information about the safety of eating ferns.
It’s prudent to eat fiddleheads in moderation,
and to avoid bracken ferns by checking labels
and asking produce sellers.
Psoralens Psoralens are chemicals that
damage DNA and cause blistering skin
inflammations. They’re found occasionally in
badly handled celery and celery root, parsley,
and parsnips, when these vegetables have been
stressed by near-freezing temperatures,
intense light, or infection by mold. Psoralens
are absorbed through the skin during handling,
or by being ingested with the vegetable, either
raw or cooked. They lie dormant in skin cells
until they’re struck by ultraviolet rays in
sunlight, which causes them to bind to and
damage DNA and important cell proteins. The
psoralen-generating vegetables should be
bought as fresh as possible and used quickly.
In addition to their own chemical defenses,
fruits and vegetables can carry other toxins