Each year, in France, perfectly healthy people find themselves victims of violent digestive disorders, sometimes followed by symptoms at least confusing : sudden loss of hair, peeling skin, persistent fatigue.
When the body lets go after a simple meal
A trivial dinner, a homemade mealin the comfort of his Ile -de -France apartment. Bertrand, a 52-year-old mathematics professor and convinced vegan, did not change anything to his habits that evening in March 2025. However, a few hours later, it was his whole body that begins to flank. Abdominal pain, nausea, violent and persistent vomiting: symptoms appear quickly and intensify.
For three days, Bertrand struggles, nailed to his house, unable to ingest anything. He then thinks of food poisoning Classic, a passing virus. But the real shock arrives a few days after the acute digestive phase. By styling, he discovers tufts of hair that stay in his hands. Then his skin begins to peel. His body is transformed, without understanding the reason. “” He confides to our colleagues from the Parisian. A total fall in hair and body hair begins, without return.
The responsible vegetable identified afterwards
It is only after several medical consultations that the link is established. The cause was neither viral nor bacterial. She was hiding on the plate. Bertrand had consumed a squashbought in an organic store, whose abnormal bitterness had not aroused its suspicions. An error that will have cost him dearly: this bitter taste pointed out the presence of cucurbitacins, naturally toxic substances.
Produced by certain plants from the cucurbit family – In particular decorative squashes such as coloquintes or certain varieties from accidental crosses – these toxins resist cooking. Their ingestion can cause severe digestive disorders and, in rare cases, toxic alopecia. ANSES has published a recurring alert on these cases of poisoning, recalling that they arise every year in France.
Good reflexes to avoid poisoning
The only real warning sign is the bitter taste. Any squash intended for consumption must have a soft flesh. If even light bitterness is detected, you have to throw the vegetable without cooking or ingesting it.
Here are the gestures to adopt to protect themselves:
- Never consume squash with bitter tasteeven after cooking
- Test a little raw piece before cooking
- Do not use recovered seeds or from uncontrolled crosses
- Do not plant ornamental squash (like coloquintes) near edibles
- Contact a doctor or an anti -poison center in the event of symptoms
Fortunately, in the majority of cases, hair loss remains temporary, and the hairs end up growing over the months. A striking mishap, that a simple gesture of vigilance could have avoided.
