One of the perks of being a Biology major is all the food facts you get to learn, like the recent discovery that 90% of table salt contains plastic. Verified and straight from the classroom, here are 21 mind-blowing food facts I learned as a Biology major.

1. Pineapples picked during the day are sweeter than pineapples picked at night.

Pineapples undergo CAM photosynthesis, a nighttime-only process that causes the formation of malic acid. Pineapples picked at night have a high concentration of malic acid, giving them a sour taste. Malic acid is used to make glucose in the day, so pineapples picked during the day have high concentrations of glucose, giving them a sweet taste.

2. Doctors used to taste urine as a test for diabetes.

Excess glucose in the body can be peed out and give the urine a sweet taste. The taste gives diabetes mellitus its name, mellitus meaning "honey-sweet" in Latin.

3. The plant-based diet can reverse heart disease.

The plant-based diet promotes whole, healthy plant-based foods and restricts oils and animal products. Studies show that heart disease patients who strictly adhere to a high-quality plant-based diet can reverse heart disease. *mind blown*

4. Potatoes are stems...

Not all stems grow above ground. Potatoes are a type of enlarged stem used for storage called tubers. Potatoes were also the first vegetable grown in outer space.

5. ...and onions are leaves.

They don't grow above ground, nor are they green in color. But onions are actually modified leaves used for storage. 

6. Alcohol is a treatment for methanol poisoning.

Fans of House will know this from the Season 2 episode Acceptance, but here's the science behind it. In the body, methanol (found in bootleg liquor and printer ink) binds to an enzyme and is converted to toxic formaldehyde. To divert this poisonous process, administering ethanol (which is found in alcoholic beverages) competitively inhibits methanol, which prevents the formation of formaldehyde. After getting blocked, methanol then gets safely excreted in the urine.

7. To combat spiciness, milk and sugar work better than water or soda.

Capisaicin, the ingredient which gives your taste buds the "spicy" feeling, is soluble in fat and insoluble in water. So water doesn't effectively extinguish the fire in your mouth while foods rich in fat, like milk and butter, do.

Sugar also helps to calm spiciness, but avoid drinking soda when you're feeling the heat. Though filled with sugar, soda is carbonated, which can actually intensify capisaicin's effect.

To subdue the spice, foods with both sugar and fat are ideal. Next time your mouth is on fire, stay away from the bubbly drinks and reach for some ice cream instead. These food facts get wilder and wilder. 

8. Coconut water is liquid endosperm.

It's not what you think. Endosperm is just the nutrients inside the coconut seed for the developing plant embryo. 

9. A fungus may have caused the Salem witch trials.

You'll never look at moldy bread the same again. Though this theory hasn't been 100% proven as fact, the hallucinations and convulsions present in the proclaimed "witches" may have been caused by ingesting rye spoiled by the ergot fungus. The symptoms could potentially be what citizens thought were characteristics of bewitchment.

10. Fruits are essentially ovaries.

Who knew ovaries could be so sweet? During development, the ovary of the plant becomes the fruit while the ovules become the seeds. Yum yum.

11. Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products.

All vitamins except for B12 can be obtained from plants. Vegans and vegetarians can avoid deficiencies by supplementing their diet in these ways.

12. Bacteria in your intestine make some Vitamin K.

There are trillions of bacteria all over and inside your body. Don't worry though, they're here to help. Mutualistic bacteria in your intestine make Vitamin K, which helps your body with blood-clotting and maintaining bone health. In return, your body gives the bacteria a nice home.

13. Lactose intolerance correlates with ethnicity.

Adult hypolactasia - deficiency of the enzyme lactase which results in lactose intolerance - varies among ethnic groups. Up to 100% of Native Americans have adult hypolactasia, while only up to 15% of Northern Europeans have the deficiency. See a map of lactose intolerance around the world here.

14. Kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts are variants of mustard.

Over time, humans selected for certain traits and bred wild mustard plants to produce these vegetables that no longer resemble their wild genetic ancestor. This selective breeding process or "artificial selection" is similarly used in dog breeding.

15. Plants have hormones.

Animals aren't the only living things with hormones. Plants have their own hormones that promote growth and health as well. The plant hormone ethylene, a gas, is often synthetically produced to purposefully ripen fruits in the agriculture industry.

16. Excess of Vitamins A, D, E, and K is toxic.

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins. Unlike water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins stay stored in your body for longer periods of time. So you better be careful before thinking about eating "just one more" gummy vitamin.

17. Seedless grapes are bigger than their seed-bearing counterparts.

Ever wonder where seedless grapes come from? Strawberries and grapes typically found in grocery stores are larger than their natural counterparts. Geneticists alter the amount of parent chromosomes to produce offspring with an odd number of chromosomes to decrease seed size. The plants are then treated with growth hormone or by girdling. The result is offspring with large but sterile fruit.

18. Garlic can lower cholesterol.

While not necessarily a treatment, garlic has the potential to reduce LDL, or "bad" cholesterol. It has no effect on HDL ("good" cholesterol).

19. Starfish push their stomachs through their mouth to eat food. 

After digesting the meal outside the body, their stomach returns back into the body.

20. Crayfish have teeth in their stomach.

Crustaceans including crayfish, crabs, lobsters, barnacles, and krill do not have teeth in their mouths. They instead have a gastric mill, which is like a stomach with teeth, to grind up their food.

21. All bananas are genetically identical.

Most bananas we see in stores are of the Cavendish variety. Agriculturally, they are produced by cloning and are thus seedless and sterile. Each banana is the genetic clone of the next.

So many food facts. Very science. Much wow.