Fruits are usually a healthy and delicious addition to our diets. However, not all fruits are equal. Some contain hidden dangers that can be harmful or fatal if ingested. In this VIDEO , we will explore the world's most dangerous fruits, delving into the toxic compounds they contain and the potential risks they pose to human health. While this fruit is wonderful, it is important to be careful and avoid consuming it without proper knowledge and preparation.
1- Yellow star fruit
Ever had a star fruit?
They are actually pretty tasty, and, according to Authority Nutrition, have a
few health claims to boast about as well. Star fruit is low in calories, high
in fiber, and loaded with vitamin C. Seems like there's a lot to love about
this sweet and sour little fruit with the edible skin.
Unfortunately, for anyone with weak kidneys, star fruit also has high amounts of oxalates. That might not make star fruit a complete no-no for you, but it's a fruit you should definitely ask your doctor about if you've ever had kidney stones or any kidney issues. In some cases, eating too much star fruit can lead to kidney damage, seizures, and even death.
2- Ackee fruit.
Many people have
enjoyed ackee fruit more than once when vacationing in Jamaica, and never knew they
were eating one of the riskiest fruits on the planet. It turns out that
Jamaica's national fruit, if not prepared and eaten properly, can induce what's
been called Jamaican Vomiting Sickness, which can even lead to coma,
hypoglycemia, or death.
Ackee fruit is toxic
when unripened, containing a poison called hypoglycin. Even when ripe, the
seeds remain toxic, meaning you definitely want to get your ackee from a person
who knows their way around this challenging fruit.
3- Elderberries.
You always have to
wonder how many people tried different ways of consuming a poisonous plant
before they figured out just the right way to eat it without getting sick or
dying. Just one of the many examples of this kind of plant would surely be the
elderberry plant, in its many varieties.
Most of an elderberry plant is poisonous, containing a cyanide-inducing glycoside in the roots, stems, leaves, and seeds. The poison will cause a build up of cyanide in the body which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, coma, or death. The berries also contain a small amount of the poison, located in their small seeds, which is destroyed when the berry is properly harvested and cooked. Once cooked, it can be used in syrups, jams and pies. It can even be made into elderberry wine.
Located within the pit
of an apricot, you'll find a smaller kernel that looks a bit like an almond. To
reach it, you'd have to break through the hard pit, which makes you wonder why
anyone would bother. But people have, and apricot kernels have been used for
years in some cultures for cooking. The problem is, in high enough doses,
they're poisonous. Due to many anecdotal stories and rumors over the years,
there are many folks out there who also believe that the small seed of an
apricot can cure cancer.
The conquistadors
referred to the fruit of this toxic tree, found on the Florida coast and
throughout the Caribbean, as "little apples of death." But it's not
just the deceptively sweet fruit, that resembles a green crab apple that can
kill you. The manchineel tree is so toxic, that pretty much every part of it
can seriously mess you up. The milky sap that oozes from the tree can blister
and burn the skin on contact, and the fumes from its burning branches and
leaves can lead to blindness if you happen to be downwind of the world's most
poisonous bonfire. This tree is so nasty, that the Guinness Book of World
Records declared it to be the most dangerous tree on the planet.
The European spindle
is a tree found in parks, forests, and alongside roads all over Europe. In the
autumn, the tree develops pinkish-red pods that, when ripe, burst open into
tantalizing white seeds with an orange coating. These colorful pods,
unfortunately, are filled with several glycoside poisons, which, if eaten, can
cause vomiting, dizziness, hallucinations, kidney failure, and death. The
symptoms take a full 12-18 hours for onset, which means a sick person might not
even remember which poison tree they ate the berries from once symptoms begin.
In European folklore, an early flowering of the European spindle tree was a
sure sign that an outbreak of the plague was on the horizon. The berries of the
tree are not entirely unuseful, however. The oil from the seed was a successful
treatment against parasites, lice, and ticks.
Native to Southeast
Asia, the pangium edule plant is a tree that develops a large, brown fruit that
is often called a football fruit. Used in many Indonesian dishes, football
fruit is another example of a fruit that you really hope the chef knows what
they are doing with, because the large seeds, as well as the leaves of the
tree, are poison. Filled with hydrocyanic acid, the toxic plant and seeds can
cause sleepiness, delirium, and death.
Due to the hardy
nature of this tree-like shrub, you can find jatropha trees in all corners of
the world with tropical or sub-tropical climates. The Indian variety of the
plant has proven to be particularly problematic, with high incidences of
poisoning in children who are drawn to the sweet, yellow berries, with their
poisonous black seeds that are filled with the toxin, ricin. When ingested,
jatropha seeds can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and kidney damage.
The yew shrub is a
popular plant in home landscaping in many parts of the world, due to its ease
of care, evergreen nature, and drought-resistance. The plant produces little
red berries that contain a seed which is highly poisonous, as is the rest of
this very toxic plant. The poisons found in the seeds and plant is toxins, and
the taxon found in the western variety of the yew is even used to create a drug
that treats breast cancer.
10- Strychnine
The strychnine tree may be native to Australia and Southeast Asia, but it was in Europe where it really saved the day, as the toxic plant was the chief ingredient in the rat poison used to curb the scourge of the bubonic plague.
Other common names for
the strychnine tree are "snakewood" and "poison nut," referring;
no doubt, to the toxic berries the tree produces. It's been used for centuries
for medical uses, but is perhaps most well known for being the murder weapon of
choice for villains in works of fiction, as well as in real life over the
course of history. Ingestion of strychnine leads to manic convulsions of the
body that can be so severe that muscle tears away from bone. Victims are said
to have achieved bodily positions that would not be possible otherwise, with
death following from exhaustion or cardiac arrest.
Cashews are
technically not a nut. They are part of the seed of an apple-like fruit, and
curiously grow not on the inside, but on the outer, caboose end of its host.
The cashews that we eat are surrounded by a toxic hull that must be roasted off
before the "raw" cashew can be extracted. At that point, the cashew
can be eaten raw, or further roasted and brought to market. The fruit, known as
a cashew-apple, is popular in its native land of Brazil, and is even made into
a much-loved juice called suco de caju. Cashew-apples, sadly, are too delicate
for travel, so are only sold in areas where they are cultivated, like Brazil,
Nigeria, India, and Southeast Asia.
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