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Memories of the 28th Century

Dangerous Foods

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Today I was offered potentially dangerous foods twice, and I walked past a usually dangerous plant twice also. It occurred to me again that humans consume lots of things that are dangerous, some toxic and some usually leading to disease. Humans eat all sorts of strange things that they might be better off avoiding. There are the obvious ones like almond of apricot, cherry pits, peach pits and leaves, puffer fish, etc., but there are people who eat strange and clearly dangerous foods. One that comes to mind is castor oil. Castor oil is used as an emetic, but an overdose could kill, and during WW II Mussolini’s secret police use it as a torture; there’s a slightly humorous description of that use in The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco. The difference between a medical use and a lethal use is the dose, or so they say. But there are vegetables that have no medical use that are pretty toxic. One that I don’t understand why people eat it is Poke Weed, and there are people who eat Poke Salad, because the young leaves of some varieties are edible sometimes, but they taste bad, and are indistinguishable from varieties that are definitely toxic. Almonds are delicious, and the amount of toxin is very small, so I can understand people gambling on the related plants apricots and peaches, especially since those aren’t always dangerous, only most of the time.
While I’m thinking about seeds of fruits, apple seeds come to mind. They actually taste kind of good, if you eat a few, but they can kill in quantiles that a normal person might eat; about a cup is usually lethal; they contain cyanide.

When I started this, I was thinking about beans, and all beans have some level of toxins. There are many. I just did a search for bean toxins and got a list of seven foods that could kill (see link below) you; although I kind of doubt that kidney beans could kill; although they have toxins that are potentially lethal. See the article “Eating Raw or Undercooked Beans is Dangerous” (link below); the article explains that beans contain lectins, and lectins are thought to exist to discourage animals and other pests from eating the raw beans.” Lectins act by giving one diarrhea, so it is rare that people will die from the lectins, because they are eliminated so quickly, but someone in poor health who ate a large amount of red kidney beans might become dehydrated. This article doesn’t go into detail about green beans, but those should be cooked for a long time also; al dente green beans could be trouble.

The article “7 Everyday Foods That Just Happen To Be Poisonous” Lists the usual suspects, and the list topper is Blowfish, which some people eat, even though it can be deadly.

Other common toxins to avoid are phytoestrogens, any of several compounds that mimic estrogen. Just how bad it can be is in question. Apparently some small animals have reproductive problems after eating them, and they may be partly to blame for problems in amphibian populations, but there are doubts as to whether they are dangerous to humans. Apparently studies have found no effect in males from eating plant sources of phytoestrogens, but the results are not as clear for women. Some studies have found no problems, while others have found increased tumor growth in women with cancer. I have read that eating soy can alter a woman’s menstrual cycle. While soy beans are generally thought of as the highest in phytoestrogens, the chart indicates that flaxseeds have greater concentrations.

There are many other foods that may cause some toxic reaction, and some may even kill some people. Individuals have different tolerances to various chemicals, so something that makes you sick may do nothing to most people, and vice versa. There also are some varieties of the same species that could have different effects. For example, rape seed oil was generally avoided, because it contained 50% erucic acid, and wild seeds also contain high levels of glucosinolates. Glucosinolatesare what gives mustard and other vegetables a sharp flavor; this made rapeseed oil less desirable as an oil. Rape was genetically modified to decrease those components, and it is now called Canola. As I understand it, rapeseed oil is edible, but the flavor is not very good. There probably are other altered plants of this sort, but I can't think of them.

If you are planning to get rid of some acquaintances, then you might have them over for dinner and start with Poke Salad, the main course can be blowfish, and for dessert (if the blowfish isn't enough) you could have peach pie that includes the peach almonds and some peach leaves as a garnish.

There are many plants that produce toxins in various concentrations. It has been pointed out that the dosage is the difference between medicine or food and poison, but I can't think of any reason to eat any part of the Poke Weed. Then there is Oxalic acid, which is found in many plants but most notably in rhubarb. In Rhubarb the concentration varies in different parts of the plant; the stalks have rather low concentrations, while the leaves have the highest concentrations. I was told when I was young that one should never eat the leaves, because they are poison. Apparently there is controversy now about the ill effects of oxalic acid. The sources that I have seen say that it precipitates calcium, thus causing kidney stones, but there seems to be some disagreement about how the process goes on, and it appears to vary from person to person. It might take a few pounds of Rhubarb leaves to make trouble for me, but my mother might have been right when I was five years old; it might have been possible or to eat enough to produce negative effects.





