13 Most Dangerous Vegetables
When we buy, pick, or grow our own vegetables, we often don't realize that the cooking methods we learn keep us safe. There is no need to boil the beans until they are soft or cut the potato eyes. Because it tastes better for some vegetables, the most common cooking methods can prevent stomach problems. However, proper preparation and identification of vegetables can also prevent paralysis, seizures, and the need for a liver transplant. In the worst case, improper cooking of dangerous vegetables can lead to death. Some of these vegetables require ridiculous amounts to send you to the grave, while others can send you to the grave fairly quickly.
Not all vegetables can be eaten raw and some require very special cooking to keep them safe. So before you grab a strange leaf from the market and throw it into your smoothie, make sure you know what you're doing. Once you learn which vegetables can be really bad for you, you'll never look at them the same way again.
1. Rhubarb
Most of us know rhubarb from rhubarb pie. However, if it's your first time growing or buying fresh, you should know that the leaves can be dangerous. So don't think that adding them to your salad will save you money. The problem with rhubarb leaves is that they contain a lot of oxalic acid.
How sick you get depends on how much rhubarb you eat, how much you weigh, and whether you have certain health conditions. The only mild side effects from consuming small amounts may be a burning sensation in the mouth and throat and indigestion such as diarrhea and vomiting. However, side effects can include kidney stones, seizures, and coma. Some people have died from rhubarb poisoning (according to Oregon Extension). Oxalates can be fatal at 825 milligrams per pound of body weight. That means a 154-pound person could die from eating just 0.9 ounces of oxalates (according to the World Journal of Nephrology). Fortunately, not all rhubarb leaves are oxalate. Although eating small amounts can kill, a 154-pound person would typically need to eat between 5.7 and 11.7 pounds of rhubarb leaves to consume enough oxalates to kill (via Healthline). That's a big salad.
2. Cassava (yuca)
Cassava is often used to make tapioca and sauce, similar to potatoes, and to make bread and cakes. Before we start talking about the harms of cassava (yucca), we want to clear up a common mistake that people make about the name of this plant. The root of the cassava plant is called "yucca" (not "yucca") and it is a plant of the Euphorbiaceae family. On the other hand, the flowering yucca plant comes from the Asparagaceae family, and its edible part is not used in cooking. Well, now that we've talked about that, you probably want to know why cassava is dangerous. Cassava is one of those foods that contain cyanogen glycosides that turn into cyanide when consumed and must be prepared properly to avoid getting sick.
Vinmec International Hospital says improperly cooked cassava can cause digestive, nervous, and respiratory problems. If not treated in time, severe poisoning can lead to death within 30 minutes.
It is also important to note that bitter cassava is more likely to cause cyanide poisoning than sweet cassava (the type most commonly found in the United States). Fortunately, cassava root is safe to eat if you remove the skin and cook it thoroughly until soft.
3. Beans
A shortcut you should never take when cooking chili is to not cook the beans long enough. The FDA notes that failure to do so can cause severe levels of vomiting and diarrhea that exceed the gas normally expected from eating beans. The culprit in raw or undercooked beans is phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), a type of lectin that plants use to protect themselves from animals that try to eat the beans in the wild.
According to the FDA, if you start with uncooked beans instead of canned beans, they should be soaked for at least five hours. Discard the soaking water and rinse before cooking. Cooking for 30 minutes will protect you from PHA-induced illness, but the typical cooking time for cowpeas is 90 to 120 minutes, so cook them lightly depending on your preference. However, if you take 30 minutes to cook it, you won't have to run all the way home after you eat them.
4. Asparagus
Overall, asparagus is a very healthy vegetable to eat. However, not all parts of the plant are edible. If you've ever grown asparagus, you may have noticed the bright red berries that look like cherry tomatoes growing between the plants. Be careful when eating asparagus fruit or handling young shoots, as it can have negative effects.
According to the North Carolina Extension Service, touching young asparagus shoots just emerging from the ground can cause a rash. This plant also produces red berries in late summer, but I have never seen them in grocery stores or farmers' markets because they cause indigestion when eaten. According to the Pharmacognosy Review, pregnant women may lose their babies if they eat asparagus. Fortunately, the strange smell coming from your toilet a few hours after eating asparagus is normal and not a sign that you have eaten too much asparagus.
5. Lima beans and butter beans
As long as you cook lima beans or baby lima beans properly, you don't have to worry about them being poisonous. However, do not eat them raw or undercooked straight from the pod. Like cassava, lima beans contain glucosides that protect them from herbivores that eat them in the wild. In lima beans, the glucoside that converts to cyanide is linamarin, and linamarin is activated when the bean is chewed and digested.
