is it true that if you ingest elephant ear plants you can have a heart attack?

Answer 1

No, it is not true. Elephant's Ear is known to be toxic, but not because of the plant's effects on the heart.

Part of what Shane says is true: Elephant's Ear and many other plants of the same family contain needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals which are a means of defense against plant-eating animals. When the leaves and stems are chewed, these crystals are ejected from specialized cells called idioblasts (not unlike shrapnel from a bomb) and lodge in the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat and tongue.

As you can imagine, having these tiny sharp crystals lodged in the lining of your mouth and throat can trigger local inflammation/irritation and cause burning and swelling, drooling and difficulty speaking.

As uncomfortable and unpleasant as this sounds, though, ingestion of Elephant's Ear plants is usually not life-threatening, and in most cases giving something like milk or cold water to relieve the irritation or just waiting it out is all that is needed. No cases of heart attacks from eating these plants have been reported. Hope that helps!

Answer 2

yes, If you don't believe it just eat some. They also contain calcium oxalate crystals which causes burning and swelling of lips, mouth, tongue, and throat, difficulty of speech.