Many people now believe that eating raw vegetables can greatly retain their nutritional value, which is correct, but this also overlooks the toxins naturally present in vegetables. If not heated and cooked, these toxins cannot be removed, and consuming them will naturally lead to illness. Therefore, when eating the following 7 types of vegetables, be sure to cook them thoroughly!
Green Beans
Deadly Toxin: Saponin
Deadly Mechanism: If green beans are not cooked thoroughly, the saponin in them will strongly irritate the digestive tract. Additionally, beans contain a凝血素 (coagulation factor) that has a blood-clotting effect. Furthermore, green beans also contain nitrates and trypsin, which can irritate the human stomach and intestines, causing food poisoning and symptoms of gastroenteritis.
Detoxification Method: To prevent poisoning from green beans, they must be cooked thoroughly.
Spinach
Deadly Toxin: Nitrates
Deadly Mechanism: Vegetables like spinach and mustard greens are very good at accumulating nitrates. Nitrates themselves are of low toxicity to the human body, but under the action of microorganisms in the body, they are converted into nitrites.
Detoxification Method: They cannot be eaten raw and must be cooked thoroughly before consumption. Therefore, the method of just dipping them in hot broth for a moment, like in "hot pot" style, is not advisable.
Wood Ear Mushroom
Deadly Toxin: Porphyrin photosensitive substances
Deadly Mechanism: Fresh wood ear mushrooms contain porphyrin photosensitive substances. Eating fresh raw wood ear mushrooms can cause solar dermatitis, and in severe cases, symptoms such as skin itching, edema, and pain may occur.
Detoxification Method: Do not eat fresh wood ear mushrooms. If you eat them, be sure to cook them thoroughly.
Water Bamboo
Deadly Toxin: Oxalic acid
Deadly Mechanism: Vegetables like spinach, bamboo shoots, and water bamboo that are high in oxalic acid should be blanched in boiling water first before being eaten cold, to remove most of the oxalic acid. Oxalic acid combines with calcium in the intestines to form calcium oxalate, which is difficult to absorb, interfering with the body's absorption of calcium and leading to calcium deficiency.
Detoxification Method: Be sure to blanch them in boiling water.
Cassava
Deadly Toxin: Linamarin
Deadly Mechanism: Although cassava roots are rich in starch, all parts of the plant, including roots, stems, and leaves, contain toxic substances, and the fresh roots are particularly toxic. Therefore, special attention must be paid when eating cassava roots. The toxic substance in cassava is linamarin. Consuming raw or undercooked cassava or drinking its soup can cause poisoning. This is because linamarin or linamarase is hydrolyzed by stomach acid to produce free hydrocyanic acid, which poisons the human body. A person can be poisoned by eating 150-300 grams of raw cassava, which can even be fatal.
Detoxification Method: To prevent cassava poisoning, peel the cassava and soak the flesh in water before consumption to dissolve the cyanogenic glycosides. Soaking for about 6 days can remove about 70% of the cyanogenic glycosides, and after heating and cooking thoroughly, it can be eaten.
Daylily
Deadly Toxin: Colchicine
Deadly Mechanism: Fresh daylilies contain a substance called colchicine. Colchicine itself is non-toxic, but after being absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, it is oxidized to form a highly toxic substance called colchicine dioxide. This substance can irritate the stomach and intestines, leading to symptoms such as a dry throat, heartburn, thirst, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Detoxification Method: Since colchicine is water-soluble, it is destroyed during the steaming and drying process of fresh daylilies. Furthermore, dried daylily products must be soaked in clear water before consumption, so there is no risk of poisoning.
Purslane
Deadly Toxin: Dust and small insects
Deadly Mechanism: Wild vegetables like purslane contain dust and small insects, which can cause allergies.
Detoxification Method: Blanch purslane in boiling water before eating. It is also best to peel, wash, and blanch vegetables like lettuce and water chestnuts in boiling water before eating them raw.