Foods You Shouldn’t Feed Your Dog

Some of these ingredients are toxic to your furry friend, while others contain harmful pits.

Avocados

This seemingly benign fruit contains persin, which is toxic to dogs in large quantities and can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Onions

Potent onions damage red blood cells in both dogs and cats, leading to anemia and causing weakness, shortness of breath, and vomiting.

Grapes

Juicy grapes can cause kidney damage in dogs and cats, which may result in lethargy, increased thirst, increased urination, and vomiting.

Nuts

Macadamia nuts can cause muscle and nervous-system problems, triggering tremors, vomiting, weakness, and paralysis in dogs.

Chocolate

Never give your dog or cat this sweet treat—it stimulates the nervous system and the heart. Reactions include agitation, irregular heartbeat, tremors, and seizures.

Peaches

Feed your dog a peach and he may eat the pit, which can cause intestinal obstruction and cyanide poisoning.

Plums

Like peaches, plums have pits that contain cyanide and are harmful if swallowed.

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Fatal Assault- 27 Pictures of a Snake Attack

Snakes use a combination of senses, relying especially on smell, which is the most important snake sense. A snake has a regular nose and analyses smell the way all other animals do. But snakes have a second highly developed smell sense (vomeronasal), which some lizards also have. A snake uses its forked tongue to pick up chemical traces. The tongue is then inserted into pits on the roof of the mouth (called the Jacobson’s organ). It is this organ that analyses the chemicals, and not the tongue, which has no taste or smell buds.

Because snakes are ectothermic, they’re slow and cannot be active for long. So they rely heavily on stealth and surprise. Ambush: The snake will choose a spot where prey are likely to be; next to rocks where lizards sun themselves; at the entrance of caves used by bats-the snake strikes out as the bats fly by; next to ripening fruit which attract birds and mammals. Sometimes, some snakes like python do not appreciate correctly the size of their prey and can get immobile or even die while tackling with too large prey. In 2005, the carcasses of a 13-foot pet escaped tiger python (4,3 m) and a 6-foot (2 m) alligator were found floating in a marsh, the gator’s tail and hind legs protruding from the split-open gut of the python.

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BEAUTIFUL POISON DART FROGS

Poison dart frog is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to Central and South America. Unlike most frogs, these species are active during the day and often have brightly-colored bodies. Although all wild dendrobatids are at least somewhat toxic, levels of toxicity vary considerably from one species to the next and from one population to another. Many species are critically endangered. These amphibians are often called “dart frogs” due to the Amerindians’ indigenous use of their toxic secretions to poison the tips of blowdarts. Their coloring can be yellow, gold, copper, red, green, blue, or black. Their elaborate designs and hues are deliberately ostentatious to ward off potential predators, a tactic called aposematic coloration.

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5 Dangerous Plants that can Kill You

Moonseed

This bright red delicious looking moonseed plant is normally found in the Eastern North America and south-central Canada. It crops up in brushes, damp forests, and the shores of streams. It is called ‘moonseed’ as the seed within the berry looks like a crescent moon. The whole outlook of this plant is pretty tempting. And its fruit is often mistaken by people as ripe and luscious looking wild grapes or even baby cherries. And even though birds can eat them, this fruit and its seeds are extremely fatal to humans. The initial effect of it is paralysis, and that too if consumed in a smaller quantity. A larger dose literally kills you. The reason why it is so deadly is the amount of toxin alkaloid in it. But that is not all. The entire plant is actually poisonous.

Give me the splendid, silent sun, with all his beams full dazzling.

Castor bean plant

The castor bean is a very handsome plant. It is a shrub-like herb with very long stemmed leaves which look more like flinging long fingers. Castor beans are in point of fact true beans but poisonous. The prickly seedpods contain the beans. The seeds are very appealing as they have brilliant colorful markings on them. The seeds are actually a combination of the most terrible poisons like volatile oils, resins, alkaloids and glycoside. But that is not the only part of the plant to be fatal. Every part of the plant is actually toxic as it contains sap, the most venomous poison. People commonly misjudge their appearance as these seedpods resemble capers. If consumed in a little proportion, causes vomiting, nausea, and/or diarrhea. But a high amount causes uncontrollable salivation; convulsions; and sometimes, coma and death.

Devil’s Berries

How cunningly nature hides every wrinkle of her inconceivable antiquity under roses and violets and morning dew!