Wild butter beans contain very high levels of cyanide, but cultivation regulations limit the amount of cyanide allowed in cultivated species to much lower levels. According to Oregon State University Extension Services, boiling lima beans for 30 minutes or more should remove 80 percent of the cyanide, which is enough time to successfully soften the beans. If you eat raw kidney beans, you may not feel sick for several hours. According to the CDC, early symptoms of cyanide poisoning are broad and can include heart problems, breathing problems, weakness, and vomiting. Severe poisoning can lead to seizures, coma, or death.
6. Wild mushroom
It's a lot of fun picking wild mushrooms that you collect. However, it can be deadly if you don't really know what you're doing. Most people know that you can't just eat the mushrooms you find, but the real problem is poisonous mushrooms, which foragers often mistake for edible mushrooms. And it probably goes without saying that making such a mistake can destroy organs or even lead to death.
Two deadly mushrooms that people mistake for edible are the death cap and the Angel of Destruction. Just when you think you've found a straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) you accidentally cook a death cap (Amanita phalloides), exactly what the name suggests can happen. Patients who survive may eventually develop nerve damage or require a liver transplant, the CDC reports. As the name suggests, the angel of destruction (Amanita verana) will destroy your internal organs if you mistake it for an edible mushroom, such as the meadow mushroom (Agaricus Campestris). As with the death cap, Cornell University states that removing an angel will likely result in death or the need for a liver transplant.
7. Potatoes
Early humans in Peru realized that potatoes made them sick and avoided them until about 8,000 years ago when they discovered that animals ate clay along with potatoes. Glycoalkaloids, which normally cause disease in potatoes, have been found to bind to the clay during the digestion process, making the potato safe to eat. Since then, Peruvians have grown more than 5,000 varieties of potatoes. There are still potatoes that are better eaten with clay, but potato farmers are doing a better job of choosing potatoes with fewer chemical preservatives. However, this does not mean that potatoes are still not capable of causing serious diseases.
Potato tubers (the part we eat) have the lowest amount of glycol alkaloid, while the flowers and shoots have the highest amount. So, if you're wondering why you shouldn't eat sprouts, here's why. In fact, the amount of glycoalkaloids increases the longer they are exposed to light in the grocery store or warehouse, so be sure to store your potatoes in the dark. The green color under the skin indicates a high level of solanine. According to the Center for Food Safety, mild cases of glycoalkaloid poisoning can cause seizures, diarrhea, and vomiting. In more severe cases, neurological side effects can occur, ranging from vision problems and confusion to weakness and tremors. Although you may consume lethal doses of glycoalkaloids, potatoes contain such a bitter toxin that they burn your mouth and should not be eaten anyway.
8. Taro
Taro leaves and tubers are delicious when cooked, but if you make the mistake of eating them raw in a salad or blended into a smoothie, you'll (hopefully) regret it. First of all, they should be the first hint that something is wrong when you eat them. Chewing the leaves or tubers raw releases oxalate crystals that shatter anything they touch. If you consume raw taro, it burns to the end. If you find yourself doing it wrong, it's best not to force yourself to vomit. Because even if you vomit, it flares up again. You may also experience stomach cramps that last for hours or even days to the point where you wish you had never eaten them raw. In fact, to avoid damaging taro leaves and tubers, you should cook them for at least 30 minutes. It is also important to wear gloves when handling unpeeled taro roots to avoid skin irritation (according to the Environmental Health Survey).
In most cases, you have to be patient because eating raw taro can cause pain in your mouth and digestion. However, if your mouth or tongue starts to swell and you have trouble breathing or swallowing, you should seek emergency help.
9. Dirty Dozen Vegetables
You've probably heard of the dirty dozen. These are the 12 fruits and vegetables that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) lists each year as having more pesticide residues than any other fruit and vegetable. In 2023, the EWG named spinach, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, peppers, and green beans as the "dirtiest" vegetables. Other vegetables previously on the Dirty Dozen list include tomatoes, celery, and potatoes.
When the EWG sampled in 2023, 13 to 23 pesticides were sometimes detected in a single crop. Vegetables and green peppers seem to contain more pesticides than other vegetables and fruits. Despite governments banning and regulating hazardous chemicals, the EWG found banned neurotoxic pesticides in 6 percent of green beans sampled. You can't always trust farmers to follow the rules to keep you safe. A 2016 review published in Frontiers in Public Health found that pesticides can have a variety of side effects, from neurological and digestive problems to cancer and reproductive problems.
The EWG recommends buying organic produce about the dirty dozen. Exfoliation is very effective. Some pesticides can also be removed by rubbing with water, soaking in baking soda, or washing with ozonized water. Boiling and blanching also help reduce pesticides.
