Recently, articles about "3 foods double their nutritional value after sprouting" and "8 foods are more nutritious after sprouting" have appeared on the Internet. Although a small number of foods do have improved nutritional value after sprouting, we must be soberly aware that more foods will produce harmful substances after sprouting or discoloring, especially the following 10 kinds of food, which should not be eaten indiscriminately!
1. Vegetables
1. Sprouted potatoes
Xue Qingxin, a member of the Chinese Nutrition Society and a registered dietitian, pointed out in an article published on the WeChat public account of Popular Science China in 2022 that from the perspective of health and safety, once potatoes sprout, they need to be extra vigilant.
Solate is a toxic glycoside alkaloid. After the potatoes sprout, the solanine content will be greatly increased. A single intake of 200 mg of solanine can poison people, and it can be fatal in severe cases. 200 mg of solanine is equivalent to about 30 grams of potatoes that have turned green or sprouted (about the size of two thumbs). ①
Health Times Chart
2. Sweet potatoes with black spots
Cai Zhengwen, a national second-level public nutritionist, reminded in an article in the Health Times in 2016 that don't buy sweet potatoes with black spots, because sweet potatoes with black spots are sweet potato black spots. Black spot bacteria are not easy to be killed by high temperatures, and will produce sweet potato ketone and sweet potato ketone alcohol toxin, which mainly damage the human liver, causing vomiting, diarrhea, fever and other symptoms, and in severe cases, bleeding and shock. ②
3. Moldy ginger
Li Junxian, an attending physician of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, said in an article published by a famous doctor in Chengdu Business Daily that ginger that has been left out for too long is prone to spoilage and mold, resulting in a carcinogenic risk! The "safrole" contained in ginger is a carcinogen and has been included in the "List of Class 2B Carcinogens" by the World Health Organization. Generally, fresh ginger contains only a very small amount of safrole, which will not cause harm to the human body. However, once the ginger becomes moldy and rotten, its safrole content will increase dramatically, and long-term consumption will increase the risk of cancer. ③
2. Fruits
1. Moldy fruits
In line with the principle of "not wasting food", many people in life are reluctant to discard the rotten parts of the good fruits, so they cut off the spoiled parts and continue to eat them.
Xue Qingxin, a registered dietitian, pointed out that fruits will produce and accumulate a lot of mycotoxins after spoilage, and these toxins will also exist in the surrounding tissues of the decaying site to varying degrees. For example, after the spoilage of fruits such as apples, pears, and peaches, the amount of patulin will gradually increase, which is a neurotoxin that can cause acute/chronic food poisoning in the consumer, and may cause nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and other food poisoning symptoms, and is teratogenic and carcinogenic. Therefore, the best way to dispose of the fruit after it has rotted is to discard it whole. ①
Health Times Chart
2. Brown sugar cane
Yao Rong, chief physician of the emergency department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, said in an article published on the WeChat public account of West China Doctor in 2023 that moldy sugarcane is generally light brown, darker than normal sugarcane, and smells moldy or distiller's lees.
Moldy sugarcane contains Arthrosporum sugarcane, which produces a toxin of 3-nitropropionic acid, which is a highly virulent neurotoxin that mainly attacks the central nervous system of the human body.
Symptoms of moldy sugarcane poisoning initially manifest as temporary gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc., followed by neurological symptoms such as dizziness, headache, diplopia or visual hallucinations, and vertigo. In severe cases, there may even be paroxysmal convulsions, dilated pupils, loss of consciousness, etc., and then coma. ④
3. Nuts
Xiao Hairong, an attending physician in the Department of Clinical Nutrition of Shenzhen Children's Hospital, pointed out in an article on the hospital's WeChat public account in February 2024 that these three kinds of nuts cannot be bought. ⑤
1. Nuts that are too strong in taste
Nowadays, there are many flavors of nuts, salt-baked walnuts, charcoal-roasted cashews, and creamy macadamia nuts......
However, the preparation of special flavors must be inseparable from various sugars, salts, oils, flavors and other seasonings, and the addition of some additives can easily erase the advantages of high potassium, high magnesium and low sodium in nut foods, and will increase the risk of three highs and obesity.
Moreover, the heavier the flavor of the nut, the more likely it is to hide spoilage.
2. Sauté the burnt nuts
Nuts contain a lot of fat, protein, carbohydrates. When peanuts and melon seeds are scorched at high temperatures, some of the nutrients that are originally beneficial to the body will be converted into carcinogenic benzopyrene, heterocyclic amines, acrylamides and other substances.
3. Nuts after mold
Improper storage or prolonged storage will cause the unsaturated fatty acids in nuts to become rancid, and have a hala or bitter taste.
Moldy nuts, in particular, are prone to aflatoxin, which is a Group 1 carcinogen. If you eat too many moldy nuts at one time or eat them for a long time, it may damage your organs and cause poisoning.
Bags of nuts should be protected from moisture after opening. Nuts that have become moldy are forbidden to be eaten!
Health Times Chart
4. Seafood
1. Crabs that have been dead for a long time
People who love to eat crabs know that when buying crabs, they must pick fresh ones, because dead crabs not only taste bad, but can also be fatal after eating.
Xue Qingxin, a registered dietitian, pointed out that after the death of crabs, the bacteria in the body will multiply and decompose crab meat rapidly, which will not only lead to poor taste, but also a decrease in the total amino acid content, a sharp increase in the content of toxic biogenic amines, and the quality of crabs will deteriorate, which will lead to poisoning once eaten by humans. The well-known histamine is a kind of toxic biogenic amine, which exists in spoiled fish, oral 8~40 mg will cause mild poisoning, and more than 100 mg will lead to severe poisoning.
In the body of dead river crabs, histamine grows at a rapid rate, and it cannot be removed even after high temperature heating, which is also the main reason for poisoning after eating dead river crabs. ①
Health Times Chart
2. Discolored shrimp skin appears
Zhao Haiyin, a registered dietitian, introduced in an article in the Health Times in 2017 that the color of shrimp skin was white when it was first bought, but it turned red when it was opened after being stored for a long time, and there was a pungent smell of ammonia, why did it have such a taste?
This is because proteins are first turned into peptides and amino acids through the action of microorganisms, and then decomposed into low-grade amines and ammonia, which are the source of fishy odors. Low-grade amines are not only toxic in themselves, they are also easy to combine with a small amount of nitrite in aquatic products to form stronger carcinogens - nitrosamines and nitrosamines.
Therefore, it is recommended to store shrimp skin in the refrigerator to slow down the breakdown of proteins and reduce the risk of producing carcinogens. Be sure to wash it with water several times before eating. Once the shrimp skin has developed an abnormal taste, it should be discarded firmly. ⑥
Source: Health Times