Is it possible to eat green potatoes

Potatoes are the most popular product found in our diet. Despite its versatility and useful qualities, in some cases, the root vegetable represents a serious danger to human health. We are talking about green potatoes, which, if ingested, can provoke very severe poisoning. Why potatoes turn green, how dangerous the skin of the product for humans, is it possible to eat such a vegetable - read about all this further in our article.

Why do potatoes turn green?

In addition to the minerals that are beneficial to the human body, potatoes also contain solanine. It is a poisonous glycoside that can be found in absolutely any part of the product. For potatoes, solanine is a kind of protection against bacteria and insects. The greatest concentration of it is in unripe fruits, which can cause young potatoes to turn green.

Interestingly, in some cases, potatoes can turn green even if they are underground and not exposed to sunlight. Rainfall contributes to this, causing the ground to subside, thereby exposing a certain part of the fruit. Over time, the dust covers the potatoes again, and when harvesting the owner receives the root crops green and wonders how this could have happened. In order to prevent such a thing from happening, hilling is used. In the southern regions, where shafts of earth are not recommended to do, because high air temperatures remain there, potatoes are planted deeper. Otherwise, a layer of fertile soil - about 2-4 centimeters thick - is poured on the bed after planting the potatoes.

How dangerous is solanine

Solanine is an organic compound found in all plants of the nightshade family. In potatoes, the highest concentrations are found in sprouts and rinds. The level of solanine in a normal potato is extremely low - about 0.005%. In greenish potatoes, the level is several times higher. The older the potatoes get, the more they take on the desired color - white, red or yellow - depending on their variety. The level of solanine gradually decreases. So ripened potatoes after being cooked are completely fit for consumption and do not pose a threat to human health.

Important! Even small quantities of solanine are extremely dangerous to health. It damages the nervous system and damages red blood cells. All this can lead to severe dehydration and very high fever. For a weakened body, this can have dire consequences up to and including death.

Does heat treatment destroy solanine

Heat cooking can reduce the amount of solanine in green potatoes, but it does not completely remove it. When fried or boiled, the harmful substance passes into oil or water, respectively. That is why such potatoes should be immediately removed from the water or oil in which it was fried, so that the product again does not absorb solanine. However, it is better not to risk your health and send the green root vegetables for disposal, while focusing on the healthy ones.

For those who have decided to consume green potatoes, experts recommend well cut the green peel and pulp from the product with a reserve. If only one fruit turned green from a large quantity of potatoes, a healthy person can easily handle a small amount of the harmful substance without experiencing any unpleasant symptoms. However, for a certain category of people, even the smallest amount of solanine can be very dangerous. This applies to:

• Persons with chronic diseases;
• Retired people, children and immunocompromised adults;
• Pregnant women.

Why potatoes turn green in the light

Fully mature potatoes have minimal levels of solanine. However, if the product is stored for a long time, this poisonous component will accumulate. Sunlight and high temperatures do this more than anything else.

The most common way for potatoes to turn green is to be exposed to sunlight for a long time. What is the reason for this process? Chlorophyll is present in all parts of the potato. It is a pigment that is not only responsible for the green hue of the entire plant, but also for the process of photosynthesis, which results in the synthesis of certain organic substances from water and carbon dioxide in the product.

Since the ground part of the plant is directly exposed to sunlight, it has a green glow. The tubers that are underground do not initially have this shade, because sunlight simply does not reach them. Under artificial light, the tubers cannot turn green either, because photosynthesis is only possible under natural light, but even this cannot be 100% guaranteed.

How to prevent potatoes from turning green

To control the amount of solanine and sugar in potatoes, you will need to protect tubers from exposure to sunlight, as well as provide them with the right temperature and humidity. Here's what professional agronomists recommend for proper potato storage:

1. The storage temperature is +2 to +5 degrees Celsius.
2. Humidity is about 85-90%.
3. If the storage temperature is higher than +5 degrees, it will promote the sprouting of axillary buds.
4. If the temperature is below freezing, the starch begins to be converted into sugar, with an increased accumulation of maltose in the potatoes.

To ensure proper storage at home, it is advisable to take care of the availability of a cellar or a special vegetable storage room. Such rooms should be dark. Good ventilation for a regular supply of fresh air is needed, as well as a reduced temperature.