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Not all nightshade plants are poisonous, since the name itself is pretty mystifying and give the sound of gloom. But this breed of the nightshade called the ‘devil’s berries’ or the ‘deathly cherries’ are perhaps the deadliest plant on earth today. They are commonly found in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. This shrubbery plant and its berries are tremendously toxic, and contain atropine alkaloids. These poisons include scopolamine and hyoscyamine which cause a peculiar disorientation and phantasm. The berries look so attractive and sweet that people and animals are often attracted to them, especially since they contain a rather sweet taste. In older times, they were even used in wars where these berries were attached to the tips of arrows to kill the enemies. Intake of a sole leaf of the plant can be lethal to an adult.

Most plants possess hidden qualities which chance discovers.

Catherine Wheel

More famous as the ‘Blood flower plant’ but also famed as the ‘Catherine Wheel’, ‘a Poison Root’ or even ‘Fireball Lily’, is highly toxic and potentially lethal. The stunning flower head is a huge sphere-shaped umbel consisting of up to 200 flowers. The plant is found in Africa, in lowlands, woodlands, is often found in the shade of trees growing along riverbanks. and only seen in the greenhouses in Europe. The plant is hideously dangerous. It is alkaloid- rich, strongly toxic plant. Its attraction apart from its wholesome appealing firework-like look is its spoon-shaped leaves, deep green in color, with distinct ribs and a windswept surface. But weirdly, all parts of the plant are poisonous, particularly the roots and the seeds.

Rosary pea plant

Almost any garden, if you see it at just the right moment, can be confused with paradise.

Rosary pea and its wide range are found in India and parts of Asia. The flowers in its plant are tiny, pale, and purplish-blue to crimson, gathered in leaf axils. Its seeds are of such magnificently similar size and shape that they are often used in jewelry making. But a fact is that it is one of the most deadly plants of the world. The intensely red berries are really attractive. They hold within them seeds, which all contain a lectin poison called abrin, so poisonous that, if ingested or crushed may result in almost immediate death. Abrin is actually one of the most fatal known poisons. It triggers rigorous nausea, high fever, and slobbering, highly prominent levels of nervous tension, liver failure, bladder failure, eyes bleeding and paroxysmal seizures. This decorative plant is truly deadly.

Everything is poisonous, nothing is poisonous, it is all a matter of dose.

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Top 10 foods with toxic compounds

1/Mushrooms

Many mushroom species produce secondary metabolites that can be toxic, mind-altering, antibiotic, antiviral, or bioluminescent. Although there are only a small number of deadly species, several others can cause particularly severe and unpleasant symptoms. Toxicity likely plays a role in protecting the function of the basidiocarp: the mycelium has expended considerable energy and protoplasmic material to develop a structure to efficiently distribute its spores. One defense against consumption and premature destruction is the evolution of chemicals that render the mushroom inedible, either causing the consumer to vomit the meal (see emetics), or to learn to avoid consumption altogether. In addition, due to the ability of mushrooms to absorb heavy metals, including those that are radioactive, European mushrooms may, to date, include toxicity from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and continue to be studied.

To prevent mushroom poisoning, mushroom gatherers need to be very familiar with the mushrooms they intend to collect as well as with any similar-looking toxic species. In addition, edibility of mushrooms may depend on methods of preparation for cooking. Collectors also need to be well aware that edibility or toxicity of some species varies with geographic location.

2/Cherries

Cherries are definitely one of the most versatile fruits. You can eat them raw, cook them, bake them, and get them tart or sweet. Cherries can even be used in certain types of liquor. Despite their overall red goodness, cherries are toxic. If you’ve ever eaten a cherry and without thought chewed on the pip or left it in your mouth, you more than likely introduced hydrogen cyanide into your body. If a cherry pip is chewed, crushed, or somehow damaged, it automatically produces hydrogen cyanide. Symptoms of mild poisoning include headache, dizziness, confusion, anxiety, and vomiting. Larger doses can lead to difficulty breathing, increased blood pressure and heart rate, and kidney failure. Reactions can include coma, convulsions, and death from respiratory arrest. There are several treatment options, but the main thing is to limit the absorption of the chemicals from the seeds. Basically, this means it’s important to seek immediate medical attention if a child or pet is known to have eaten several seeds. Usually, the plan of action is to pump the stomach or induce vomiting. Antidotes are available, but they are somewhat controversial. They naturally occur in several foods. However, if you were wondering whether or not it’s true that the seeds and pits are toxic and potentially lethal… yes, apple seeds and cherry pits are poisonous.

