Toxicological Hazards

Toxicology is a science to study the adverse effects of chemicals and substances on living organisms and of diagnosing and treating toxins and toxicants.

Chemical or toxicological hazards have been neglected in developing countries that can originate from raw material to processing in agricultural and manufacturing food products also in street foods. The relevant examples are illegal residues, metals from cookware, PAHs (Particularly Hazardous substances), acrylamide, hydrazine, mercuric chloride, osmium tetroxide, white or red phosphorus, sodium azide, and sodium cyanide.

What are common foods, and items that can be toxic?

Cherry Pits

Avoid eating, crunching, and crushing hard stones in the center of cherries that are full of prussic acid in other words poisonous. 

Apple Seeds

Apple seeds have cyanide or poison but the creator knows well, therefore, they have a protective coating but to be cautious will be good because very small doses of cyanide can cause rapid breathing, seizures, and possibly death.

Elderberries

It may be taken as a syrup or supplement to boost the immune system and treat cold or flu symptoms or constipation. But eating unripe berries, bark, or leaves of elderberry can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea due to having two chemicals lectin and cyanide.

Nutmeg

It adds a nice, nutty flavor to baked goods when added in small amounts. But eaten by one spoonful, can cause big problems to the system. Even two teaspoons can be toxic to the human body because of myricitrin, an oil that can cause hallucinations, drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, and seizures.

Green Potatoes

Green potatoes' leaves, sprouts, and underground stems (tubers) contain a toxic substance called glycoalkaloid. When they are exposed to light, glycoalkaloids make a potato look green. Be careful in eating potatoes with a high glycoalkaloid content can cause nausea, diarrhea, confusion, headaches, and death.

Raw Kidney Beans

Raw red kidney beans out of all varieties have the highest concentration of lectins that are a toxin and can give you a bad stomachache, make you vomit, or give you diarrhea. Taking 4-5 raw kidney beans causes these side effects, which is why it’s best to boil your beans before eating.

Rhubarb Leaves

The stalk is ok to eat, but leave out the leaf. Leaves contain oxalic acid, which binds to calcium and makes it harder for your body to absorb it­­. Your bones can’t grow the way they should, and you are at risk for kidney stones, blood clotting problems, vomiting, diarrhea, and coma.

Bitter Almonds

Bitter and sweet almonds have amygdalin, a chemical compound that can turn into cyanide, but bitter almonds have the highest levels by far. Sweet are safe to snack on, but eating untreated bitter almonds can cause cramps, nausea, and diarrhea.

Star Fruit

It is best to leave star fruit out of your diet if you have kidney disease. Normal kidneys can filter out the toxins in this sweet fruit, but for a system that can not, the toxin sticks around and can cause mental confusion, seizures, and death.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms may be great on pizza but beware of certain mushrooms in the wild. The death cap (Amanita phalloides), and the destroying angel (Amanita virosa), are two types that are particularly harmful. Eating these can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, dehydration, intense thirst, liver failure, coma, and death.

Raw Cashews

The cashews you get in stores with a raw label are not exactly that. Before they hit shelves, they are steamed to remove a toxin called urushiol in their shells. Urushiol is the same toxin you find in poison ivy. Eating pre-steamed cashews can cause an allergic reaction and can be fatal if your allergies are severe.

Mangoes

The skin, bark, and leaves of mangoes contain urushiol, the toxin in poison ivy just like raw cashews. If you are allergic to poison ivy, especially if that allergy is a bad one, biting into a mango can cause a severe reaction with swelling, rash, and even problems breathing.

Food Street

Millions of people daily consumed street foods all over the world that provide a wide range of essential energy needs and nutrients. These foods are sold at stationary locations or hawked in streets in open places which are mostly cheap and easily accessible as opposed to stores and licensed establishments. Habitual consumers may have a possible health risk because food prepared and exposed to the open air for sale may become contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms as well as a chemical toxicant. Street food contamination is a result of so many factors such as preparation methods, poor packaging, vehicular exhaust emission, indiscriminate waste disposal, poor sanitation, industrial emission, and a list of all other pollution sources in the surrounding vending area. The safety of these foods should be properly monitored i.e. assured that food will not cause any harm or deleterious effect to the consumer when it is consumed.

Toxic Chemicals in Plastics

The most famous toxic chemical in plastics is Bisphenol-A, or BPA, which is a hormone disruptor linked to a whole host of health problems. Plastics leech synthetic estrogen mimickers into the food or liquids stored inside them, which are linked to cancer, infertility, heart disease, and other health problems.

Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is widely known as the most toxic plastic for health and the environment. In its production, it releases dioxins, phthalates, vinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride, lead, cadmium, and other toxic chemicals. It can leech many of these harmful chemicals into the water or food it’s being used to contain, which is how those chemicals get into our bodies.

The good news is that there are lots of options out there for reducing the amount of plastic you and your family come into contact with. And remember that every step you take to get rid of toxic chemicals can have a positive impact on your health by reducing your “body burden”, or the number of chemicals present in your body.

Heating plastic

We often microwave foods in plastic containers and wrapping, but some scientists warn of the risk of ingesting phthalates. When exposed to heat, these plastic additives can break down and leach into food.