Naturally sweet, tart and savoury – many enjoy the juicy tomato.
Filled with minerals and vitamins, tomatoes add a great deal of
nutrition to any meal. But did you know eating tomatoes can kill you?
Rather, eating tomatoes that have not been prepared well – can.
Raw red tomatoes can harbour deadly microbes, and eating too many can trigger dangerous health problems.
Salmonella
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections
particularly in young children, frail or elderly people, and those with
weakened immune systems.
Healthy persons often experience fever,
diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In
rare circumstances, the organism can get into the bloodstream and
produce more severe illnesses.
Excess Vitamin C
Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C. Usually your body gets rid of extra
amounts of vitamin C through urination, but if you consume an excess
amount, it may trigger gastrointestinal issues, which lead to nausea and
vomiting.
Heartburn
Tomatoes are high in acidity. If you suffer from heartburn, it’s
probably best that you stay away from tomatoes as eating them will
encourage the production of acid in your stomach.
Lycophenemia
The beautiful red colour of tomatoes is from lycopene. Eating an
excess of lycopene can trigger lycopenemia, where your skin turns
orange.
Botulism
Foodborne botulism, sometimes a fatal paralytic illness, is caused by
nerve toxins from bacterial spores. The deadly botulism spores on
plant material can start to produce deadly toxins in an oxygenless
mixture – for example, in canned sauces and bottled preservatives.
Consumers should not eat
certain types of raw red tomatoes; but cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes,
and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at
home are acceptable.
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