Warning! Don't eat potatoes like that, they're poisonous.

Even our great-grandmothers knew that sprouted potatoes are harmful and you can not eat them. Is it really so dangerous to health, or is it all fiction? Let’s look at this from a medical point of view.

It happens that shop potatoes after a few days in the home warmth are covered with small shoots. The question is, can it be eaten after that?



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Experts say that everything depends on their number. But in any case, this means that substances such as solanines were formed in potatoes.

Solanine is a poisonous glycoalkaloid that is produced in plants of the nightshade family. Including potatoes.

Normal potatoes contain no more than 0.05 percent solanine. But in green and sprouted is much more, it is concentrated in the skin and sprouts.



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Solanine causes excitation, and then oppression of the nervous system, decomposition of red blood cells. It's toxic to humans.

Symptoms of solanine poisoning: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, diarrhea, disorientation, pupil dilation and fever.

In severe cases, poisoning leads to delirium, coma and seizures. But in order to get there, you need to eat a couple of kilograms of thermally untreated, unpeeled and immature potatoes. In reality, it's almost impossible.





If you cut a rough layer of skin from sprouted potatoes, then solanine in it will remain 5-10% of the original. In green areas, its concentration is also much higher, so when cleaning them you need to cut.

Wrinkled potatoes, which are densely dotted with sprouts, it is better to throw away altogether. Solanines have already penetrated far deep into such potatoes. Even if you cut a thick layer of peel, there will be enough poisonous substance left in the peeled potatoes to harm health.



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Potatoes with smooth skin, on which only a few sprouts, can be eaten after cleaning and heat treatment. Potatoes inside will not be poisonous.

The norm is 3-5 sprouts on a small potato, 4-8 on a large one.



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Many are in no hurry to throw away poisonous. First, they do not know about its danger. And secondly, they regret the money spent on it. In this case, you need to understand that health is more expensive.



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There are gourmets that like to eat, in addition to immature potatoes, and green tomatoes. It is important to know that they also contain a large amount of solanine. As soon as tomatoes begin to acquire color, the level of solanine decreases and the fruits become suitable for eating.

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