Why juicing THESE vegetables may be fatal for you!

If we are drinking vegetable juices, we must be really healthy right? Not so much. In fact, many vegetable juices that are touted as treatment for endless lifestyle diseases are not just harmful but may be poisonous for our bodies! A trend that has picked up lately among the fitness enthusiasts of the country is drinking bottle gourd juice by the street vendors that sell such juices around parks in mornings. However, these seemingly health-conscious drinks can put your life at risk!


A recent news of a Pune woman dying of bottle gourd juice proves this yet again. “She developed severe vomiting and loose motion within half-an-hour of having a glass of bottle gourd juice in the morning on June 12. Her condition worsened very fast over the next three days. She succumbed to complications around midnight on June 16,” said a family friend. So, how safe are these vegetable juices?

How to check if bottle gourd is poisonous
In case of bottle gourd, a simple bitter test is recommended to check its toxicity. Slice the bottle gourd and if it is bitter, it should never be juiced. This is because the bitterness in the vegetable comes from the presence of the compound cucurbitacin, which is a cytotoxic compound.

Not just bottle gourd, this compound is present in other bitter vegetables as well, such as cucumber, squash, eggplants, pumpkin and melon! If consumed from any of these, it can be toxic for mammals.

If one consumes toxic bottle gourd juice, he may experience a reaction in the gut, vomiting, blood vomiting, abdominal pain and a severe drop in blood pressure. These symptoms typically start within 30 minutes of the toxic consumption. The symptoms at first may often be confused with gastrointestinal sepsis and this can lead to a diagnostic dilemma.

What about carrot, spinach, kale and broccoli juices?
It isn't just bottle gourd juice that may have negative repercussions. Even carrot juice is said to be harmful, but only if it is consumed in excess.

Often touted as good for eyes and nutrient-dense, if carrot juice is had in excess, it can lead to a spike in blood sugar levels, may turn your skin orange and can even interfere with your medication if you are on one. In fact, it can even lead to food poisoning if it contains the toxins such as the botulinum bacteria.

In fact, it isn't just carrots that may lead to food poisoning. Even the super healthy kale may give you one, besides damaging your kidneys, if it is had juiced.

Many other vegetable juices are also infamous for impacting one's thyroid levels, such as kale, cauliflower, spinach, and collards. This is because they are rich in glucosinolates, which is associated to hypothyroidism.

And what about the favorite broccoli? It has been reported by European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology that broccoli juice may lead to liver toxicity.


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