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Some species of mushrooms can interact with alcohol in unpleasant ways. The inky cap mushroom contains coprine, which acts like the drug Antabuse, causing a racing heart, flushing, tingling, and other symptoms when you ingest alcohol as long as five days after eating the mushroom. Some other mushrooms cause digestive distress in susceptible people who consume alcohol alongside the mushroom dish.
The biggest concerns with adverse effects, however, are with wild mushrooms and the wide variety of poisonous substances they can contain. Effects of ingesting a toxic wild mushroom variety may include gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea and may either pass on their own or be severe enough to require hospitalization.
Other mushroom toxins can affect the involuntary nervous system, kidneys, and liver, or are carcinogenic. Some of these toxins have no antidote and can be fatal within hours. Hallucinogenic mushrooms contain psilocybin and related compounds that produce psychological and perceptual effects. *