Poisonous Veggies And Fruits With High Health Risk To Your Family And Pets

Below is a list of food plants containing poisonous parts that pose a serious risk of illness, injury or death to humans or animals. Please take into consideration all the information posted so you will not endanger your family. Some of these veggies and fruits are so common that you would not even consider them as a potential health risk to your family or pets. But this is real and backed by science.

Apples (Rose family)

The seeds of apples contain natural chemicals that are toxic to some animals. Apple seeds do contain a small amount of cyanide, which is a lethal poison, but you are protected from the toxin by the hard seed coating. If you eat whole apple seeds, they pass through your digestive system relatively untouched. If you chew the seeds thoroughly, you will be exposed to the chemicals inside the seeds, but the dose of toxins in an apple is small enough that your body can easily detoxify it. Potentially dangerous for pets.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta)

Cassavas grown during drought are especially high in cyanide toxin, a small dose of 40 mg of pure cassava cyanogenic glycoside is sufficient to kill a cow while even a smaller dose can cause severe calcific pancreatitis in humans, leading to chronic pancreatitis.

Grape (Vitis spp.)

The consumption of grapes and raisins presents a potential health threat to dogs. Their toxicity to dogs can cause the animal to develop acute renal failure (the sudden development of kidney failure) with anuria (a lack of urine production). The phenomenon was first identified by the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Approximately 140 cases were seen by the APCC in the one year from April 2003 to April 2004, with 50 developing symptoms and seven dying.

Indian pea (Lathyrus sativus)

A legume is grown in Asia and East Africa as an insurance crop for use during famines. Like other grain legumes, it produces a high-protein seed. Their seed contain a neurotoxin that causes wasting and paralysis if eaten over a long period, and is considered the cause of the disease neurolathyrism, a neurodegenerative disease that causes paralysis of the lower body and emaciation of gluteal muscle (buttocks).

Kidney bean or common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

The toxic compound lectin, is present in many varieties of common bean but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans. The primary symptoms of this type of lectin (phytohaemagglutinin) poisoning are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Onset is from 1 to 3 hours after consumption of improperly prepared beans, and symptoms typically resolve within a few hours. Only four or five raw kidney beans may be sufficient to trigger symptoms. Phytohaemagglutinin can be deactivated by cooking beans at 100 °C (212 °F) for ten minutes.

Lima bean or butter bean (Phaseolus lunatus)

Raw beans contain dangerous amounts of linamarin. Linamarin is found in the leaves and roots of plants such as cassava, lima beans, and flax. Upon exposure to enzymes and gut flora in the human intestine, linamarin and its methylated relative lotaustralin can decompose to the toxic chemical hydrogen cyanide; hence food uses of plants that contain significant quantities of linamarin require extensive preparation and detoxification. Dietary exposure to linamarin has also been reported as a risk factor in developing glucose intolerance and diabetes, although studies in experimental animals have been inconsistent in reproducing this effect.

Mango tree

Mango peel and sap contain urushiol, the allergen in poison ivy and poison sumac that can cause urushiol-induced contact dermatitis in susceptible people. Cross-reactions between mango contact allergens and urushiol have been observed. Those with a history of poison ivy or poison oak contact dermatitis may be most at risk for such an allergic reaction. Urushiol is also present in mango leaves and stems. During mango’s primary ripening season, it is the most common source of plant dermatitis in Hawaii.

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)

It contains myristicin, a naturally occurring insecticide and acaricide with possible neurotoxic effects. It has psychoactive properties at doses much higher than used in cooking. Raw nutmeg produces anticholinergic-like symptoms, attributed to myristicin and elemicin. The intoxicating effects of myristicin can lead to a physical state somewhere between waking and dreaming; euphoria is reported and nausea is often experienced. Users also report bloodshot eyes and memory disturbances. Nutmeg intoxication has an extremely long delay before the peak is reached, sometimes taking up to seven hours, and effects can be felt for 24 hours, with lingering effects lasting up to 72 hours.