Ensure proper storage of potatoes immediately after harvesting. The tubers can be cut as early as the end of August and the beginning of September. If the roots are stored in the ground for a long time, they will begin to absorb a lot of moisture, which negatively affects not only the taste, but also the duration of its storage.

It is not necessary to wash the potatoes before putting them into the cellar. It is enough to clean the fruits by hand from the chests of soil, and then spread them in a well-ventilated room, which will allow the potatoes to dry well. Next, you need to separate the damaged fruits from the whole ones. It is best to store potatoes in wooden crates or special trays.

Keeping the crop on the balcony is not recommended, because in this case it will be quite difficult to protect the product from the sun's rays. If you do not grow potatoes yourself and do not have the right conditions for storing them in large quantities, it is best to buy the product in small quantities and store them in a dark and cool place.

Can I eat green potatoes?

Regarding whether you can eat green potatoes? Here the answer is simple - tubers that have turned green are not suitable for eating. In this case, the heat treatment will not help, solanine remains in the product in large quantities. Even after boiling or frying potatoes, the solanine content in such tubers will be about 0.1%. In addition, such a product will have a very bitter and unpleasant taste.

Specialists strongly recommend not to eat green potatoes, as this is fraught with serious consequences. At the same time they note: if you remove the skin of the potato to a depth of 1 centimeter or more, the product can be used as a food. Here there are certain restrictions: if the green part affects less than a quarter of the fruit, then it is allowed to eat such potatoes. If the index is more, it is better to refuse to eat it. Such potatoes are better to throw away or use them as planting material.

Since solanine is excellent against harmful microorganisms, green potatoes are excellent for planting. In addition, such root crops can give a fairly good result - about 20% more than conventional potatoes. Many agronomists and in fact agree that it is better to keep the tubers in the sun for a few days so that they get the right green color, and only after that to plant.

What happens if you eat green potatoes

It cannot be argued that even a minuscule amount of unripe potatoes is deadly to humans. If such fruits were properly cooked, you can not feel any unpleasant symptoms that occur after ingestion of solanine.

Poisoning can occur only if you eat a few large green potatoes in the peel. It is in the upper shell of the unripe fruit that the most solanine is found. Experts say that the potato is dangerous to human health and life is the one with 40 grams of solanine per 100 grams of product.

General symptoms of green potato poisoning

It is not difficult to understand that a person was poisoned by green potatoes. The clinical picture appears quickly and is very indicative. When intoxicated with solanine, a person may have the following symptoms:

• Increased body temperature;
• dilated pupils;
• a rapid pulse;
• low blood pressure;
• muscle contraction;
• shortness of breath;
• gagging; severe nausea;
• impaired stool;
• abdominal pain.

At the same time there may be depression of the nervous system. In some cases the contraction of the heart muscle may be impaired. If a large amount of solanine has entered the body, the person may slip into a coma. Without the right help and if you lose precious time, everything can end quite miserably.

Signs of green potato poisoning in humans

Intoxication can occur only if a person has ingested quite a lot of solanine from green potatoes or the immune system has been severely weakened. If a small dose of solanine is ingested, more often there is a latent period of intoxication, during which the person may not feel any unpleasant symptoms at all. This may last for several hours. In the case of mild intoxication with solanine, the person experiences dizziness and headache, nausea, digestive disorders, and diarrhea. The frequency of stools per day can reach up to 10 times.

If the intoxication is moderately severe, the clinical picture is more pronounced:

• muscle pain;
• general malaise;
• decreased ability to work;
• dehydration of the body;
• deterioration of the condition of the skin.

Symptoms are most pronounced in case of severe solanine poisoning:

1. Damage to the nervous system and, as a consequence, visual and speech disorders, hallucinations.
2. Disorder of the cardiovascular system. Decrease in blood pressure, arrhythmia and tachycardia.
3. Coma and death.

What to do in case of poisoning

Even if there is the slightest suspicion of solanine poisoning, it is worth acting immediately. The first thing the patient is assigned a gastric lavage, as well as an enema to cleanse the body of toxic substances. In parallel, enterosorbents are prescribed, which restore the digestive system and help cleanse the body of harmful organic compounds.

If such measures have not helped, and the clinical picture has become more severe and more vivid, you need to urgently call an ambulance or on your own and as quickly as possible to take the victim to the hospital.

