What is the most unhealthy natural food?

Factual Questions
1

So I am in the shower, thinking of nothing, when some spirit from beyond the grave(yes, my sub-concious does qualify) pops this question into my head. So what is the most unhealthy natural food? I will specify that I am looking for something that is, barring allergy, is non-toxic to human beings.

My first thought is the avacado, but I seem to remember hearing arguments that the high fat and colesterol content of them is of the “good” kind, whatever that is, so that it’s not unhealthy, except in high doses, kind of like eggs.

Anyone?

~V

2

I’m not sure if this qualifies as what you’re looking for as far as “natural,” but I remember reading years ago (no cites, sorry) that cow’s liver is not as healthy as some people seem to think.
The liver is where toxins in the body (all mammal’s bodies) are stored, and eating liver is just not really that good for you.

By natural, do you mean ‘health food’ -type of natural, or just not ‘manufactured-no-nutritional-value-whatsoever-snackfood’ -type of food?

3

Sweetbreads. They have as much cholesterol as something like 200 eggs. Then they usually saute them in oil or butter, too.

4

Eating human brains is usually a bad idea. It can give you Kuru.

Note the “Dining out tonight?” link in the upper left.

5

Eating human (and other animal) brains is far more likely to give you vascular disease from dangerously high cholesterol than to give you kuru.

Bitter almonds are a dangerous natural food, as they naturally contain that yummy cyanide.

6

How about the beefsteak morel:

http://www.bluewillowpages.com/mushroomexpert/false_morel_toxicity.html

I’ve seen advice on these things that says you should eat small portions at first to see how sensitive you are to them, and be careful not to eat more than you can tolerate. Eating something poisonous in doses lower than will cause immediate symptoms seems highly questionable.

7

The OP said “I will specify that I am looking for something that is, barring allergy, is non-toxic to human beings.”, but since you brought it up, the castor bean is arguably the most dangerous natural food because it contains ricin, the third most poisonous substance in the world.

I’d think some sort of nut would be one of the most unhealthy natural food. Especially if made into something like a Pecan pie.

Hey, there’s an idea: sugar cane. Is there any dietary benefit to sucking on sugar cane other than the empty calories?

8

The question needs recasting. People, particularly people who are starving, will eat all kinds of awful things just to keep themselves alive. If it’s a choice between destroying your kidneys and dying…

Also, there’s the question of quantity. All kinds of food are deadly if enough is eaten. (A cupful of many spices would do it, I believe.)

Couldn’t the question be: What are the foods people in Western culture regularly eat in unhealthy quantities?

Having had a small part in raising avocados, and eating about 30 times as many as the typical American, I can say they did not make me fat, and never once made me sick. They’re amazing. Unfortunately, now that I don’t exercise regularly…

Anyhoo, liver is definitely way down there. Pork isn’t great, due to the toxins (as I’ve heard) that the fat suckers inject into their system as a “suicide pill” in the slaughterhouse. But in terms of all-time killers (he says, taking another sip of sherry): alcohol.

9

do you consider something that has to be milled and goes through many processes just to be digestable natural?

Also I would think that sugarcane has more nutreinets then refined sugar but not your best natural food either.

10

Sweetbreads are cow thymus glands.

11

Sweetbreads are also pancreases.

12

The pits of apricots and apples also contain cyanide, but a little cyanide won’t kill you. I eat the apple cores, along with the rest of the apple. Sugar cane actually contains many nutrients, such as iron and other minerals. It’s the refined sugar that contains “empty calories.” Although liver and brains contain much cholesterol (and the liver is the deposit of impurites, which organ detoxifies them) they also contain many nutrients.

If you exclude toxic plants, it’s difficult to find any natural substances without redeeming features, provided you eat them in the natural state, before refinement.

13

Why do you eat apple cores, by the way?

14

I eat the whole fruit. (BTW apple cores contain additional nutrients.)

15

Waste not, want not :D. I eat 'em too.

  • Tamerlane
16

I eat the bottoms of carrots, apple cores - I even eat orange skins when I can tolerate their taste. The extra fiber boost is great, because I take up less time on the pooper that way. It raises eyebrows when I do it in front of people.

Uhh, me eating the cores, not me on the pooper :).

17

Sugar cane… if you have never tasted sugar cane juice, than you, my friend have never lived. In Egypt, sugar cane is processed and (sometimes mixed with pure sugar) into a nectar that is above and beyond anything you have ever tasted. (Sometimes they mix it with a little lemon, but that is besides the point). Yes, it is pure empty calories, but man!! Empty calories be damned.

18

Yes, by natural, I mean “health food” kind of natural, but the answers so far have been interesting. I grew up in an avocado grove(my parents still live there), and have ingested far more of them then the average American, and I am far from overweight, or have trouble with cholesterol, but the few people I’ve asked tonight, just out of curiosity, as to their thoughts, seemed to think that it should rank up there pretty high on the list.

Any more insight is definitely welcome!

~V

19

Sorry for the slight hijack, but everyone should eat the apple cores. They do contan nutrients and vitamins, but more importantly are a brilliant source of fibre and ‘roughage’ which we all need to keep the good old digestive curly internals in good working order. In countries where people eat the apple cores as a matter of course there is significantly improved average health of the bowels and digestive tract when compared with countries/cultures which sling the cores away.

I don’t know how much money is spent every year on ‘colonic irrigation’, but it’s cheaper, more nutritious and just as effective to eat an apple each day core and all.

If you want to shout ‘Cite!’ for all of this then go ahead, I don’t have one to hand. But they are out there if you wanna check for yourselves.

And Lodrain, thank you so much for that end clarification. I did wonder…

20
      • “…the most unhealthy food…that is non-toxic to human beings?” -ummmmm, , , , -what? It wouldn’t be unhealthy if it wasn’t toxic…
        Maybe we should try: “the most unhealthy food, commonly consumed in small quantities”. - DougC