I thought I had discovered a healthy snack...raw red kidney beans

[Kaleva]

I had a cup and a half soaking in a container of water in the fridge which I planed to cook this evening and add to a rice dish I made earlier today.

I took the container out of the fridge not long ago and ate one, liked it, and ate a few more. They had a nutty flavor so I had some more. Then I went on line to read about eating raw red kidney beans and saw this:

"Beans have the glycoprotein lectin named phytohaemagglutinin in various concentrations, depending on the cultivar or variety. The red kidney bean has the highest concentration of this lectin compound. Raw kidney beans have 20,000 to 70,000 toxin units, while fully cooked beans have only 200 to 400 toxin units. Undercooked beans may have up to 5 times the toxicity of raw beans."

The symptoms are unpleasant to say the least:

"Symptoms start within one to three hours of consumption of raw or undercooked kidney beans. The symptoms are extreme nausea followed by severe vomiting followed within one to a few hours with diarrhea and for some people, abdominal pain. Recovery is usually within three to four hours after the symptoms start."

http://www.hpj.com/archives/2004/nov04/nov15/Eatingrawundercookeddrybean.cfm

It's a very nice, pleasant evening here but that could change shortly. LOL!

In further reading I found out that the kidney bean isn't a vegetable but is a legume and is related to the peanut.

[RebelOne]

1. I love all kinds of beans,

but can only eat a limited amount because I will experience those unpleasant symptoms.

[Kaleva]

2. No symptoms yet.

I think I'll have some comfort food, ice cream, and watch a movie on Netflix while waiting for the possible worst!

I like beans too and have been cooking quite a few meals with kidney beans, black beans and Northern beans.

[rug]

3. Oh great, now I'll be up all night wondering if you got diarrhea yet.

[aikoaiko]

4. Well, I just ate a half pound of raw ground beef with a pinch of sea salt.

We can take bets to see who gets sick first.

[Kaleva]

5. We can bet for a 12 roll pack of toilet paper.

[aikoaiko]

7. Deal. I'm a Charmin 2-ply guy.

[aikoaiko]

13. I'm almost at the 48 hour mark and all is well.

How are you faring?

[Kaleva]

14. Nothing happened to me!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. A few weeks ago I ate half a bag of dried apricots.

I will not do that again.

Good luck with the kidney beans.

[pipi_k]

9. I made a similar mistake

once upon a time long ago when suffering from constipation.

One small glass of prune juice didn't fix it within a reasonable time, so I drank the entire quart later in the day.

[Kaleva]

15. I had a glass of prunce juice once. Liked it so I finished the whole bottle.

I wasn't even constipated to begin with. Experienced a noticeable weight loss by the end of the day

[datasuspect]

17. i poop a lot

[Kaleva]

18. You need a couple of these dogs then

[eppur_se_muova]

8. I was gonna say ...

don't assume something is OK raw if you've eaten it cooked. Soy beans are well known to be toxic when raw.

For human consumption, soybeans must be cooked with "wet" heat to destroy the trypsin inhibitors (serine protease inhibitors). Raw soybeans, including the immature green form, are toxic to humans, swine, chickens, and in fact, all monogastric animals.[16]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean#Health_risks

[HopeHoops]

10. Try wasabi peas. And most people don't know that peanuts are legumes and cashews are seeds.

I've grown peanuts (mostly for fun). They put down these red tendrils into the soil and the "nut" grows underground. Beautiful plants.

[Kaleva]

11. Well, nothing happened but I won't eat raw kidney beans again just to be safe.

[Enrique]

12. I conclude you are a mutant

you are the first human immune to the effects of phytohaemagglutinin. You need to get a costume and call yourself bean boy.

[Kali]

16. OMG

I am laughing my ass off. Doofus!

funny stuff

I can't stand kidney beans cooked, would gross me out to eat them uncooked. Too big and dry, like limas. blech

[Xipe Totec]

19. WHile you're at it, don't eat raw kale either

I know, I know. Who would want to, right?

Well, I've heard. and I haven't done it myself, so I don't know for certain, but I'm told by one who has that digesting ground glass is slightly easier and more pleasant.

[Kaleva]

20. Read this about making raw kale salad

"Because kale is tough, however, you have to remove the woody ribs and chop the leaves fine. "

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/22/153277267/raw-kale-salad

[TheCruces]

21. I eat raw kale all the time

No problems.