Plant Toxins

Put simply, some plants are naturally poisonous to human beings. The only way to avoid plant toxins is to avoid the plants in which they occur, as well as products made with those plants. In some cases, the toxins can be transferred in milk from cows that have eaten the plant (such as jimsonweed and snakeroot) or in honey from bees that have gathered nectar from the plants (such as mountain laurel).

The best-known plant toxins are those found in certain wild mushrooms. There are many kinds of poisonous mushrooms, and eating them causes symptoms that range from mild intestinal discomfort to painful death. Some mushroom toxins attack the nervous system, some attack and destroy the digestive system, and some attack other internal organs.