Is spinach toxic when eaten raw?

Spinach is a food that is popular with many people and is also a food with high nutritional value. Of course, although spinach is delicious and nutritious, there are many things you need to pay attention to when eating spinach. For example, you cannot eat spinach raw, because eating spinach raw may cause poisoning. In addition, eating raw beans, day lily or fresh fungus can cause poisoning!

1. Will eating raw spinach cause poisoning?

meeting. Spinach is very prone to nitrate accumulation. Nitrate itself has very low toxicity to the human body, but under the action of microorganisms in the human body, it will be converted into nitrite and combine with nitrogen-containing compounds in the gastrointestinal tract (such as secondary amines, tertiary amines, amides, etc.) to form nitrosamines, a strong carcinogen, which poses a risk of inducing cancer of the digestive system. Not only can this type of vegetable not be eaten raw, it must be cooked thoroughly before being eaten. Therefore, it is not advisable to eat mutton in hotpot style, just by boiling it in the soup.

2. Eating beans raw can cause poisoning

The beans of legumes such as edamame, broad beans, kidney beans, and lentils, and the tubers of potatoes, contain a toxic protein called hemagglutinin that can cause red blood cells to agglutinate. When these vegetables are not cooked thoroughly, they often cause symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, and in severe cases can be fatal. These vegetables also contain a toxic protein called anti-trypsin, which inhibits the activity of protease and causes pancreatic enlargement. The seeds (and pollen) of broad beans contain a toxin called nesidiotoxin, which can destroy red blood cells. Eating undercooked broad beans can induce hemolytic anemia, which is the famous "favism". The toxic substances contained in bean vegetables lose their activity after heating, so they must be fried and cooked thoroughly before eating.

3. Eating fresh daylily raw can cause poisoning

Fresh daylily contains a substance called colchicine, which is non-toxic in itself. After being absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, it will be oxidized to form the highly toxic dicolchicine, which can irritate the stomach and intestines and cause symptoms such as dry throat, heartburn, thirst, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Since colchicine is water-soluble, this plant alkali has been destroyed during the steaming and drying process of fresh daylily. In addition, dried daylily products must be soaked in clean water before consumption, so there is no risk of poisoning.

4. Eating fresh black fungus raw can cause poisoning

Fresh wood ear contains a photosensitive substance, which will be distributed to the human epidermal cells through blood circulation after being eaten. When exposed to the sun, it will cause solar dermatitis. This toxic photosensitive substance is also easily absorbed by the throat mucosa, causing throat edema.