Is bracken poisonous?
Pteridium aquilinum is a kind of wild vegetable growing in the northeast of China, and many Koreans will eat it. Pteridium aquilinum can be used to make pickled Pteridium aquilinum, fried Pteridium aquilinum and garlic Pteridium aquilinum, which tastes sweet. However, some people think that bracken is poisonous now, which is correct, because bracken contains some carcinogens, so we can only eat bracken after removing this carcinogen.
Harm of bracken
In recent years, scientific research shows that bracken also has a certain cancer risk. In 1970s, the relationship between eating bracken and esophageal cancer was investigated in the mountains of central Japan. The results showed that eating bracken increased the incidence of esophageal cancer by 2. 1 fold in men and 3.7 times in women. In North Wales, the incidence of gastric cancer has always been high. 1990, a case-control study also showed that eating bracken in childhood would increase the risk of gastric cancer in the future.
Protopterin contained in bracken is a carcinogen, which will lead to a higher incidence of esophageal cancer and gastric cancer. Animal experiments have also confirmed that ferns can cause cancer in animals. Boiling and soaking in water can reduce the carcinogen content, but it will not be eliminated. It's best to eat less bracken. You only eat in Tomb-Sweeping Day a few times a year, but you don't eat in large quantities or every day. There should be no problem.
Sheep teeth, a strong carcinogen! In other words, plant ash treatment can not be completely eliminated. Just because it is a traditional food in Asia, and merchants regard it as a green and natural food packaging (it is really green and natural, but it is highly carcinogenic. ), very popular. Traditional Chinese medicine such as Aristolochia is very harmful, and it was discovered in recent decades that it is the chief culprit of uremia caused by kidney damage.
How to eat bracken healthily
Pteridium aquilinum is a very good wild vegetable, but we need to know how to deal with it in order to remove its carcinogens without affecting our health, so friends who want to eat Pteridium aquilinum can learn more about the detoxification methods of Pteridium aquilinum.
People usually treat fresh bracken with plant ash or alkaline water. This treatment will greatly reduce the content of the original bracken. This treatment only reduces, rather than eliminates, the toxicity and limited dose of protopterin, and there is no clear international standard at present. So be careful.