take two, on apple seeds
Dear GreenSmoothieGirl: Don’t apple seeds have cyanide or arsenic in them? (This was in response to yesterday’s post.)
Answer: I don’t think Snopes is the final answer on everything, but I like how they research topics. Here they are on apple seeds:
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/apples.asp
If this troubles you, by all means take that extra step of cutting the seeds out. But let me say this: you can get yourself really worked up about all the “harmful” compounds in natural plant foods we eat every day. I’ve blogged here plenty–and written in my books–about phthalates, oxalates, and other controversial compounds found in grains, greens, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruits. If you isolated them from the VAST array of natural compounds that work together synergistically for good health, they could hurt you. (I doubt science will EVER fully understand WHY these foods are so disease-preventing because hundreds of things interplay in a simple apple.) Or if, by virtue of our sad (S.A.D.) modern lifestyle, you have developed a fairly rare condition exacerbated by compounds in natural foods, you could possibly have a reaction.
I come from several generations of people eating apple seeds (on my dad’s side, not my mom’s where you may have read the cancer lies). My dad grew up sprayed toxic chemicals WITHOUT A MASK in our family’s apple orchards in Santaquin, Utah. That includes now-banned-in-the-U.S. Malathion, which he once accidentally got sprayed full in the face by his brother. The only reason I can think of why he doesn’t have cancer is his healthy eating habits and a lifetime at a healthy weight, and self-disciplined exercise (move those toxins out of the bloodstream!).
But again, while I constantly encourage a non-paranoid, healthy, calm approach to eating plant foods that we KNOW empirically are good for us, you should cut the cores out of apples before putting them in your blender, if you feel uncomfortable with that.
Posted in: Whole Food
Although we haven’t eaten apple seeds yet, everytime my husband eats an apple, he feeds the core to our little dachshound, who loves it! We have never noticed any problem. She is a funny dog–she loves most crunchy vegetables–but not greens as they are hard for her to chew!! She even loves tomatoes. We have to really watch her in the garden or she’ll pull up my carrots for a snack!
Robyn (or anyone) did you ever learn anything about a sals sensitivity(or other chemical sensitivities?) my kids are reacting to almost all fruits and some veggies right now–I gotta figure it out and it’s freaking me out–they cannot tolerate green smoothies–I thinkI need to back off until they heal their guts more (son has celiac-just found out last jan) I’mso torn. I feel like”too much” fiber could be damaging to them while healing? I dunno–do you know much?(sals is short for a long name for a natural chemical in whole foods -blah)
he’s also now IgE to cashews and reacts slightly to legumes—CRAP I mean what do I do then? I HAVEto up his meat for them to get what they need–and in this case I think I need to venture into supplementing if they can’t have all the produce I want to give them–right? (supping freaks me out to get things out of balance)- eating healthy has NOT worked to just getting rid of my kids’ allergies–so what now?
That’s a tough one, L. I would shop the naturopaths until you find one who knows a lot about healing the gut. This is the place that juicing often comes in handy (folks with IBS and other issues where fiber can be too much).
Regarding the seed question, I suggest that everyone read G.Edward Griffin’s book, “World Without Cancer; The Story of Vitamin B17, where this very issue is addressed. Seeds have nutritional value. He focuses on apricot kernels, but also speaks to apple seeds as well. Since reading this book, I have purchased raw apricot kernels and always eat the seeds of fruit.
Sorry this has nothing to do with apples but my question is…………I read somewhere if robyn has a food storage what she would put in it, can anyone help and tell me where I may have read that information?
Thanks
LAETRILE in apricot pits was a big part of my grandmother’s cancer battle plan. (If you haven’t read My Story on the site, she cured herself of a very fatal cancer, with raw food.)
At the time (early 1980’s) it was banned in the U.S. and she had to go to Mexico to get it. That was before the internet. Fortunately she lived in El Paso, Texas.
Cheleen, ask Jenni (support123@greensmoothiegirl.com) to search this blog and tell you where my food storage blog entries are, if searching doesn’t come up with it.
Cheleen, I think you were referring to of one of the following posts:
https://greensmoothiegirl.local/2008/05/25/high-nutrition-food-storage/
https://greensmoothiegirl.local/2008/10/17/reflecting-on-nutrition-food-storage-and-hard-economic-times/
https://greensmoothiegirl.local/2009/09/03/preserving-raw-foods-two-ways-to-make-living-the-lifestyle-cheap/