Wild potatoes

The concentration of glycoalkaloid in wild potatoes is sufficient to produce toxic effects in humans. The toxin affects the nervous system, causing headaches, diarrhea and intense digestive disturbances, cramps, weakness and confusion, and in severe cases coma and death. Poisoning from cultivated potatoes occurs very rarely, however, as the toxic compounds in the potato plant are generally concentrated in the green portions of the plant and in the fruits, and cultivated potato varieties contain lower toxin levels. Cooking at high temperatures (over 170 °C or 340 °F) also partly destroys the toxin.

Rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum)

The leaf stalks are edible, but the leaves themselves contain notable quantities of oxalic acid, which is a nephrotoxic and corrosive acid present in many plants. Symptoms of poisoning include kidney disorders, convulsions, and coma, though it is rarely fatal. Cooking the leaves with soda can make them more poisonous by producing soluble oxalates.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Like many other members of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), tomato leaves and stems contain solanine that is toxic if ingested, causing digestive upset and nervous excitement. Use of tomato leaves as an herbal tea (infusion) has been responsible for at least one death. Leaves, stems, and green unripe fruit of the tomato plant also contain small amounts of the poisonous alkaloid tomatine, although levels are generally too small to be dangerous. Ripe tomatoes do not contain any detectable tomatine. Tomato plants can be toxic to dogs if they eat large amounts of the fruit, or chew plant material.

(known commonly as jequirity, crab’s eye, rosary pea, ‘John Crow’ bead, precatory bean, Indian licorice, akar saga, giddee giddee, jumbie bead, ruti, and weather plant)

The attractive seeds (usually about the size of a ladybug, glossy red with one black dot) contain abrin, a ribosome-inactivating protein related to ricin, and very potent. Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, convulsions, liver failure, and death, usually after several days. Ingesting a single seed can kill an adult human. The seeds have been used as beads in jewelry, which is dangerous; inhaled dust is toxic and the seeds are so astonishingly toxic that even a pinprick from a needle used to make a hole in a seed can be fatal. The seeds are unfortunately attractive to children.

Garlic (Allium sativum)

Poisonous to cats and dogs. Will cause vomiting, blood in urine, weakness, high heart rate, and panting.

Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)

Toxic to both cats and dogs. Its effects include contact dermatitis, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, and allergic reactions.

Onions (Allium cepa)

Cats are more sensitive. Effects include gastrointestinal upset, hemolytic anemia, vomiting, breakdown of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia, Heinz body anemia), blood in urine, weakness, high heart rate, panting.

Sour Cherry, Peaches, Plums (members of Rosaceae family)

Stone fruits of the genus Prunus typically contain poisonous hydrocyanic (prussic) acid (HCN) in the pits and foliage. Since the poisonous cyanide is combined with one or more sugars, these molecules are referred to as cyanogenic glucosides. If you crush the leaves of a stone fruit tree, such as a cherry or apricot, you can smell the faint, almond-like odor of cyanide. The effects of hydrocyanic acid (cyanide) on the human body is disastrous because it inhibits the action of the vital enzyme cytochrome oxidase during cellular respiration. The cells thus die from lack of oxygen even though oxygen is plentiful in the blood. As little as 0.06 gram has caused death in some people. This is why it is considered unwise to dine on the seeds inside the pits of stone fruits.

You should also teach children not to play with or eat growing plants in your garden and in the wild. While pruning or weeding, always keep your hands protected by gloves. And protect your pets from poisonous plants in your garden and in the wild.

PS: Share your experience with these poisonous veggies and fruits around your family or pets. We all have much to learn from each other’s experience. Leave your comment below.

By My Family Survival Plan

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The Do’s And Dont’s Of Mother Nature (II): How To Tell Apart Poisonous Plants

The Do’s And Dont’s Of Mother Nature (II): How To Tell Apart Poisonous Plants

While outdoors, it’s best to be on the lookout not only for animals but for plants as well. It’s safest to have common knowledge about your surroundings, as plants too could cause real damage (even death) if you’re not aware of what you’re touching or eating. The damage they can inflict varies on the amount and type of toxins each plant contains, but also on the individual resistance each person has to a certain type of toxin. Some people can with take certain poisonings better than others. So what for some results in only a major rush, to others can prove fatal.

There are 3 major ways in which plants can afflict the human body:

1 – Contact: touching any part of a certain plant that causes immediate irritation or dermatitis.

2 – Inhalation: breathing in the poisonous compounds the plants produce.

