Raw vegetables? Best avoid these – if you want to stay reasonably healthy
Do you like eating raw vegetables? A crunchy carrot is fine, but some vegetables are better not eaten raw. Uncooked potatoes will make you fart, and raw mushrooms contain a carcinogenic substance.
Mushrooms
Raw mushrooms contain agaritine, a substance that has been shown to be carcinogenic in mice. Perhaps it is also carcinogenic in humans in large quantities. A few slices of raw mushroom in a salad won’t do any harm, but it is not recommended to eat large quantities of shiitake, portobello and other mushrooms raw. By the way, do you know how to cook mushrooms perfectly?
Potatoes
Raw potatoes? What are you thinking? They’re inedible. Besides, potatoes aren’t very good for you when raw. They can cause digestive problems and make you gassy. So always boil, bake, steam, roast, mash or otherwise cook those potatoes. Watch out: green potatoes in particular are dangerous. They turn green when left in the sun, and then contain solanine, a poison that causes headaches and nausea, even if you only ingest a small amount.
Cassava
You’ll mainly find it at Asian grocery stores. You can mash, bake or boil it, just like potatoes, and then it is packed with vitamins and minerals. But raw cassava sometimes contains cyanide. This substance is mainly found in the leaves of the plant, but it can also occur in the root. That is why this root must always be cooked before you eat it.
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower
Some people already have trouble when they eat cooked Brussels sprouts, and raw they’re much worse: raw brassicas such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts will make you fart like crazy. This is caused by specific sugars in these vegetables, which your intestines have difficulty digesting. Consider yourself warned!
Eggplant
It contains solanine, which is also found in green potatoes. Stomach cramps, nausea, headaches and dizziness can all be caused by solanine. What’s more, the substance makes it difficult for your body to absorb calcium. So always fry or stew that eggplant, or put it in an oven dish with plenty of cheese and tomatoes to neutralize it.
Beans
Broad beans, green beans and flat beans: they are all poisonous if eaten raw. They contain lectin, and too much lectin will make you nauseous, causing stomach pain, fever and diarrhea. And another very unpleasant symptom: a severe red rash on your face and the rest of your body. If you simply keep eating them, you can eventually even damage your kidneys and intestines. So always cook them! No patience? Canned and jarred legumes have already been cooked, so you can just toss them into your salad.
