You might be surprised at the way these everyday, normal foods might be leading you to your death. So inform yourself! We’re here to tell you about these six potentially hazardous foods, and what you can do to avoid them sending you to the hospital.
Number Six: Wild Almonds. While almonds are eaten often by Americans, they can prove fatal if you were to eat them from the wild. The almonds safe for human consumption are called “sweet almonds,” because they are much less bitter to their poisonous counterpart, wild almonds. What makes these wild almonds so hazardous is their potentially fatal amounts of cyanide.
Number Five: Apples. As for apples, these daily treats are safe for consumption as long as you avoid the seeds. When apple seeds are consumed, they can become fatal when the digestion process causes them to release harmful levels of cyanide. A seed here and there won’t kill you, just try to avoid consuming too many and you should be fine.
Number Four: Tomatoes. Tomatoes won’t kill you, but their leaves could! Tomatoes, surprisingly, are a member of the same botanical family as nightshade. Running throughout the biological systems of tomato leaves are high levels of tomatine, which is hazardous for human consumption.
Number Three: Kidney Beans. When preparing kidney beans, be sure to cook them thoroughly. Undercooked or raw kidney beans can cause Red Kidney Bean Poisoning, an illness rooting from the toxic agent Phytohaemagglutinin or Kidney Bean Lectin. Ingestion of Kidney Bean Lectin can cause digestive distress and hospitalization by as few as five raw beans.
Number Two: Potatoes. When potatoes turn green, that is the green light to throw them out. Oxidation and light exposure are the culprits to the change in color that occurs. After eating a bad potato that has gone green, your body will reject it and let you know with profuse vomiting. If consumption continues, you will experience a fatal heart attack. Not only are green potatoes poisonous, but their leaves are also toxic. Many fatalities have occurred from the consumption of tea made from the leaves of potatoes.
Number One: Cherries. Believe it or not, cherries also have the potential to kill you. No, we don’t mean choking on a seed (although it is possible!). Chewing a stem, leaf, or even the pit of a cherry can produce hydrogen cyanide. If any of these are crushed and cyanide is released, it can have harmful side effects. At low dosages, your body will alert you with dizziness and vomiting. Higher doses, however, can lead to a coma or death.