Links for additional information
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/20...r-kitchen.html
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9694...your-food.html
Interesting list with a few items that I didn't think of
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4039765.html


http://wildoats.com/blog-posts/under...ans-dangerous/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoe...s#Food_sources

Chart of phytoestrogen content, scroll down for combined chart
https://www.superfoodly.com/estrogen...rogen-sources/

Rapeseed and Canola
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed

Another food to have only if it has been suitably treated
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassav...ntial_toxicity

Oxalic acid info
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=48

Comments

  1. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Well... nice to see that someone else is indeed checking into this stuff! :-)
    I 'bore' my relatives/friends with these kinds of 'horror' stories.... it seems that the masses do not WANT to hear it. Well wake up people already!

    There is a chemical that is used WORLDWIDE in the so-called prevention of weeds, etc. in farmers fields and this stuff renders plants supposedly farmed for consumption as potential poisons. Yeah, money is made because the masses just do not want to hear this. And THEY are banking (doggone pardon the pun, lol) on this.

    See ya in the next life...
  2. PeterL's Avatar
    Roundup is being accused of all sorts of mischief, and it probably is guilty on most charges. Apparently there is some evidence that it is responsible for many people starting to claim to be sensitive to gluten. I haven't looked recently, but several months ago there was no sign of studies to determine how guilty Roundup is.

    Apparently there have been some studies:
    http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-...isk-assessment
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945755/
    https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ked-to-cancer/
    https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/w...nsanto-roundup


    I am sorry to learn that will not be returning. I hope that the Gods will treat you even better than you deserve.
  3. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Hey Peter, I was joking about 'see ya in the next life'...
    Anyhow, you have named the Substance indeed -- I didn't want to put the name in my post for various reasons.
    In any case, the key ingredient of that mischief making roundup is GLYPHOSATE. This is the chemical that is causing untold damage to our foodchain. I scouted around on the 'net and found that the levels of glyphosate found in common everyday foods (Triscuit Crackers, Cheerios, Cornflakes..) is astounding. *shudder*
    ...And I am so very fond of my Triscuits and melted cheese... YIKES!
    Updated 08-19-2017 at 09:22 AM by PeterL
  4. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kiz_paws
    Hey Peter, I was joking about 'see ya in the next life'...
    Anyhow, you have named the Substance indeed -- I didn't want to put the name in my post for various reasons.
    In any case, the key ingredient of that mischief making roundup is GLYPHOSATE. This is the chemical that is causing untold damage to our foodchain. I scouted around on the 'net and found that the levels of glyphosate found in common everyday foods (Triscuit Crackers, Cheerios, Cornflakes..) is astounding. *shudder*
    ...And I am so very fond of my Triscuits and melted cheese... YIKES!
    I am surprised that it has taken so long to discover what was doing the damage. It has been clear for maybe 20 years that there was something wrong. People have been eating grains for more than 000 years, and the rate of celiac disease is about 1,5%, so why were so many people suddenly having digestive trouble from eating grains. I read an article that described how the use of
    glyphosate was changed, and it has been used as to dry the grain before it is harvested, and that left larger amounts of glyphosate on the grain.

    I expect that something will come from the research that has been done, but it may have to wait until Trump leaves. It would just require that no Roundup be used for a longer time before harvest.
  5. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Scary fact: Roundup kills EVERYTHING in its path. What kind of 'grains' are withstanding this kind of ecological torture.
    People need to ask questions.

    And no matter WHO is in office, Trump, etc., the makers of Roundup seem to be able to manouver themselves around politics... think about it...
    *shudder*

    Really glad that you brought this up, Peter. Good blog.
    Updated 08-19-2017 at 09:24 AM by PeterL
  6. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kiz_paws
    Scary fact: Roundup kills EVERYTHING in its path. What kind of 'grains' are withstanding this kind of ecological torture.
    People need to ask questions.

    And no matter WHO is in office, Trump, etc., the makers of Roundup seem to be able to manouver themselves around politics... think about it...
    *shudder*

    Really glad that you brought this up, Peter. Good blog.
    Roundup is very widely effective, but one of the things about it was that agronomists could make GMO plants that were immune to it, but that gene has hopped into some weeds.
    http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/20...p-ready-crops/
  7. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kiz_paws
    Scary fact: Roundup kills EVERYTHING in its path. What kind of 'grains' are withstanding this kind of ecological torture.
    People need to ask questions.

    And no matter WHO is in office, Trump, etc., the makers of Roundup seem to be able to manouver themselves around politics... think about it...
    *shudder*

    Really glad that you brought this up, Peter. Good blog.
    Roundup is very widely effective, but one of the things about it was that agronomists could make GMO plants that were immune to it, but that gene has hopped into some weeds.
    http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/20...p-ready-crops/
  8. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Ha ... and I thought it was the makers of Roundup (who shall remain unnamed) who were monkeying around with GMO's, so thus to 'create' a grain that was impervious to the poison of Roundup...

    So much is out there on the web ... one has to wonder...

