Why are beans poisonous if they are not cooked? The reason why eating undercooked beans is toxic is because beans contain a toxic substance called saponin. This toxic substance will decompose at high temperature. Bean poisoning has an incubation period. Poisoning symptoms usually occur within four hours after eating. The common symptoms are gastroenteritis, such as nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and so on. If the symptoms are serious, you will feel chest tightness, shortness of breath, cold sweat, palpitation, numbness of limbs and so on. So eating undercooked beans will definitely lead to poisoning? Not everyone will be poisoned. The contents of saponins and phytohemagglutinin in beans are not very high. Without cooking or heating, the toxins in it are reduced a lot. The human liver has a good detoxification effect and can remove a certain amount of toxins. So some people will not be poisoned if they eat undercooked beans. What should I do if I am poisoned? Dr. AARON Li reminded that if food poisoning is caused by eating uncooked beans by mistake, some common rescue methods can be adopted. If the poisoning time is not long and the symptoms are mild, you can stimulate the root of your tongue with your fingers or chopsticks to induce vomiting, or you can drink a lot of warm water to induce vomiting yourself. Although beans are delicious and nutritious, uncooked beans are likely to cause poisoning, so be sure to cook them before eating them. If you accidentally eat immature beans, you should seek medical attention in time when vomiting and other means are ineffective or the situation is serious, so as to avoid delay. In daily life, people should also pay more attention to avoid eating some food at the same time. Besides, they should try to choose cooked food to avoid unnecessary troubles and ensure their health.