Bananas, strawberries, apples: They're delicious, but if you think about it, they're actually pretty weird.
To begin with, fruits are the swollen ovaries of flowering plants that also contain seeds.
And while they’re packed with a lot of good stuff like fiber and antioxidants, they're actually deadly if ingested in certain forms or in combination with other things.
Crushed pits of stone fruits, like cherries or apricots, can kill you since they contain cyanogenic, a compound that the body turns into cyanide. Yikes.
Grapefruit can also cause life-threatening reactions when taken with some prescription drugs, because chemicals in the fruit can interfere with the medication’s absorption in the digestive system. The drugs could wind up staying in your body too short or too long, so always check with your doctor before cutting into those juicy sections.
And think again if you believe all fruit is "fresh" produce. Next time you bite into that Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, remember that apples sold in supermarkets could be up to one year old. That's because modern refrigeration techniques keep them juicier longer, and stores aren't required to label how old they are.
Fruits are also masters of disguise. For example, did you know that strawberries aren’t really a member of berry family? Why? Because they're technically not produced from a single ovary, which is the botanical definition of a berry. Instead strawberries, which form from the multiple seeds on its outside, are considered a flower that has many ovaries.
And just when you think you knew your favorite veggie, surprise! It could actually be a fruit. Avocados, eggplants and pumpkins are technically members of the fruit family, because—you guessed it—they’re swollen ovaries of a flowering plant that have seeds.
We’ve been lied to all along.
Check out our video to learn more about these and other freaky fruits.
Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more.