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8 Bizarre Side Effects of Common Foods

These bizarre side effects are mind-blowing! 

Have you ever wondered if some of the ways in which our bodies react to foods are not as normal as they seem? Definitely, our bodies can have some of the most bizarre effects when it comes to certain ingredients, and some of them are downright weird. There is a saying that basically says you are what you eat, but we doubt anyone signed up to become a carrot!

We all know that what we eat will have an impact on our health and our lives (if you end up not eating properly), but did you know that there are some weird physical effects that you won’t even believe are from certain foods? There are some that are universally known, but others are almost unbelievable and may just explain why you felt so weird after eating a normal meal!

Here we have gathered some of the most bizarre side effects of common foods that are going to definitely surprise you! Let us know if you have ever experienced them!

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Photo by lanych from Shutterstock

#1 Excessive carrot eating will turn you orange!

It sounds like a weird thing, but believe us when we tell you that this bizarre reaction our bodies have to too many carrots is not just something we were told as children to scare us! Seeing my cousin start to turn orange due to drinking too much carrot juice has been something that remains with me to this day. It turns out that you can skip the tanning salon after all.

Jokes aside, this side effect of eating too many carrots has been explained, and it’s pretty intuitive, despite sounding bizarre. One of the substances that are found naturally in carrots is beta-carotene, which if eaten in high doses will end up changing the color of your skin into a yellow or orange hue, depending on how much you ate.

The substance will end up in your bloodstream and, since there is a surplus of it, it will have nowhere to go, ending up being stored under the skin. Once under the skin, it will start to affect the color of your skin. This is why they say everything is good in moderation! And if there are any youngsters in your family, make sure they’re not eating too many carrot-based things, even if it’s their favorite veggie! There is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

And keep in mind, beta-carotene is not found just in carrots!

#2 Unripe mulberries may cause hallucinations!

You heard it here first! Or maybe you knew that you shouldn’t eat mulberries because your grandma told you when you were little and was spending your summers in the countryside! However, the Indian Academy of Science published a study that found out that, despite the ripe fruit being delicious and healthy, if eaten when unripe, it may just be your downfall.

And while as adults, you wouldn’t eat unripe fruit, kids aren’t as careful when it comes to this! The Academy says that both the unripe fruits and the sap from the leaves and stems will cause hallucinations if ingested, going as far as to definitely upset your stomach. Despite this, no one else has verified this bizarre claim, so it’s not yet 100% certain!

So the bottom line is, it’s better to be in the know and teach our kids not to eat unripe fruit, no matter if it can cause hallucinations or not!

#3 Can’t sleep after eating hot foods? It may be because of the sauces!

Yep, you read that right! If you find yourself not able to sleep well but you’re a big enthusiast of hot sauces, it may just be the very thing you love that’s keeping you up at night! It sounds really bizarre, but it’s just how our bodies react to heating up due to the (yummy) sauces!

Studies have shown that men who have eaten their evening meals alongside mustard or Tabasco sauce have had a harder time falling asleep when compared to their counterparts who haven’t had any hot sauce. The scientists who took part in this research think it’s because of the impact these hot substances have on our body’s ability to thermoregulate.

When you go to sleep, your body is trying to regulate its temperature so you can fall asleep. If you ate too much hot sauce, your body temperature might just be higher, which in turn will make falling asleep a pain. And the bad news doesn’t stop here! This side effect isn’t just reserved for sauces! Any spicy meal or snack could be a contributing factor to your inability to sleep or even be linked to insomnia if you suffer from it.

#4 Salty foods will make your fingers swell!

You won’t end up looking like a balloon, obviously, but you will end up seeing your body swell up after you eat something that is too salty! Has it happened to you that you couldn’t take off a ring or move your wedding band around when generally there’s no issue with that? It’s due to the bloating of the body, and salt is the main aggressor when it comes to this!

When you get a lot of sodium in your system, it will prompt your body to retain more and more water! This can happen when you get snacky and end up eating an entire bag of chips, but also when you eat too much-added salt in other dishes or snacks.

It doesn’t help that there are tons of everyday foods that contain a lot of salt (and sugar) that we may not even pay attention to. Sure, the main culprits are always fast foods, snacks, and processed meats, but we add to the list condiments like salad dressings and mustards, frozen meals, canned products, and even restaurant food!