    Still, though, the best food one can get is what one grows in their own corner of the world. There, at least, one can rest assured that the product has NOT been monkeyed with genetically. SIGH... Am I now to start growing my own wheat fields? We are at the mercy of decision makers. And they can be bought off...

    YIKES!

    Who needs movies when there is REAL life that is out there....!
  9. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kiz_paws
    Ha ... and I thought it was the makers of Roundup (who shall remain unnamed) who were monkeying around with GMO's, so thus to 'create' a grain that was impervious to the poison of Roundup...

    So much is out there on the web ... one has to wonder...

    Still, though, the best food one can get is what one grows in their own corner of the world. There, at least, one can rest assured that the product has NOT been monkeyed with genetically. SIGH... Am I now to start growing my own wheat fields? We are at the mercy of decision makers. And they can be bought off...

    YIKES!

    Who needs movies when there is REAL life that is out there....!
    While it might seem that plants in there original locations would be better, they aren't always available there, at least not in the original form. Wheat from Syria, corn from Mexico, etc. are unlikely to be anything other than the industrial forms.

    Monsanto does a huge seed business, but that came well after the ROundup business. I can't remember which seed company they bought. But allo of the seed companies try to take advantage of the Roundup ready varieties.

    It's enough to make one avoud food completely.
  10. PeterL's Avatar
    The Monsanto Company announced deals today valued at about $4.4 billion that would give it control of the DeKalb Genetics Corporation and the Delta and Pine Land Company, two seed companies that had been its partners in creating genetically modified crops.
    http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/12/bu...companies.html

    and

    Dec 13, 2016 - Shareholders of U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto (mon, -0.51%) approved the company's $66 billion acquisition by Bayer AG
  11. kiz_paws's Avatar
    When you stated that it is "enough to avoid food completely"....

    I hear ya!

    Plain food grown in local places would be ok, and obviously your own backyard, should you have a garden.

    But the nice occasional Triscuits with melted cheese.... taking my life into my own hands. Seriously. Sure we all have a time-line, but do we have to do things THIS way????

    Makes me so mad because this is going on right under our noses and nothing is done.

    Grrrrr!
  12. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kiz_paws
    When you stated that it is "enough to avoid food completely"....
    I hear ya!
    Plain food grown in local places would be ok, and obviously your own backyard, should you have a garden.

    But the nice occasional Triscuits with melted cheese.... taking my life into my own hands. Seriously. Sure we all have a time-line, but do we have to do things THIS way????
    Makes me so mad because this is going on right under our noses and nothing is done.
    Grrrrr!
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b0f500e5526088

    Things are being done. There is at least one suit against Monsanto about these problems, and there have been other suits regarding Roundup or glyphosate causing cancer. Apparently those suits are still in the court system. And the FDA has tested for glyphosate in food, and found some. There is pressure.
  13. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Gawd, can't imagine being up against the 'army' of Monsanto lawyers... *gasps*

    That being said, if the average person only KNEW of such things, perhaps more would be said/done about it. Sadly, this is something quite closet-ed, in my humble opinion. Then when I do speak of it, it seems to be such a 'turn-off' to people. I'm not a maniac, it is just that there are things out there that are NOT good, and WE, collectively speaking, have a LOT to say about it.

    Was reading an article on the web, where a person did not know that one can be tested for GLYPHOSATE levels in their system... interesting, don't think that we here in the Prairies of Canada have this ... will need to check!

    Anyhow the link is: http://www.motherearthnews.com/natur...g-zbwz1507zkin

    And I thank you again, Peter, for blogging about this. Good work, as always.
  14. PeterL's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kiz_paws
    Gawd, can't imagine being up against the 'army' of Monsanto lawyers... *gasps*

    That being said, if the average person only KNEW of such things, perhaps more would be said/done about it. Sadly, this is something quite closet-ed, in my humble opinion. Then when I do speak of it, it seems to be such a 'turn-off' to people. I'm not a maniac, it is just that there are things out there that are NOT good, and WE, collectively speaking, have a LOT to say about it.

    Was reading an article on the web, where a person did not know that one can be tested for GLYPHOSATE levels in their system... interesting, don't think that we here in the Prairies of Canada have this ... will need to check!

    Anyhow the link is: http://www.motherearthnews.com/natur...g-zbwz1507zkin

    And I thank you again, Peter, for blogging about this. Good work, as always.
    I don't know where in the Prairies of Canada you are, but it probably is possible to be tested for glyphosate levels in your system even if you live in the wilds of Saskatchewan, but you probably would have to go to Saskatoon.

    There is hope. It appears that it has been banned in France and declared a carcinogen in California, and a few years ago there was nothing about its danger on the internet.

    I find this an interesting problem, because problems only arose after grain producers started using Roundup as a desiccant for application shortly before harvesting. When it was used early and mid-season so that it washed away before harvesting, it was not a problem. Just changing the timing of application again probably would make most people less unhappy.