10. Leafy vegetables
Leafy green vegetables such as lettuce and spinach are among the foods most likely to be recalled for containing dangerous pathogens such as E. coli and Listeria. Other pathogens that may be found in leafy vegetables include Salmonella and Cyclospora. Pollution can come from soil, irrigation systems, or human or animal waste. It can also be contaminated by dirty hands and equipment during processing, as well as delivery trucks, refrigerators, and kitchens.
The CDC reports that between 2014 and 2020, more than 2,000 people became ill after eating leafy greens contaminated with E. coli or Listeria monocytogenes. Certain groups of people, such as those with weakened immune systems or those who are pregnant, are more likely to have serious side effects from eating contaminated leafy greens. About 24 percent of these 2,000 people were hospitalized, but only 0.9 percent (18 people in total) died.
The CDC says that refrigeration does not kill pathogens like listeria, but heating above 165 degrees Fahrenheit does. However, most outbreaks involved lettuce, so reheating was not an option. However, there is good news. Vinegar kills pathogens on leafy greens (from Food Safety News). So by changing the vinegar you put on your salad or washing your raw vegetables with vinegar, you know you'll be a lot safer the next time you remember romaine lettuce.
11. Eggplant
Eggplant, like other plants of the nightshade family, contains solanine, which can be dangerous or fatal depending on its consumption. An average eggplant contains 11 milligrams of solanine, and according to the EFSA journal, people experience symptoms of solanine poisoning with just 0.5 milligrams of solanine per pound of body weight, which is similar to a 150-pound individual. This is equivalent to 5.8 eggplants. . Low-grade toxicity can cause stomach problems such as digestive pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. However, symptoms can range from paralysis to difficulty breathing, which can lead to coma, heart failure, and death. The EFSA Journal states that 1.3 to 2.3 mg of solanine per pound of body weight is lethal. That means a 150-pound person would have to eat between 17 and 31 eggplants to die of eggplant. Very good, Ganoush.
Medical News Today notes that eggplant leaves and tubers are also dangerous and can cause a burning sensation in the throat, stomach pain, and vomiting if swallowed. Worse, eating parts of these plants can cause arrhythmia and even death.
12. Germination
Sprouts are gaining popularity due to their nutritional and health value. However, it is important to note that eating raw sprouts is extremely dangerous when beans, grains, vegetables, nuts, and seed sprouts are sold. Warm, moist growing conditions are also ideal for pathogens such as E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella. The FDA has documented 48 separate outbreaks of sprout contamination over a 20-year period. Of the approximately 2,500 illnesses caused by bad germs, less than 7% ended up in the hospital and only 0.1% died (3 people in total). Most of these outbreaks occur on alfalfa sprouts and are usually caused by Salmonella enterica. But clover sprouts, mung bean sprouts, and chia sprouts also made the troublesome list. Those most likely to die from severe symptoms were the elderly, young, pregnant, and those with weakened immune systems.
If you eat bad sprouts and start getting sick, you can expect symptoms to appear the same day you eat them (6 hours after consumption) and 3 days later (72 hours after consumption) (according to the FDA). After 3 days, you may not know the connection to the bad buds, but there may be a connection to the toilet in the bathroom because the cramps turn to diarrhea and vomiting. To avoid this, you may want to cook your bean sprouts before eating them.
13. Hot pepper
The Guinness record holder for the hottest chili pepper in the world is the Carolina Reaper. The Carolina Reaper has more than 1.64 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), which measures capsaicin content. In comparison, mild peppers are 0 SHU, medium jalapenos are 2,500 to 800 SHU, and Thai hot peppers are 5,000 to 100,000 SHU. Eating spicy food and super hot chili peppers can be a badge of honor, and there are plenty of videos on social media of people braving the insane heat levels.
If you have fewer capsaicin receptors due to genetics, or if you develop a tolerance to spices over time, you may be able to tolerate hotter chili peppers. Chili peppers can burn (or at least burn like fire) from your tongue to your teeth during severe diarrhea, according to the Cleveland Clinic. If it doesn't progress to that point, it can lead to severe attacks of heartburn and acid-filled vomiting that can eventually cause physical damage to the throat and esophagus. People who eat chili peppers may also experience severe headaches and chest pains that land them in the emergency room. Also, if you already have a stomach ulcer, it can make it worse. The hottest chili peppers send people to the hospital and can even lead to death, but for a real chili pepper exam, you need chili peppers that are 1/50 your body weight (3 pounds for a 150-pound individual). In 2022, a man set a world record by successfully eating 10 of the world's hottest chili peppers in less than 30 minutes. But it is impossible to eat three pounds of chili peppers.
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