You may have jokingly complained about overdosing on food, but there are actually foods out there that can damage your wellbeing if you overdo it. Let’s take a closer look at the foods you should be wary of the next time you’re in the grocery aisle or ordering sushi.
1. Carrots: According to diet wellness expert Iris Tse, ‘Carrots are full of vitamins, minerals and fibers that are good for your health. But eating too many carrots can bring in too much beta-carotene the molecule responsible for carrots’ bright orange hue and a precursor of vitamin A. This can lead to excess blood carotene which can discolour the skin. Known as carotenemia, the condition occurs because carotene is a fat-soluble molecule. Excessive quantities of it tend to accumulate in the outermost layer of skin, resulting in yellow- or orange-pigmented skin, particularly in the palms, soles, knees and nasal area.’
2. Tuna Sushi: ‘Eating too much raw tuna can increase your intake of mercury,’ Tse warns. ‘Large fishes on top of the food chain, such as the prized bluefin tuna, can accumulate methyl mercury in their muscles because they consume many smaller fishes over their lives…Tuna sushi from restaurants tends to have higher mercury levels than supermarket tuna sushi, according to research published in the journal Biology Letters in 2010…Because mercury can cause severe neurological problems, pregnant women and young children are advised by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to avoid eating too much tuna. According to the agency’s 2004 guidelines, others can eat up to 6 ounces (approximately equal to one average meal) of tuna steak per week.’
3. Kombucha Tea: ‘Although the brew is mostly benign (it usually tastes very acidic, and contains alcohol from the fermentation process), the American Cancer Society has warned that certain Kombucha starter cultures may contain contaminants such as moulds and fungi, some of which can cause illness,’ Tse points out. ‘There have been reported cases of severe toxic reactions to Kombucha tea. In a recent report published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine by physicians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, a 22-year-old male newly diagnosed with HIV became ill within twelve hours of consuming the tea. He was short of breath, his temperature spiked to 103.0 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 Celsius), and he subsequently became combative and confused, requiring sedation and intubation for airway control.’
4. Coffee: Tse cautions, ‘Noticeable side effects can occur if you consume more than 600 to 900 mg of caffeine a day, according to the Mayo Clinic, and those include: insomnia, restlessness, nausea, irregular heartbeat, muscle tremors, anxiety and headaches. In fact, too much caffeine can be fatal. According to a case published by Swedish physicians in a 2010 issue of Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, a 21-year-old woman went into cardiac arrest shortly after consuming about 10,000 mg of caffeine. Although she was resuscitated by ventricular fibrillations a few times, she stopped responding to medication three days later.’
5. Star Fruit: ‘Star fruit poisoning was first described in 1980 in Malaysia, where it was found to have a depressive effect on the central nervous system,’ says Tse. ‘This uniquely shaped fruit poses very little risk to healthy people when eaten in normal quantities. However, acute kidney failure has been reported in people with a history of kidney diseases…Common symptoms for star fruit intoxication include hiccups (the most common symptom, especially in mild intoxication), vomiting, weakness, insomnia, altered consciousness, convulsions and hypotension. People with a history of kidney illnesses should avoid pure, sour star fruit juice (a popular beverage in Taiwan) and mild, diluted pickled juice in large amounts, especially on an empty stomach.’
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