The gastronomic search for a person is amazing - we are sometimes ready to put our health and life only in order to try an unusual dish. But sometimes it is really about a person’s health, his physical and mental abilities, which can be negatively affected by toxins obtained from food.
However, world experience and death statistics do not stop desperate foodies, so they are ready to take risks and taste strange dishes at the cost of their lives.
Let's see what these 10 tempting delicacies are for, for which people are ready to overcome territorial spaces and their own self-defense instinct.
10. Rhubarb
The usual-looking plant is often used to make salads, preserves, drinks and pastries. It would seem nothing special - the stems and petioles of rhubarb are widely used in various national cuisines. Yes, the stems, but not the leaves, which are extremely dangerous for health due to the high content of oxalic acid. Of course, in order to die from a snack by the leaves, you must eat them daily over time and in large quantities. Accidentally eaten several leaves can cause nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, heartburn and increased acidity of the stomach. For owners of ulcers and gastritis, this can increase the risk of internal bleeding and severe pain spasms. In rare cases, overeating with rhubarb was observed respiratory failure and even coma.
9. Aki
The ripe fruit is unusually tasty; it grows only in some countries (West Africa, the Caribbean, Jamaica). Unripe fruits contain poison - hypoglycine A and B. It is processed by the body, as a result of which 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid is released. As a result, a person develops intoxication, severe vomiting, dehydration. If you do not rinse your stomach in a timely manner, an apoplexy stroke, coma, and in rare cases, a fatal outcome are possible. Children and people with malnutrition are especially vulnerable to the disease. In 2001, for example, 23 people died from Aki, and almost two hundred were seriously poisoned. Interestingly, in some countries the fruits of the tree are used as soap or poison for fish.
8. Bloody mollusks
These marine creatures were named due to the rich red color that hemoglobin provides. They are used in food in many countries of Asia. Shellfish are steamed, boiled, and sometimes eaten raw. Any heat treatment does not save you from the risk of contracting hepatitis A through the dish. I remember that in 1988 in Shanghai, dozens of people died from abuse of shellfish dishes, and about 300 thousand got hepatitis A.
7. Bull brains
The dish is not very common because of the risk of infection with mad cow disease. As a result of eating, the risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is increased, from which 28 British residents died in 2000. Many countries, knowing about the risk of infection, still leave a delicacy in their menu (for example, Indonesia). Remember that the type of treatment and methods for preparing bovine brains do not reduce the likelihood of a fatal disease.
6. Cassava or cassava
The plant has a root system, leaves and peel, which contain the dangerous poison linamarine, which in the human body is split into cyanide. Soaking and subsequent preparation sharply reduce the concentration of the toxin, but when fresh, cassava is life-threatening. For example, in Nigeria, frequent root consumption has caused outbreaks of endemic goiter in the population. There is also a risk of childhood pellagra, which is accompanied by bloating and colic.
Cassava root is like potato and contains starch. From a raw plant, cereals are obtained and porridge is prepared, dried, ground into flour for baking, and the root is also used in boiled or baked form. Interestingly, cassava provides a third of the food consumed by Africans, if you calculate calories.
5. Sannakchi
Until recently, a lively young octopus was served to tourists as a delicacy. Now Koreans prefer to douse the marine inhabitant with boiling sesame oil, cut into pieces and only offer it for testing. At the same time, tentacles can continue to wriggle on a plate, which gives the dish a novelty and extravagance. If such tentacles are chewed, then the nerve impulses and muscle contractions that still flow in them can make the smallest suckers cling to the mucous surface of the oropharynx. In rare cases, such a dangerous dish led to blockage of air through the throat and asphyxiation. Only a qualified doctor nearby can help in this situation, so do not risk eating “stirring” ingredients.
4. African digging frog
In the small country of Nabia, this amphibian is quietly consumed almost entirely. But if you eat it before the start of the breeding season, you can get the disease "oshiketaka." Of the classic symptoms are the following: disorders of the genitourinary system, burning in the urethra, discomfort during urination, up to the development of renal failure. To reduce the risk of toxins entering the body, local residents prepare a frog on a fire from special wood. In the States and Canada, the frog is also offered for testing in Chinese restaurants, for which amphibians are grown in special nurseries. The paws of an animal go exclusively to food.
3. Fugu
The famous Japanese dish is prepared from extremely poisonous fish, which contains a shock dose of tetrodotoxin. It is mortal danger that makes the fugue a delicacy, because people like to tickle their nerves. For cooking, fish undergo special training and comply with strict standards. In addition, it has recently been cultivated on special farms, where they are not allowed to eat bacteria containing toxin. And yet, before serving, the fish should be correctly removed poisonous parts - carriers of tetrodotoxin. In the markets of Southeast Asia, Thailand and Japan, you can purchase unprocessed fish in the market, but it is unacceptable to cook it without special preparation.
2. Raw chicken and beef
The Japanese are world leaders in the raw food diet of fish and meat products. In addition to sushi and sashimi, tourists are offered basashi (raw horse meat), yucca (minced raw beef) and gyushashi (veal). This food culture led to an outbreak of Escherichia coli 7 years ago. The use of torisashi (raw chicken sashimi) can lead to the risk of Salmonella bacteria entering the body and the development of concomitant diseases. All lovers of such Japanese cuisine are advised to regularly undergo screening for parasites and a prophylactic course of anthelmintic.
1. Duck Blood Soup
For us, the name itself already sounds repulsive and disgusting. And even more so, knowing that such a dish can lead to the risk of contracting deadly bird flu. Soup is prepared in Vietnam, adding nuts, spicy herbs and meat to raw blood (yes, no heat treatment). The soup is made in about 15 minutes - the bird's throat is quickly cut, the blood is allowed to drain into the dishes, and then the rest of the ingredients are docked. The risk of transmitting bird flu is so great that in 2005, 16 people died from it, and the remaining 55 received severe poisoning. In 2004, the disease killed 20 soup lovers, and 29 caught the virus.
This is how world delicacies affect our health. And let's agree that some descriptions of dishes sound completely unattractive in order to risk your body.