Potentially toxic

Choose your poison: Discover the 12 riskiest foods to eat

Image: Elena Leya

Some foods can kill you. And no, we’re not referring to the usual suspects like refined sugars, fast food, and ultra-processed products. There are a number of foods that, despite their popularity and many health benefits, are capable of causing painful and unpleasant symptoms. From seemingly harmless potatoes to crunchy almonds, these tricky ingredients can put you in danger if undercooked or consumed in excess. Check out our list of 12 foods that, although commonly eaten, can be surprisingly dangerous.

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Mashed, fried, or baked, potatoes offer endless possibilities. As one of the most commonly consumed vegetables in the U.S., they are as delicious as they are versatile. But not all potatoes are safe to eat. If you ever come across green or sprouted potatoes, be very careful.

Potatoes with green skin or sprouts can be dangerous due to naturally occurring toxic compounds: solanine and chaconine. These chemicals are produced by the plant as a defense mechanism against pests, but they can be highly harmful to humans. Symptoms of poisoning may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, hallucinations, and even delirium.

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Nutmeg is a spice native to Indonesia, widely used in cuisines around the world for its aromatic, warm, and slightly sweet flavor. Although it has some interesting health benefits, it’s important to consume it in moderation, as it can cause serious adverse effects, especially during pregnancy.

The component that makes nutmeg potentially dangerous is myristicin, a naturally occurring compound that affects the nervous system. In small doses, nutmeg is perfectly safe. However, in large amounts, it can cause symptoms ranging from dizziness, dry mouth, and nausea to convulsions and hallucinations. So just remember: to use it in moderation!

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Rhubarb is incredibly easy to grow at home and is often used to make delicious desserts. Who can resist a slice of warm rhubarb tart paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream? But like all good things, it should be enjoyed in moderation.

You should be especially careful with rhubarb because the green leaves attached to the tasty stalks contain a toxic compound. Specifically, oxalic acid, which in large quantities causes nausea and kidney problems. Although you would have to eat a very large portion of the leaves to die, it is best to avoid them.

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Consuming raw cashews straight from the tree can be very risky. This nut we all love contains urushiol, an oil also found in poison ivy, which can cause serious health issues, including skin reactions, gastrointestinal discomfort, swelling, and blistering.

While allergic reactions to urushiol are relatively common, especially in the U.S., ingesting it in large amounts can be dangerous and even fatal. But don't worry; the cashews we normally buy in the supermarket have been thoroughly treated to remove the poison. Just stay away from the trees!

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At first glance, tomatoes seem harmless. We use them in everything from salads to soups and sauces. However, some parts of the tomato plant can be dangerous. Specifically, the leaves, roots, and stems contain a chemical called tomatine, a glycoalkaloid that can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, confusion, drowsiness, and even depression.

Fortunately, moderate amounts of tomatine don’t typically cause toxic effects in humans. You’d have to eat more than a pound of tomato leaves for it to become truly life-threatening. Interestingly, when properly cooked, tomato leaves can be used to enhance the flavor of certain recipes.

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Cinnamon is one of the most used spices in the culinary world, and it is also valued for its medicinal properties, which have been used since ancient times. However, despite its many benefits, it is important to be careful, as consuming cinnamon in excess can be harmful.

In particular, the Cassia variety of cinnamon can be toxic to the liver because it contains a compound called coumarin. This substance can cause direct damage to liver cells, leading to inflammation and necrosis. Some of the symptoms that may reveal liver damage from cinnamon are fatigue, pain in the liver area, jaundice, nausea, and vomiting.

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Cassava —also known as _yuca_—is a root vegetable similar to the potato and is widely cultivated in tropical regions such as the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and several African countries. It has high nutritional value and is a rich source of complex carbohydrates. However, cassava can be dangerous to our health if consumed raw or not cooked properly.

To ensure its safety, cassava should be peeled and soaked in water for 24 hours before cooking, as it contains a toxin that produces cyanide when metabolized in the body. Although acute poisoning is rare, prolonged consumption can cause serious nutritional and physiological issues, such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and sleep disorders.

