As children, we’re often warned not to eat certain things because “they’re poisonous.” And I started wondering if those warnings had any basis in fact, or if they were nothing but a combination of hand-me-down myths, and an easy way for parents to scare children into behaving. As it turns out, most of the things I was told were poisonous were indeed, to one degree or another, poisonous. Though most will not cause death, they will often produce enough gastrointestinal distress that you might THINK that you’re dying.

Here are some of the most commonly cautioned food items that do, in fact, have a touch of toxicity.

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