One: Do not eat fresh daylilies raw. Fresh daylilies contain colchicine, which turns into colchicine oxide in the human body, an extremely toxic substance. Consuming just 3-20 milligrams can be fatal.
Two: Do not eat raw water chestnuts. Eating raw water chestnuts often allows the lancet fluke to enter the human body and attach to the intestinal mucosa, which can cause intestinal ulcers, diarrhea, or facial swelling.
Three: Do not eat raw white sugar. Mites are often found in raw sugar, and eating it raw can easily lead to acariasis. Mites are small, hairy insects invisible to the naked eye that reproduce quickly in sugar. If mites enter the gastrointestinal tract, they can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and ulcers. If they enter the lungs, they can cause hemoptysis and asthma. If they enter the urinary tract, they can cause urinary tract inflammation. Therefore, it is best not to eat raw sugar; it should be heated before consumption (heating to about 70°C for 3 minutes is generally sufficient).
Four: Do not eat raw honey. When bees make honey, they often collect toxic pollen. When this toxic pollen is made into honey, eating it raw can easily lead to poisoning. Furthermore, honey can easily become contaminated with bacteria during harvesting, transportation, and storage. Therefore, raw honey should not be consumed.
Five: Do not eat fresh wood ear mushrooms raw. Fresh wood ear mushrooms contain porphyrin-like photosensitive substances. Eating them raw can cause solar dermatitis; in severe cases, it can lead to skin itching, swelling, and pain.
Six: Do not drink raw soy milk. Soy milk is delicious and nutritious, with a value no lower than that of cow's milk. However, drinking unboiled soy milk can cause systemic poisoning. This is because raw soy milk contains some harmful components—trypsin inhibitors, phenolic compounds, and saponins. Trypsin inhibitors affect the digestion and absorption of protein; phenolic compounds can give soy milk a bitter and fishy taste; saponins irritate the digestive tract, causing vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea, which in turn destroys red blood cells, produces toxins, and leads to systemic poisoning.
Seven: Do not eat river fish raw. Liver fluke eggs develop into cercariae in snails in rivers and ponds and then parasitize in fish. If you eat raw river fish, the liver fluke will enter the human body and develop into an adult, which can cause cholangitis in humans and may even lead to cirrhosis.
Eight: Do not eat raw crabs and lobsters. Raw crabs carry metacercariae of the lung fluke and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, while lobsters are intermediate hosts for the lung fluke. After eating raw crabs and lobsters, the lung fluke enters the human body, causing lung damage. In severe cases, it can lead to intestinal inflammation or intestinal congestion and edema.
Nine: Do not eat raw eggs. The avidin in egg whites binds with biotin in the intestines, which hinders the human body's absorption of biotin. Raw eggs also often contain Salmonella, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Ten: Do not eat raw beans. Beans include lentils, kidney beans, string beans, sword beans, and green beans. Eating beans can easily lead to poisoning because they contain a toxic protein called "lectin," which is most abundant in mature or older beans. Beans should be boiled or heated over high heat for at least 10 minutes to remove this "lectin." When stir-frying beans or using them as a filling, they must be thoroughly heated, and even cold bean salads should be boiled for 10 minutes.