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Have you ever heard of "fried rice syndrome"? The average American consumes about 27 pounds of rice per year, so calling this staple a potentially dangerous food might sound controversial. But don’t worry—you can still enjoy rice as long as you take a few precautions.

Raw rice may be contaminated with a spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus cereus, which can cause symptoms of food poisoning. To reduce the risk, make sure to cook rice thoroughly and avoid leaving it at room temperature for extended periods. Reheating won’t destroy the toxins produced by the bacteria, so proper storage is key to staying safe.

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Who doesn’t like almonds? Widely used in cooking and baking, almonds have been one of the most popular nuts in the world for centuries. While so-called "sweet" almonds are perfectly safe, "bitter" almonds can be dangerous, even though they have the strongest scent and most intense flavor.

The compound that makes bitter almonds toxic is amygdalin. When metabolized, amygdalin releases cyanide, making these nuts potentially deadly to humans. To be safe, bitter almonds must be processed to remove the poison. In fact, in the United States, it’s illegal to sell raw bitter almonds. Did you know that?

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Eggplants have their fans and detractors. Whether you like them or not, eating this vegetable is very beneficial for your health due to its high fiber and antioxidant content. But did you know that raw or undercooked eggplants can sometimes cause unpleasant symptoms?

Eggplants contain a chemical called solanine, which can be toxic in large amounts and may cause headaches and digestive issues. But it's not all bad news. Solanine evaporates with heat, so a well-prepared, ripe eggplant is perfectly safe to eat.

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Castor oil is a vegetable oil used for culinary, cosmetic, and medicinal purposes. The castor plant is native to the Mediterranean, North Africa, and India, where communities have used its oil as a laxative and to stimulate childbirth for millennia. Today, the food industry uses castor oil as an additive in chocolates, candies, and various food supplements.

While castor oil offers numerous health benefits, consuming it in large quantities can be harmful. It’s important to note that ricin, a highly toxic poison, is found in the castor bean but not in the oil itself. However, improperly processed castor oil may contain traces of ricin. In fact, studies show that taking it constantly can cause irritation and severe damage to the intestinal lining.

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Mushrooms are a very delicious and versatile ingredient often used in cuisines all over the world. In nature, there are many varieties of mushrooms, but only some are edible, while others can be highly poisonous.

Consuming certain wild mushrooms can cause severe poisoning and even death within a few hours. Typical symptoms of wild mushroom poisoning include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and diarrhea. If you or someone you know accidentally eats a wild mushroom and develops any of these symptoms, you should go to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.

Some names stick around

From Table Tap Joe to Ziggy Stardust: Who are the best song characters?

Sometimes, a character is the perfect alter-ego to write a song about oneself without self-referencing so much. Other times, a character is just a character. Over the years, musicians have come up with lonely dreamers, fearless heroes, mysterious strangers, and even supernatural villains who have become just as famous as the songs themselves. Some were inspired by real people, others sprang entirely from imagination, but all of them left a lasting mark on music history. Which of these 12 do you remember?

Tom Waits has always had a soft spot for society's oddballs, and few are even stranger than Table Top Joe. Introduced on the 2002 album Alice, Joe is born with only a head and hands, yet grows into a brilliant piano player whose extraordinary talent earns him fame despite the odds stacked against him.

The song unfolds like a forgotten American folk tale, complete with references to Coney Island's legendary Dreamland amusement park and composer Igor Stravinsky. Although many listeners assume the story is based on an old carnival legend, Table Top Joe is entirely Tom Waits' own creation.

Few fictional musicians have ever become as famous as Ziggy Stardust. Introduced in 1972, Ziggy is an alien rock star sent to Earth shortly before humanity's end, only to be consumed by the very fame that makes him a savior to millions.

David Bowie blurred the line between fiction and reality by performing as Ziggy onstage for more than a year. When he unexpectedly announced Ziggy's retirement during a concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, many fans believed the character, and perhaps Bowie himself, had truly reached the end of the story.

Tommy Walker isn't just the hero of a song, he's the central figure of one of rock music's first great operas. After witnessing a traumatic event as a child, Tommy becomes deaf, mute, and blind, yet somehow develops astonishing pinball skills that transform him into an unlikely celebrity.

