Starvation can result from eating calorie-rich but unprocessed toxic plants.

Evidence

Like many plants used by hunter-gatherers, nardoo is indigestible and at least mildly toxic unless properly processed. Unprocessed nardoo passes through only partially digested and contains high levels of thiaminase, which depletes the body’s store of thiamine (vitamin B1). Low levels of thiamine cause the disease beriberi, resulting in extreme fatigue, muscle wasting, and hypothermia. To address this problem, the customary nardoo processing practices of aborigines appear to have multiple elements built in that make nardoo edible and nontoxic. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 125

Categorization

• SEED: Angle for an article on ‘skill vs. calories’: people can starve while full when food-processing know-how is missing.
• XREF: connects to: Starvation can result from failing to detoxify staple foods even with full stomachs — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 126