What happens if you eat beans without cooking them?

Cowpea is a very common vegetable. It can be eaten in many ways and tastes good. It can be eaten all year round. Last year, in the first season of "A Longing for Life", teacher Song Dandan ate beans. Because they were not cooked, she later felt nauseous and vomited, saying that she was poisoned. Variety shows are not science shows. I have always had a question in my mind: will undercooked beans really cause poisoning? If so, what should I do after being poisoned?

Are uncooked cowpeas poisonous?

Undercooked cowpeas are poisonous.

Cowpeas contain saponins and phytohemagglutinins, both of which are toxic to the human body. However, the thermal stability of these two toxins is relatively poor. They will lose their toxicity after the cowpeas are fully fried. Therefore, uncooked cowpeas are poisonous.

Will eating uncooked cowpeas cause poisoning?

Eating uncooked cowpeas will not necessarily cause poisoning.

First of all, the content of saponin and phytohemagglutinin in cowpea is not very high. Secondly, uncooked cowpea does not mean it has not been heated, and the toxins in it are reduced a lot. In addition, the human liver has a good detoxification effect and can clear a certain amount of toxins. Therefore, some people will not be poisoned after eating uncooked cowpea.

Symptoms of poisoning from eating undercooked cowpeas

Mild poisoning

Headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sweating, weakness, chest tightness, blurred vision, poor appetite, etc. The activity of whole blood choline esterase is generally reduced to 70-50% of the normal value.

Moderate cowpea poisoning

In addition to the above symptoms, there are also mild breathing difficulties, muscle tremors, pupil constriction, mental confusion, unsteady walking, sweating, drooling, abdominal pain and diarrhea. The activity of whole blood choline esterase is generally 50-30% of the normal value.

Severe cowpea poisoning

In addition to the above symptoms, there are also coma, convulsions, difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth, pulmonary edema, pupil constriction, incontinence, convulsions, respiratory paralysis, etc. The activity of whole blood choline esterase generally drops below 30%, and timely rescue is necessary.

What to do if you get poisoned by eating uncooked cowpeas

Induce vomiting

In the case of cowpea poisoning, if the symptoms are relatively mild and the patient is still conscious, he should first induce vomiting to save himself. Generally, he can drink more salt water, ginger water or large amounts of warm water. If vomiting is still not successful, he can also use his fingers or chopsticks to stimulate the throat to induce vomiting. In the case of mild cowpea poisoning, the symptoms will often disappear quickly as long as vomiting occurs.

Seek medical attention promptly

If the symptoms of cowpea poisoning are severe, even coma occurs, the patient is unconscious and cannot cooperate with vomiting. In this case, medical attention should be sought promptly and targeted treatment should be given. Vomiting should not be induced to prevent food or emetic solution from blocking the trachea and causing suffocation.