Pete Townshend built an entire musical world around Tommy, exploring themes of trauma, faith, and redemption. First released in 1969, Tommy later became a hit film, a Broadway production, and one of the most influential concept albums ever recorded.

Johnny B. Goode is every aspiring musician's dream. Growing up in rural Louisiana with little more than a guitar and natural talent, he plays so brilliantly that listeners predict "his name will be in lights."

Chuck Berry based the character partly on himself and partly on pianist Johnnie Johnson. Originally described as a "colored boy," Johnny became a "country boy" in the final lyrics, making the song more likely to receive airplay during the segregation era. Nearly two decades later, Johnny's anthem would even travel into space aboard NASA's Voyager Golden Record.

Few fictional characters have captured loneliness as powerfully as Eleanor Rigby. She quietly moves through life unnoticed, while Father McKenzie delivers sermons that no one hears, creating one of popular music's saddest portraits of isolation.

Paul McCartney later explained that Eleanor's name came from actress Eleanor Bron and the Liverpool shop Rigby & Evens. The discovery of an actual Eleanor Rigby gravestone in Liverpool only deepened the song's mystique, though McCartney maintained the coincidence was unintentional.

Billie Jean may be one of pop music's most famous women, yet Michael Jackson insisted she wasn't a real person. Instead, she represented several women who falsely claimed that he had fathered their children during the height of the Jackson 5's fame.

Released in 1983 as part of Thriller, the song became a global phenomenon. It also provided the stage for Jackson's legendary moonwalk during Motown 25.

Unlike many legendary song characters, Stagger Lee actually existed. His real name was Lee Shelton, a St. Louis criminal who murdered Billy Lyons during an argument over a hat on Christmas Eve in 1895.

The shocking crime quickly entered American folklore through countless folk songs before Lloyd Price transformed it into a chart-topping hit in 1958. More than a century later, Stagger Lee remains one of the most enduring antiheroes in American music.

Tom Dooley was inspired by Thomas Dula, a Confederate veteran executed in North Carolina in 1868 after being convicted of murdering Laura Foster. His surname was locally pronounced "Dooley," giving the ballad its familiar title.

The Kingston Trio revived the old Appalachian folk song in 1958, turning it into an international hit and helping launch America's folk music revival.

When the narrator of "Lola" meets an intriguing stranger in a Soho nightclub, expectations quickly give way to surprise. Ray Davies crafted one of rock's earliest mainstream stories exploring gender ambiguity, decades before the topic entered popular conversation.

The recording rarely reached British radio. Because BBC rules prohibited commercial product names, Davies had to interrupt a U.S. tour and fly back to London simply to replace the lyric "Coca-Cola" with the now-famous "cherry cola."

Unlike most famous song characters, the Piano Man is really Billy Joel himself. Before becoming a superstar, Joel spent six months in 1972 and 1973 performing under the pseudonym Bill Martin at the Executive Room, a piano bar in Los Angeles, after becoming trapped in a bad recording contract. The song transforms those experiences into a bittersweet portrait of ordinary people searching for escape at the end of another week.

Joel has said that virtually every character in the song was based on a real person, from bartender John to "Paul, the real estate novelist" and Davy, who really was in the Navy. Yet the Piano Man himself became the story's most enduring character: a quiet observer who offers music as a brief refuge for dreamers, lonely souls, and regulars alike. More than fifty years after its 1973 release, "Piano Man" remains Billy Joel's signature song, and its title has effectively become his lifelong nickname.

Standing nearly seven feet tall and missing an arm, Amos Moses roams the Louisiana swamps hunting alligators. Jerry Reed filled the song with colorful Southern expressions and exaggerated storytelling that make Amos feel like an authentic folk legend.

Although fictional, Amos embodies the larger-than-life heroes found throughout American tall tales. His adventures turned the song into one of Reed's biggest crossover hits and secured Amos a permanent place among country music's greatest characters.

Big Bad John hardly says a word, but he doesn't have to. The towering coal miner earns everyone's respect through quiet strength before sacrificing his own life to save fellow workers when a mine collapses.

Jimmy Dean's 1961 ballad became a smash hit, winning a Grammy and inspiring several sequel songs. More than sixty years later, Big Bad John still stands as one of country music's defining working-class heroes.