Many people believe that consuming snake meat and drinking snake wine can provide numerous health benefits. In reality, from a biological perspective, snake meat and bones always contain toxins that can harm the consumers.
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Snake Wine (Image: geocities) |
To consume prey, venomous snakes go through several stages:
Storing venom: During this period, snakes hide deep in their dens, fasting to secrete and accumulate venom. Many species can store a significant amount of venom, making them so toxic that they must immerse themselves in water to detoxify their bodies.
Hunting: Once the venom reaches its peak in both quality and quantity, the snake sets out to hunt. Some species lie in wait, while others actively chase down their prey. They inject most of their venom into the prey to quickly paralyze its nervous system and cause death.
Digesting the prey: After swallowing the prey, the snake retreats to a dark den to digest its meal slowly, and naturally, it also digests its own venom. To adapt and digest the bones and flesh of its prey, snakes secrete various fluids and enzymes in their esophagus, stomach, and intestines that can neutralize toxins. The toxins are reabsorbed into the bloodstream and gradually filtered back into the venom reservoirs.
Thus, when consuming snake meat during times when the blood toxin level is high, the meat is rich in toxins, and if not well cooked, diners inadvertently ingest the snake’s venom. The highest risk comes from drinking snake wine, consuming snake bile, and choking on snake bones.
Snake venom causes two types of harm: a large amount can cause immediate fatal poisoning; a small amount can stimulate the cardiovascular system (resulting in a temporary feeling of energy) and can also cause necrosis in wounds, scratches, and inflamed areas (especially in the digestive tract). Individuals with gum disease, pharyngitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, necrotizing enteritis, hemorrhoids, etc., are more susceptible to snake venom poisoning, leading to necrosis and anaerobic infections.
There have been cases of people choking on snake bones that led to necrosis and subsequently throat cancer. Most of these cases arrive at hospitals too late and suffer from severe complications, resulting in a high mortality rate.
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Scorpion Wine (Image: geocities) |
In addition to snakes, some other culinary trends also pose health risks, such as:
Eating scorpions and crickets
The protein content in these creatures is not high, but many people enjoy them to appear trendy in their culinary choices. Their exoskeletons are made of chitin, which is very hard and resistant to acid. If not chewed thoroughly in the digestive tract, pieces of chitin can damage the stomach lining, causing inflammation and gastrointestinal bleeding. This is particularly dangerous for young children, as their digestive systems are still developing. Many cases have been admitted to the hospital with severely damaged small and large intestines.
Eating insects and jellyfish soup
Many patients have experienced allergies to these dishes and required hospitalization. Some have suffered cardiac arrest, severe urinary retention, and even died en route to the emergency room.
Drinking rabbit blood
Rabbit blood is considered a tonic for enhancing sexual vitality. Many individuals abuse it to boost their sexual performance. Rabbit blood is hot in nature, and when mixed with alcohol and consumed immediately, it can cause a sudden spike in blood pressure, leading to ruptured blood vessels in the brain and strokes.
Dr. Doan Ngoc Bich,