To prevent dehydration, care must be taken to replenish fluids. Saline solutions, tea or mineral water without gas are used for this purpose. In cases of moderate intoxication the water-salt balance in the victim's body is restored directly - solutions are injected into the vein through a drip.

Precautions

To prevent potato poisoning, it is best to grow potatoes in ideal conditions, neglecting the use of toxic substances and nitrates. When buying potatoes, it is important to pay attention to their appearance, and to ask the seller about the storage conditions of the product. You should not run after young potatoes as soon as they appear on store shelves. There is a high probability that these fruits will be simply oversaturated with nitrates.

Particular attention should be paid to the skin of the potato. A good potato will have a thick skin that is hard to damage with the fingernail. Also on potatoes there should be no black dots, traces of damage by rodents and insects.

It is best to avoid eating green potatoes. However, if you remove the skin deeply and boil the product well or subject it to other heat treatment, it will not be harmful to your health. The main thing is to know the limits. Large portions of such potatoes can still cause unpleasant symptoms, in particular allergic manifestations, stool disorders, exacerbation of type 2 and type 3 diabetes.

Where you can use green potatoes

To give a definite answer to the question of whether you should use green potatoes or not, it is quite difficult. Here the decision is up to everyone. There are no special bans here, but about the careful preparation of such a product before its consumption should not be forgotten. If the fear of being poisoned by such a product is higher than the desire to eat it, you can find alternative solutions to the use of green potatoes. An excellent choice is to leave such root crops for seed.

Green potatoes, unlike conventional potatoes, are stored much longer and perfectly protect themselves from insects and various pests. That is what allows it to retain its high sowing qualities until planting. Even rodents avoid such potatoes, because they understand that they are deadly to them.

Interestingly, it is much easier to get starch from green potatoes, which, after the required cleaning, can be used for culinary purposes. However, many housewives neglect this possibility, citing the fact that even in white powder in theory can remain solanine.

Can chickens be given green potatoes?

If there are chickens or other animals in the household, it would seem that the right thing to do would be to give green potatoes to them. How sensible is this decision, are green potatoes dangerous for chickens and other pets?

Although many farmers prefer to give table scraps, including potato peels, to animals rather than send them for disposal, veterinarians do not approve of such an approach in any way. Both for humans and chickens, green potatoes are extremely dangerous to health because of their high solanine content. It should only be given to poultry after the potatoes have been skinned and cooked for one hour or more. The water in which the green potatoes were boiled should be drained. You should not leave the product in it, because it will absorb a large amount of poison again.

If you ignore the recommendations of experts and still feed, at your own risk, green potatoes to chickens, it can lead to the following consequences:

• damage to the mucous membranes of the intestines, stomach, and mouth;
• accumulation of blood in the vessels of the abdominal cavity;
• dripping hemorrhages;
• disease of the kidneys, spleen, and especially the liver;
• Fluid accumulation in the chest or abdomen.

In chickens and other animals, green potato poisoning can appear in several forms:

1. Gastrointestinal intoxication. It is most pronounced and is accompanied by diarrhea, depression, and blood in the feces. Saliva and mucous clots may come out strongly from the animal's mouth. Chickens become less active. They prefer to hide and lie down.
2. Nervous form of intoxication. There is no reaction to external stimuli, there is paralysis of the limbs or the whole body. In some cases there may be strong motor activity. Rapid heartbeat and breathing are also noted. The body temperature may remain in the normal range or decrease slightly. Fatal outcome occurs after 24 hours. If the right steps are taken in time, the animal can be saved.
3. Cutaneous form of intoxication. As a rule, it occurs after a small amount of solanine enters the animal's body. The first symptoms do not appear immediately, but only after a week or more. May be accompanied by ulcerative stomatitis, vesicular dermatitis on the limbs or at the anus of the animal.

To summarize
Green potatoes pose a serious danger only if a sufficiently large amount of solanine enters the body. Ignoring the need to be extremely careful during the purchase of such a product, its storage and heat treatment, definitely should not be ignored. Otherwise, it can lead to unpleasant symptoms and dire consequences. In order to reduce the concentration of the poisonous substance in potatoes, it is necessary to cut off the unwanted part of the product deeply, and then provide it with the necessary heat treatment.

It is not recommended to give green potatoes to animals either, as they are also extremely dangerous for them. It is better to send the greenest fruits for disposal. More suitable potatoes can be properly trimmed, and then thoroughly boiled for an hour or more.