Tomatoes are displayed at a vegetable stall in La Merced market, downtown Mexico City January 31, 2013
Tomatoes are displayed at a vegetable stall in La Merced market, downtown Mexico City January 31, 2013 Reuters/Tomas Bravo

Many consumers are not aware that many of the regular foods they eat can actually be poisonous. The effects of some can be slow and take months or years to develop. However, it is important to identify the dangerous agents early on and point out the initial symptoms to stay safe.

Here are some of the food items in your cupboard that may do more harm than good.

1. Tomatoes

For many centuries, people used to avoid tomatoes believing that these were poisonous. There is actually some fact to the claims because tomatoes belong to the nightshade family. The leaves of tomatoes have a layer of toxic tomatine, which can lead to poisoning symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. An article on Livestrong.com shows that that while eating tomatoes is fine, too much could lead to harm.

2. Rhubarb

The stalks of the rhubarb are safe to eat. However, the leaves contain oxalic acid which can be dangerous especially when consumed in large amounts. It is best to remove the leaves and wash the stalks carefully before putting these in meals. Some people might prefer eliminating it from their strawberry pie altogether. The same dangerous substance can be found in other vegetables like lettuce and cauliflower.

3. Raw milk

A lot of people like to put raw milk in their baked desserts because of its rich and full flavor. However, raw milk can contain bacteria like E. coli and C. jejuni which can lead to dangerous symptoms. In a research conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, findings showed that raw milk and other dairy products can contain harmful bacteria that can lead to symptoms like stomach cramping, nausea, dizziness and lethargy.

4. Candies

A lot of candy products and breath fresheners contain aspartame which is used as a substitute for sugar. Although it lowers the total calories and sugar content of food products, aspartame causes the excitement of cells until these are damaged or die. Research published on Mercola.com showed that aspartame can lead to serious and lethal effects like vomiting, seizures and heart palpitations.

5. Almonds

In particular, bitter almonds contain high amounts of cyanide, according to the US National Library of Medicine. Companies process bitter almonds to remove the poisonous agent from the nuts, usually by heating. However, many people like to eat these in their raw form, which can be very dangerous.

Did we miss anything from this list? Let us know in the comments!