Author Topic: Did my love of Rhubarb nearly kill me (Read 6571 times)

superspud · « **on:** September 21, 2011, 16:10:20 »

Bit dramatic you may think but I'm not so sure.

I started growing Rhubarb about three years ago, why, because it bought back childhood memories, I also recently got given a couple of plants and they seemed as if they were going to die and so I quickly threw them into the ground last year with the rest. This year all of them without exception unlike my veggie plants went ballistic, I had so much Rhubarb it was unreal, I had the wife cutting tops and bottoms of and freezing it untill we could get no more in the freezer then it was time for the rhubarb and gooseberry jam ( I bought two hinnomaki reds and a green two years ago and they had so much fruit on I got tired just picking it all ) after which it was time for the crumble every sunday!. I usually cut about two inches of the tops under the leaves but the wife just cuts of the leaf. Now I am not going to say it was the cause but later that evening I felt very ill, as if I had over eaten and then had the heart palpitations, I also felt sick and had pains across the chest and what felt like trapped wind among other things, I refuse to see doctors these days, they are more like butchers too me, 20/21 years old and already qualified unlike years ago. Anyway, the following week we had Rhubarb again, and guess what, same symptoms, these lasted for about 3 days on each occasion.

I love my Rhubarb, but maybe they need to be cut further down the stalk....... as I write this it is getting a bit like a forest in the patch again, and time to pick !!!.....

grawrc · « **Reply #1 on:** September 21, 2011, 16:29:45 »

Not a good idea to be picking rhubarb now - you should stop round about July!! The level of oxalic acid (the poisonous stuff in the leaves) builds up throughout the plant as the season goes on, so , yes, your rhubarb could be making you ill!!! Let it grow on meantime to build up the plants' strength. It will all die back when the frosts arrive. Then pick again when fresh stalks reappear in the springtime. It's really too late to be picking it now.

ceres · « **Reply #2 on:** September 21, 2011, 16:41:04 »

I've never been able to find a reputable source for the getting stronger as the season goes on thing so I came to the conclusion it's 'gardeners' lore'. I have heard it explained that it forces people to rest the plant! To get a fatal dose of oxalic acid for an average sized person would take around 11lbs/5kg of leaves. Stalks have a far lower concentration of oxalic acid.

I'd strongly suggest to the OP that episodes of unexplained chest pain really need a visit to GP/A&E.

Ellen K · « **Reply #3 on:** September 21, 2011, 17:03:41 »

I take a lot of NSAIDs and get similar episodes. A ranitidine chaser helps a bit as does laying off the booze. But it is scary esp when it wakes you up in the night.

When you see what rhubarb does to the glaze on your crockery, well just think what it is doing to your stomach lining. Moderation in all things eh?

grawrc · « **Reply #4 on:** September 21, 2011, 17:50:19 »

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Quote from: ceres on September 21, 2011, 16:41:04

I've never been able to find a reputable source for the getting stronger as the season goes on thing
I'd strongly suggest to the OP that episodes of unexplained chest pain really need a visit to GP/A&E.

Don't know how reputable this source is but it certainly suggests greater acidity as the season progresses. http://pubs.aic.ca/doi/pdf/10.4141/cjps58-062 Albeit it is only a fraction of the amount in the leaves. Mind you OP seems to suggest that some leaf ends may have been included.

And I agree that a GP visit would be a good starting point. :)

ceres · « **Reply #5 on:** September 21, 2011, 18:04:14 »

That's a vintage paper! It's discusssing the acid content, not the oxalic acid content. There's a bunch of different acids in rhubarb - I think (?) that malic might be the principal one but I'm not a biochemist so I've got no idea how they would behave individually.

betula · « **Reply #6 on:** September 21, 2011, 18:32:26 »

Maybe you are allergic,have an intolerance ?

OllieC · « **Reply #7 on:** September 21, 2011, 18:41:30 »

Quote from: superspud on September 21, 2011, 16:10:20

I refuse to see doctors these days, they are more like butchers too me, 20/21 years old and already qualified unlike years ago.

Um, it takes 7 years of studying at uni, followed by a few years of more hard work learning stuff under supervision before you're properly let loose. This hasn't suddenly been relaxed - we're just getting older, everyone seems like a kid out of school these days.

I'm biased, because like a huge number of people I'm alive today due to a great GP & the team she referred me to.

See your GP.

Pescador · « **Reply #8 on:** September 21, 2011, 19:01:29 »

Superspud I've pm'd you, please read it.

realfood · « **Reply #9 on:** September 21, 2011, 19:10:43 »

I only eat forced rhubarb in the spring and early summer, when the taste is much milder than later on.

superspud · « **Reply #10 on:** September 21, 2011, 19:27:43 »

Well I dont now about seeing the doctor bit, I only got these events on two occasions and both were immediately within a few hours of eating Rhubarb crumble, something I have never had a reaction to in the past, in fact my one over riding memory of both events was how bitter ( for want of a better word) it tasted, I even asked the wife if she had put sugar in it as I thought she had forgotten.

grannyjanny · « **Reply #11 on:** September 21, 2011, 19:41:43 »

You hadn't had a row had you ;D ;D ;D.

betula · « **Reply #12 on:** September 21, 2011, 20:12:48 »

LOL@JAN

I f my old man crammed my freezer with Rhubarb I would not be too thrilled ;D

Pescador · « **Reply #13 on:** September 21, 2011, 20:25:02 »

Indigestion would normally set in quicker than that after eating.
Please, Superspud, go and see a doctor.

No jokes. No Smileys. No exclamations marks.

betula · « **Reply #14 on:** September 21, 2011, 20:49:27 »

Did your wife eat it and was she ill?

If she ate it and was fine I think it is an allergy,what could a Dr do now about it anyway if you feel fine at all other times?

Just don't eat the stuff

OllieC · « **Reply #15 on:** September 21, 2011, 20:57:16 »

"What could a Dr do"? S/he can listen to your heart to check for arrhythmia, check your blood pressure, check history & possibly arrange for further ultrasound or ECG tests to look at blood flow through the heart and make sure every bit is working as it should. A lot more than an over-the-internet diagnosis of an allergy.

What's the big problem with making sure it's nothing serious?

betula · « **Reply #16 on:** September 21, 2011, 21:06:50 »

Yes you are right I suppose to stay on the safe side but if you only get an event when you have ate the rhubarb it seems a bit OTT to me.

cambourne7 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 21, 2011, 21:10:02 »

I think its best be safe than sorry i would go to the doctor and get them to check out out maybe leave off the rhubarb for a while and as your freezers full stop picking just in case :)

Pescador · « **Reply #18 on:** September 21, 2011, 21:12:31 »

I have an alergy to heart attacks, as would most

I'd rather be considered OTT than RIP,

betula · « **Reply #19 on:** September 21, 2011, 21:14:35 »

keep your hair on love :)

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Author Topic: Did my love of Rhubarb nearly kill me (Read 6571 times)