Just be careful not to overdo it with the salt, as bloating and often swelling of your hands and feet, despite maybe eating a bit more salt on a cheat day, is not actually normal! And sometimes it can be the cause of an underlying condition, so you need to tell your doctor if this is a common side effect that happens to you the next time you pay them a visit.

#5 Remember the carrots? Beware of pumpkins too!

Guess what other food is full of beta-carotene besides carrots? Seems like we aren’t free of this bizarre reaction in our bodies when it comes to the beloved pumpkin pie either. We doubt that anyone would eat so much pumpkin, to begin with, but who knows? Maybe you will find yourself in a situation where you see this happening, and it’s better to be in the know than to let people think they have jaundice because their skin turned orange.

Not to mention, pumpkin has even more beta-carotene than carrots do! While 3.5 ounces of raw carrots have almost 8.5 milligrams of the orange substance, a cup of canned pumpkin (which is the key ingredient in a lot of recipes) has 17 milligrams of beta-carotene! That is almost double the amount!

So chance has it that while we don’t eat pumpkin as often as we do carrots, the probability of you turning orange is higher due to the increase in beta-carotene!

#6 Quite bizarre! Beets, rhubarb, and blackberries may turn your urine pink!

Given the fact that all doctors and articles on the internet say to make sure you pay attention if you see any difference in color in your urine, this bizarre reaction is sometimes taken for something else. Any trace of blood in the urine will turn it a redder color, and it could mean some other underlying health issues that need to be looked into as fast as possible.

However, if you happen to really like berries and you overdo it when it comes to eating blackberries, you don’t have anything to worry about. Eating large quantities of rhubarb, beets, and/or blackberries will potentially turn your pee a reddish color or give it a pink hue, at times making it look like red tea.

This doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you, but it’s just a side effect due to these foods having quite a lot of pink/red pigment in them. Yet, if you don’t know about this, you may end up panicking for no reason! It’s better to keep this in mind, especially if you have a kid around that just goes crazy for blackberries, or a hypochondriac friend, so you can explain if this ever happens.

#7 Constipated? Try sugar-free gum!

The number of teas that are out there and marketed as helping you with constipation is really high, but what if relying on these laxative teas is not the fastest way to help you? But you can always help your body out with some supplements! Matys Constipation Relief Capsules, Botanical Herbal Laxative Relieves Constipation are 100% natural and made of herbs that will help you regulate your digestion in the blink of an eye. Find them on Amazon only!

But there is one product that you may be keeping on hand more often: gum! More importantly, sugar-free gum.

Not only is sugar-free gum better for your teeth since it doesn’t contain sugar, but it can also help you if you’re in a pinch. Or it can ruin your day if you end up chewing too much of it. The sweetener that makes sugar-free gum tasty is actually called Sorbitol, and it can cause you to have to go to the bathroom suddenly.

The reason why this sweetener can cause diarrhea isn’t that bizarre, but rather quite common. Our bodies aren’t the best at digesting it, so when it’s ingested in large quantities, it has nowhere else to go but out. And fast!

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Photo by Annmell_sun from Shutterstock

#8 Be careful with nutmeg! It is also a hallucinogen!

Who would have thought that one of the ingredients of our beloved pumpkin pie could actually be anything but delicious? And as benign as all spices seem to be, it seems like some of them are actually a bit more intense than others. Moderation is good no matter what we are talking about, but when it comes to this spice and the bizarre effects it has on you, you really have to be careful!

Nutmeg contains a lot of myristicin, a natural substance that when eaten in high quantities has mind-altering effects. It’s so potent that it has a reaction much like LSD, and the buzz from it can last anywhere from two hours to two days, depending on how much nutmeg was ingested.

And while for some more adventurous people, this might sound just like something fun to try, they should keep in mind that the side effects are extremely nasty.

Not only will people see normal bodily reactions like nausea, vomiting, and even diarrhea, but too much myristicin can actually cause nerve and heart damage! This puts those who did the cinnamon challenge with nutmeg a few years back into a whole new perspective! And definitely, the internet should stop inventing all these crazy, dangerous challenges just for a few likes on the newest trending social media platform.

You may also enjoy reading 7 Subtle Signs You Have a Weak Immune System.

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