3 – Ingestion: by eating the wrong plant we risk intoxicating ourselves with various poisonous substances.

Identifying dangerous plants is not as easy as it seems. There are no strict rules or patterns; the only way of detecting danger is to have some knowledge in the field of biology. Bright colors do not necessarily mean poison secretions, but a strong signal towards the insects that contribute to pollination. A misconception in popular culture is the idea that boiling a plant will neutralize the poison. Many poisons are resistant to boiling and may cause death. An even worse idea is to eat whatever the animals eat, because animals may have developed tolerance to poisons that would harm (or even kill) humans. When surrounded by vegetation that you don’t recognize, the best policy is to avoid contact as much as possible, because it may be potentially harmful.

The most common affliction people get from natural surroundings is contact dermatitis. The toxin that causes the rash is found in secreted oil that can easily spread by scratching and is increasingly dangerous if it comes in contact with the eyes. It can also stick to the equipment that you are carrying around and can spread just as easily from there. Most times this type of infection is persistent, it’s local (but it can also spread) and it can develop complications in case of sweating of overheating. The symptoms are almost never immediate; they can occur in hours or even days. Most common symptoms of dermatitis are reddening, itching, swelling, burning and blistering.

The best way of countering the poisonous oil is to wash as soon as possible the affected area with cold water and soap. Rubbing the area with dirt and sand works as well unless blisters have developed. In this case, rubbing dirt or sand may cause the boils to break and, consequentially, infection. After the oil is removed, dry the area. As an alternative, you can use tannic acid solutions on the wounds; tannic acid is found in oak bark.

Plants that are known to cause contact dermatitis:

Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) comes in many forms: as a trailing vine, as a shrub and even as a climbing vine that grows amongst trees. Its poison is found in the sap of the plant, in a clear compound called urushiol.

Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)

Western poison oak (Toxicodeendron diversilobum) can inflict serious rashes from direct contact or even from inhaling the smoke from its burning body.

Western poison oak (Toxicodeendron diversilobum)

Cowhage or devil beans (Mucuna pruriens), is a plant native to Africa and Asia. Its poison is found in tiny hairs that cover some parts of the seed pod and flowers. In this case, washing with water only is misadvised, as water dilutes the poison.

Cowhage or devil beans (Mucuna pruriens)

Common nettle or stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a common plant in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America; it too injects histamines through tiny hairs found on the leaves and stems that cause rashes and inflammation. It’s edible if prepared correctly.

Common nettle or stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)

Ingestion poisoning is less likely to occur, but its consequences can prove dire very fast. It’s strongly advised while on the field to not eat anything that hasn’t been identified. The signs and symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, depressed heartbeat and respiration, headaches, hallucinations, dry mouth, unconsciousness, coma, and death. In case of ingestion poisoning, the first step is to remove (regurgitate) all the harmful ingested material. Induce vomiting or dilute the poison by ingesting large quantities of milk or water.

Here are some plants that you should not eat under any circumstances:

The white cedar or chinaberry (Melia azedarach) has fruits that can prove fatal to people if eaten in large quantities. Their toxins, however, do not affect the general health of birds, which can get a state of dizziness at most.

The white cedar or chinaberry (Melia azedarach)

The physic nut (Jatropha curcas) is a common plant in the American tropics and its seeds contain a highly toxic substance called toxalbumin curcin or jatrophin and can cause severe complications if eaten. Although toxic, the oil contained in the seeds provides raw material for high-quality biodiesel fuel.

The physic nut (Jatropha curcas)

The suicide tree (Cerbera odollam) earned his reputation thanks to over 500 cases of suicides recorded between 1989 and 1999 in France. Its seeds contain cerberin, a toxin that causes irregular heartbeat and failure.

The suicide tree (Cerbera odollam)

The snakeweed or death-of-man (Cicuta virosa) is a plant whose root is extremely poisonous when freshly pulled out of the ground, abundant in cicutoxin, very damaging for the nervous system. When dried, the poison fades.

The snakeweed or death-of-man (Cicuta virosa)

If you find yourself in the field, try to restrain as much as possible from eating or even touching plants you know for certain are harmless. Read up a little first about where you’re going and try and spot the potential dangerous plants and herbs on the field. Caution is key in not getting seriously injured or worse.