People Are Only Just Realizing Some Of Their Favorite Vegetables Have Nicotine In Them

While it's true some vegetables contain nicotine in small quantities, there's no reason to think about giving up vegetables altogether.

Several people have made the decision to become more health-conscious and have started monitoring and lowering their nicotine intake in response to the constant headlines about people being sent to hospitals for vaping excessively.

But many of us may not be aware of this: other things, even veggies, can contain nicotine in addition to tobacco products and vapes.

It's not nearly as terrible as it all may appear, so good luck if you were hoping to use this as a means to avoid eating your greens anytime soon.

Fear not, there are only 'traces' of nicotine to be found in certain veg. Getty Images

In excessive quantities, nicotine can be extremely hazardous and highly addicting.

Even though veggies contain some nicotine, which is surprising, the thought of becoming hooked to eating them doesn't sound like a bad idea in the big picture.

Fortunately, the levels of nicotine in your favorite vegetables aren't high enough to be harmful.

Which vegetables, nevertheless, may contain some nicotine concealed within them that you are unaware of?

You will never view eggplants, tomatoes, cauliflower, green peppers, or your beloved potatoes in the same way again, so get ready for that.

The manufacturer of nicotine-free tobacco products, Haypp, explains: "Most of the foods that contain nicotine are from the plant family known as Solanaceae (also known as nightshades), where the alkaloid can be found."

"In these plants, the nicotine content is measured in micrograms (µg); one million µg equals one gram."

There's no need to panic anytime soon, because you'd have to eat over 10kg of eggplant to even get close to the nicotine level of one cigarette. Getty Images

Among the vegetables mentioned above, tomatoes usually have a nicotine content of '7.1 µg/gram'; however, this content decreases as the tomato ages.

'A potato' usually has about '15 µg/gram of nicotine', while green peppers rank second with 'anything between 7.7 and 9.2 µg/gram of nicotine'.

However, if you choose to mash potatoes, their nicotine content can increase to 'approximately 52 µg/gram,' and if you use them while they're still green, it could reach 'about 42 µg/gram'.

Despite not belonging to the nightshade family, cauliflowers have 'around 16.8 µg/gram'.

And topping the list with '100 µg/gram' is eggplant.

Don't try and use this as a reason not to eat your greens though. Getty Images

Fortunately, though, you don't need to worry about developing an addiction or a nicotine rush anytime soon if you continue to consume your recommended five servings of vegetables every day.

According to Haypp, there is only a "trace amount" of nicotine in vegetables, so even if you eat them frequently, you are unlikely to be affected by it.

Even while eating more than 10 kg of aubergine would provide you with nicotine levels comparable to one cigarette, what happens to the trace amounts of nicotine found in any of the above-mentioned vegetables?

Fortunately, Haypp explains that tiny amounts of nicotine found in vegetables merely "travel[s] through your intestines and your body easily digests them."

This means that small quantities of the chemical are no match for your body's system.

News of veggies containing nicotine was posted to the r/todayilearned thread on Reddit.

One user joked: "I hope my family doesn't find out they'll start trying to smoke potatoes since cigarettes are so expensive."

Another added: "Thats why I'm sways eating fries."

And someone else reminded: "And before people go crazy over it, there's a literal buck-ton more in tobacco products."