Here’s What Happens When You Eat Apple Seeds
Apple seeds are tiny, simple to miss, and often eaten by accident while eating an apple. Although apples themselves are a powerhouse of health advantages, there is cause for caution over the possibly hazardous chemical found in the seeds. What really occurs, therefore, when you consume apple seeds?
1. Cyanide Is Present in Apple Seeds ⚠️
Amygdalin is a substance found in apple seeds that plays a role in the seeds’ innate defence system. Chewing or crushing amygdalin releases hydrogen cyanide, a poisonous chemical that may be dangerous in high concentrations.
Why This Is Worrying:
Your body’s capacity to utilise oxygen is hampered by cyanide, which may cause symptoms of poisoning including lightheadedness, dyspnoea, or, in severe instances, death.
Breathing difficulties, headaches, nausea, and disorientation are signs of cyanide poisoning.
2. Quantity Is Important 🍏
Generally speaking, there is no damage in accidentally ingesting a few apple seeds since little levels of cyanide may be detoxified by the body. To get to dangerous cyanide exposure levels, a significant amount of eaten or crushed apple seeds would be required.
How Many Seeds Can Cause Damage?
You would need to eat 150–200 crushed apple seeds from many apples in a short amount of time in order to get poisoned with cyanide.
Given that each apple has between five and eight seeds, deliberately eating a lot of them would be necessary to consume enough seeds to cause poisoning.
3. The Seeds Travel Throughout the Entire Body 💨
Apple seeds often travel through your digestive tract without generating cyanide if you inadvertently ingest them whole without first digesting them. The amygdalin within the seed is shielded from converting to cyanide by its tough outer coating.
What Takes Place:
There is no cyanide absorption by the body since the seeds are expelled organically.
Cyanide poisoning is rare unless the seeds are eaten or crushed.
4. Amygdalin’s Possible Health Benefits 🌿
It’s interesting to note that some proponents of natural therapies speculate that amygdalin, or vitamin B17, may be able to combat cancer; however, there is no scientific evidence to support this theory. In reality, because of its lethal cyanide level, amygdalin has been generally dismissed as a cancer therapy.
Why It’s Controversial: The hazards of cyanide poisoning exceed any untested promises, and there is no solid data to support any possible health advantages.
Concluding Remarks: Although apple seeds contain cyanide, ingesting a tiny quantity unintentionally is usually safe since your body can eliminate trace quantities of it. On the other hand, deliberately eating or ingesting a lot of apple seeds may be harmful and cause cyanide poisoning. It’s advisable to remove the seeds before eating apples, particularly if you prefer to chew them, for your own safety.
Savour your apples, but keep in mind that it’s best to leave the seeds uneaten!