Any general rules for reducing levels of plant toxins in the diet?

#22

I thought the benefit of plants was largely from hormesis - the idea “that which doesn’t kills you makes you stronger” - eg the body adapts to the stressor. A bit like exercise or fasting.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #23

Absolutely. The dose makes the hormesis. Just as with cyanide or arsenic.

(bulkbiker) #24

Try explaining that to the dead one though…

(Scott H.) #25

Perhaps this is easily available elsewhere, but is there a good resource out there that describes the toxins in plants, item by item? I hear about this a lot, but have no adverse reactions, myself. I’d just like to learn more.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #26


07%20AM

…Here, we present a newly developed, freely available database, Toxic Plants–PhytoToxins (TPPT), containing 1586 phytotoxins of potential ecotoxicological relevance in Central Europe linked to 844 plant species. Our database summarizes phytotoxin patterns in plant species and provides detailed biological and chemical information as well as in silico estimated properties. Using the database, we evaluated phytotoxins regarding occurrence, approximated from the frequencies of Swiss plant species; environmental behavior based on aquatic persistence and mobility; and toxicity.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #27

Most medications and toxins are found in plants, apart from insect and snake venoms, of course. But plants are the richest sources. I’m thinking of such phytotoxins as atropine, caffeine, cyanide, digitalis, pyrethrins, and strychnine, for example, some of which are useful in small doses, even if dangerous in larger amounts. (Caffeine, of course, is safe in fairly large quantities and is likely to have unpleasant effects long before it becomes toxic.)

(Edith) #28

Don’t forget ricin from caster beans. :wink:

#29

this is a good read in that it gives you an idea of what is in plant species and how it can effect the body.

(Bob M) #30

That’s one theory.

I don’t think it’s a bad theory. I kinda implement this. For instance, I’ll periodically buy fresh salsa or other items with spicy peppers (eg, pickled jalepenos). I try not to eat these often, because they cause me instant allergy symptoms (runny nose, maybe some sneezing, sniffles, etc.).

For me, it’s more of “I know I have a poor reaction to this, but I like it” than specifically trying to stress my body.

But I think we’ve always eaten plants. I mean if you’re hunting deer and come upon a set of wild blackberries, why wouldn’t you eat them?

And I’ve listened to multiple podcasts where people who study what primitive cultures eat tell you what the cultures do to the plants before they eat them. For example, fermenting potatoes, which dramatically reduces the toxins in the skin.

It’s just a lot of that gets lost. And sometimes I think that even with removal of a lot of the toxins, maybe plants should be an infrequent treat? That’s how I approach them: I will eat them, just not that often.

(Edith) #31

You may want to check out this podcast. Dr. Bill Schindler is very much into traditional ways of processing foods for optimal nutrition, including plants.

I don’t recall into how much detail he goes, but you can also look him up on the web.

(Gregory - You can teach an old dog new tricks.) #32

I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that…

(Edith) #33

Wendy did mention that in her original post. :grinning: