The festive foliage on the ‘naughty list’ this Christmas
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A team of British researchers have put together a guide of the potential dangers associated with popular Christmas plants.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The “unsystematic review”, published in the Christmas issue of </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-066995" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The BMJ</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, saw the team immerse themselves in Christmas culture and conduct informal interviews with friends and colleagues to identify plants associated with the festive season, which they then examined against a database of toxic plants.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After conducting additional investigations, the team classified plants as low, moderate, or high risk, depending on whether they could be eaten.</span></p>
<p><strong>Low risk</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Luckily for traditionalists, the iconic Christmas tree is considered safe to be around. The only hazards have been from a few cases of contact dermatitis from workers who had unusually high exposure to the plant.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ivy is also quite safe, with no recorded cases of people being poisoned by them, and winter plants such as poinsettia and Christmas cactus make the list too.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even the plants featured on the Christmas dinner table have been investigated, with potatoes found to be safe as well.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brussels sprouts, sadly, are also safe to eat. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Looks like you’ll have to endure them after all,” the authors </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/what-of-your-festive-foliage-should-be-on-the-naughty-list" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><img style="width: 305.5878928987195px; height: 500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846437/xmas-plants.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/00426e9ef6754246afc9662b6697d606" /></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: The British Medical Journal. DOI: </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-066995" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">10.1136/bmj-2021-066995</span></a></em></p>
<p><strong>Moderate risk</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for plants that require a bit more caution, the authors identified holly - with its berries that can cause stomach upset and drowsiness if eaten in large amounts - as well as rosemary - with reports that a twig perforated a person’s bowel.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The authors sounded a note of caution for cinnamon and nutmeg, often found in mulled wine, and discouraged people from taking up the cinnamon challenge (a viral challenge to eat a spoonful of ground cinnamon in under a minute without drinking anything). Nutmeg was noted for causing hallucinations in “remarkably low doses” (less than a tablespoon).</span></p>
<p><strong>High risk</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surprisingly, both Christmas wreaths and mistletoe made the team’s high-risk list, meaning that caution around them is advised and they shouldn’t be eaten.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mistletoe contains poisonous proteins called viscoproteins, which can lead to the destruction of cells, and eating it can cause gastrointestinal upset.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for Christmas wreaths, those made with bittersweet (a member of the Nightshade family) and yew can cause abdominal cramps or cardiac dysrhythmia if eaten.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In summary, the team recommends taking sensible precautions while handling or consuming plants, both at Christmas time and throughout the year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We hope that this piece has given you the information necessary to navigate holiday foliage more safely,” they conclude.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>
