans.

H7N9 has yet to cause widespread death in animals or birds as H1N1 and H5N1 has. TIME reports that the virus is not easily spreadable amongst humans but that it could be possible.

"WHO is providing coordination and guidance regarding provisional vaccine candidates; there are currently no recommendations on the large-scale manufacture of H7N9 vaccine," WHO reports.

Let's hope H7N9 stays with the birds because I think humans have seen enough bird flus for a lifetime.

Smoking While Pregnant Leads to Bisexual and Homosexual Daughters

A Dutch neurologist is claiming to have solved the mystery behind sexual orientation. According to Dick Swaab, a neurobiology professor at Amsterdam University, sexual preference starts in the womb.

"Pregnant women suffering from stress are also more likely to give birth to homosexual children, because their raised levels of the stress hormone cortisol affect the production of fetal sex hormones," Swaab writes in his book, We Are Our Brains.

According to Telegraph, earlier studies have shown supporting results.  According to the newspaper?  women who took a synthetic called oestrogen between 1939 and 1960 "had a greater chance" of having daughters who were either homosexual or bisexual.

In Swaab's new book, he argues that there is "no proof...whatsoever" that homosexuality is either a lifestyle choice or influenced by upbringing. Instead, he argues that synthetic hormones and smoking makes girls more likely to be bisexual or lesbians.

"Pre-birth exposure to both nicotine and amphetamines increases the chance of lesbian daughters," Swaab told the Sunday Times.

There are a few reasons why we hope this study isn't true. For one, the claim that sexual preference can be controlled, i.e. by putting down a cigarette, for example, seems like it has a lot of potential to add confusion to the lives of parents, children, and those dealing with their sexuality this year. Furthermore, better testing this theory could mean examining women who smoke while pregnant, and that is a major no-no.

A Dead Fertility Clinic Employee May Have Snuck His Sperm into Women

The University of Utah is conducting an investigation to determine if the late Tom Lippert, a former employee and convicted felon, switched clients' sperm donations for his own at the former Reproductive Medical Technologies clinic.

Pam Branum already found out via paternity test that her daughter's biological father is Lippert. Branum remembered Lippert because he seemed to be extra proud of his work at the clinic and kept baby pictures at his desk.

"I commented on the dozens of baby pictures up there," Brannum said. "He smiled and looked at those and said, 'Those are all the babies that I've helped couples have.'"

Even more suspicious is Lippert's track record. Before working at the clinic, Lippert spent two years in prison for keeping a college student in a black box for three weeks while practicing electroshock therapy on her.

University of Utah is now offering free paternity tests to those who used the clinic's services at the time of Lippert's employment to see who else he might have fathered.

Here's hoping that Lippert's seed isn't spread too far.

Civilization Has Five Minutes Left to Live

The Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has set its 2014 Doomsday Clock at five minutes to midnight, with midnight representing the end of life as we know it.

The Doomsday Clock serves as a visual representation of impending "civilization-threatening technological catastrophe." The clock's time changes every year after the board analyzes threats such as climate change and nuclear arsenals.

Midnight represents doom, so the closer to midnight the clock is, the closer we are to doom, allegedly.

"Technological changes are outpacing humanity's ability to manage them in ways that ensure our safety and security," the board wrote in a letter to the United Nations. "...we also know that new technologies can be used to diminish humanity and destroy societies. We can manage our technology, or become victims of it. The choice is ours, and the Clock is ticking."

According to the letter, the biggest threat this year is in the United States' and Russia's nuclear weapons stock, as well as China, India and Pakistan's growing arsenals.

Hopefully we have more than five metaphorical minutes left to thrive on Earth. If history is any indication, we might. The Doomsday Clock has not advanced since last year's matching time of 11:55. Civilization also hasn't ended since the Doomsday Clock was at its closet to midnight in 1953 with a time of 11: 58.