3/Rapeseed oil

Canola oil now has been shown to be a very heavy abuser of tocopherols or vitamin E, with the potential for rapidly depleting a body of the important vitamin. The researchers did not know what factors in the canola oil were responsible. They reported that other vegetable seed oils did not appear to cause the same problem in piglets.

4/Rice

Professor Andrew Meharg, a biogeochemist at Aberdeen University who has studied the presence of arsenic in rice, said the latest research highlighted the urgent need for new restrictions on arsenic and other toxic elements in food.
He said: “For an adult with an average consumption of rice every day, it makes little difference, but for young babies who are the most vulnerable receptors we should be doing everything we can to reduce that risk. You don’t want DNA damage during infant development.
“There are ways to decrease the toxic load in food. It is only recently that we have started using rice in baby foods and formulas. You can reduce the arsenic in infant foods very rapidly by sourcing the rice from different parts of the world. You can reduce it by four or five fold by carefully selecting the right rice.”

5/Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, anevergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia, or Spice Islands. The nutmeg tree is important for two spicesderived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace.Nutmeg contains a substance called myristicin, a narcotic with very unpleasant toxic side effects if taken in large quantities. Ingestion of small amounts of nutmeg is harmless to the body, however the consumption of 1 to 3 whole nutmegs (in excess of 1 teaspoon ground) can cause wild hallucinations, nausea, vomiting, and/or circulatory collapse within 1 to 6 hours after ingestion. Very large doses can be fatal.

6/Non-organic apples

Non organic apples are doused in pesticides more than any other fruit. Toxins from pesticides can remain in your body and build up in your liver, causing symptoms as mild as fatigue and as serious as liver damage and death. Buy organic apples, or be sure to peel the skin off your conventional apples before eating them.To minimise health risks, try to buy organic apples wherever possible, or at least remove the skin before eating.

7/Farmed salmon

A study of more than two metric tons of North American, South American and European salmon has shown that PCBs and other environmental toxins are present at higher levels in farm-raised salmon than in their wild counterparts. Researchers at Indiana University and five other research centers say increased toxin levels in farm-raised salmon may pose health risks to people who eat the economically important fish. Their study, which appears in this week’s (Jan. 9) Science, is the most comprehensive analysis to date of salmon toxin concentrations.

8/Microwave popcorn

Microwave popcorn is one of America’s favorite couchside snacks, but the butter flavor is raising questions about whether the crunchy treat could be dangerous to something other than the waist.

However, some doctors and consumer groups have been concerned that a chemical used to give microwave popcorn its tasty butter flavor may pose a serious health hazard.

The chemical is called diacetyl, and it’s used in the production of microwave popcorn, but it has also likely led to scores of factory workers developing a severe lung condition. Diacetyl occurs naturally in some foods, including butter and many dairy products, fruits, wine andbeer. It’s reportedly used in “thousands” of food products to add or increase butter flavoring.

9/Potatoes

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family (also known as the nightshades). The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber.

A glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade, solanine is a nerve toxin produced in the green part of the potato (the leaves, the stem, and any green spots on the skin). This bitter poisonous crystalline alkaloid is part of the plant’s defenses against insects, disease, and predators. Potato leaves and stems are naturally high in glycoalkaloids, so ingestion of these parts of the plant must be avoided at all costs.

10/Peanuts

Peanuts are a food with an identity crisis. It is a type of plant with seeds that grow inside pods such as peas or beans. peanuts are one of the most common food allergens. peanuts are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, they form toxic transfatty acids when exposed to heat, air, or light as they age. If peanut butter smells stale or has an acrid, harsh aftertaste it is probably rancid and so discard it. To help keep peanut butter fresh, purchase it in small quantities and keep it tightly covered and refrigerated.Many southern peanut fields are crop-rotated with cotton. Cotton, a non-food crop, is plagued by the boll weevil and is treated with chemicals too toxic to be permitted on food crops. As a result, pesticides killing this year’s boll weevils will taint next year’s peanuts. Some people sensitive to commercial peanuts find that they tolerate organic peanuts.

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