From Soy Sauce To Nutmeg: 20 Foods That Are Lethal In High Quantities
It’s a Fatally Fine Line
It’s a bit of a shock to realize that your kitchen pantry is actually a collection of delicious but dangerous hazards. While we usually focus on calories or sugar content, many everyday ingredients contain natural compounds that turn toxic if you decide to go overboard. With that in mind, here are 20 foods you should only eat in moderation to avoid serious consequences.
1. Nutmeg
You might think that nutmeg only makes food taste like warm fall happiness, but it actually contains a psychedelic compound known as myristicin. Consuming tablespoons of the spice will result in a horrifying blend of hallucinations, heart failure, and possible organ damage. Use it sparingly, and treat it more like ground cinnamon.
2. Soy Sauce
It’s fine to splash a little soy sauce on your sushi, but drinking the entire bottle will cause a dangerous influx of sodium to rush through your body. Hypernatremia literally sucks the water out of your brain cells to attempt to balance out your salt levels. Hypernatremia can cause people to lapse into comas by dumping enough soy sauce on themselves.
3. Bitter Almonds
Don’t be fooled by these nuts because the wild version is loaded with amygdalin. Once inside your body, amygdalin breaks down into hydrocyanic acid, otherwise known as cyanide.
Fortunately, store-bought almonds have been treated to remove this compound.
4. Cherry Pits
Don’t worry if you accidentally swallow a single cherry pit, but you definitely shouldn't go around chewing or crushing them. The centers of these stones contain cyanogenic compounds that release cyanide gas once they are broken down by your teeth or stomach acid. It only takes a few pulverized seeds to cause serious respiratory distress or worse.
5. Rhubarb Leaves
While most people are using the stalks of this plant for pie, the leaves contain high amounts of oxalic acid. Consuming them can result in kidney failure and symptoms similar to fatal allergic reactions. Avoid the leaves at all costs, and cut them off if you accidentally pick some up with the stalk.
6. Starfruit
This delicious snack food is safe for the majority of the population, but its toxic effects can be deadly for those with kidney impairments. If you have healthy kidneys, they can filter out a compound called caramboxin, which will attack your nervous system if given the chance. Pass on starfruit if you’ve ever had kidney problems.
7. Green Potatoes
The greener your potato, the more it has been exposed to light and has started producing solanine. Solanine attacks the nervous system and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and even halt your breathing in large enough quantities.
If a potato is half green, toss it.
Yolanda Djajakesukma on Unsplash
8. Pufferfish
Commonly known as fugu in Japan, one of the organs inside this fish contains tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin is estimated to be 1,200 times more potent than cyanide. Eat the wrong part of the fish, and you will be paralyzed.
9. Elderberries
They might seem innocent because they’re trendy right now as an immunity booster, but don’t eat them raw! Every part of the elder tree contains chemicals that convert into cyanide once metabolized. Make sure to boil all parts of the elderberries before you pop them into a recipe.
10. Raw Honey
We like to think that “natural” is always better, but honey can contain grayanotoxins if bees collect nectar from flora like azaleas or rhododendrons. Grayanotoxins cause a sickness commonly referred to as “mad honey disease,” which sounds cool but makes you feel pretty terrible. Symptoms include low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and vertigo.
11. Tuna
Mercury builds up in this fish over time, which can wreak havoc on your neurological development when consumed. Having a tuna sandwich now and then is fine, but making a diet of tuna can cause blindness and muscle impairment. Many doctors will tell you to mix up your protein sources so you don’t accumulate too much in your body.
jirayu koontholjinda on Unsplash
12. Castor Beans
Castor oil is great for pain relief and treating aches and skin irritation, but castor beans are poisonous.
Ricin, which is found in castor beans, is extremely poisonous. Thankfully, processing the beans into oil eliminates the poison.
13. Red Kidney Beans
Don’t cook red kidney beans in a crockpot unless you boil them first. They have harmful levels of phytohaemagglutinin that can make you vomit and have diarrhea like no other food sickness you’ve ever experienced. Before eating them, boil them for at least ten minutes to avoid any problems.
14. Cassava
Also known as yuca, this carb-packed root can hurt you if it’s not prepared correctly. Cassava contains cyanide that you have to cook out of the root before consuming. Usually, just peeling and soaking is enough, but failure to do so has led to paralysis throughout central Africa.
Zulfahmi Al Ridhawi on Unsplash
15. Brazil Nuts
You only need small amounts of selenium, and eating too many Brazil nuts will make you exceed that amount. Eating just one ounce of these nuts can cause selenium poisoning and hypervitaminosis. Symptoms of selenium poisoning include loss of hair and a weakening of the heart.
16. Licorice
Chewing on licorice can deplete your potassium levels if you eat too much. Low potassium can cause hypertension and heart palpitations. Be careful if you enjoy eating licorice.
17. Apple Seeds
Apples have trace amounts of cyanide in their seeds, as do cherry pits.
Animal studies have shown negative side effects when eating too many seeds, but you would have to eat a ridiculous amount of apple seeds to be poisoned. Swallowing the whole thing is not a good idea either.
18. Water
Our bodies can only process so much water at a time. If too much enters your system, your blood becomes diluted, and your cells begin to swell. Your brain being flooded with too much water can be fatal, and it has happened to people in the past.
19. Cinnamon
The cinnamon that you probably buy in the spice aisle at your local supermarket can cause liver damage. The cinnamon that’s usually sold is “Cassia” cinnamon, which has toxins known as coumarin. If you’re a frequent cinnamon user, buy “Ceylon” cinnamon.
20. Tomato Stalks
While tomatoes are safe to eat, the leaves and stalk of the plant are not. Nightshade vegetables like tomatoes can cause high blood pressure and jitteriness when eaten raw in high quantities. Make sure to cut the tomato stalks off before you make that salsa.
