Are apple cores poisonous or healthy? Debunking some myths

DPA
·2 min read
The core of the apple is very healthy as it contains a lot of fibre, which is helpful for your digestion. However, people often worry that the seeds are poisonous - which is technically true, but only if they are crushed and eaten in very large amounts. Kristin Schmidt/dpa
The core of the apple is very healthy as it contains a lot of fibre, which is helpful for your digestion. However, people often worry that the seeds are poisonous - which is technically true, but only if they are crushed and eaten in very large amounts. Kristin Schmidt/dpa

It is up to you whether you eat the core of your apple - though some people choose not to, fearing it may be poisonous.

That's only partly true, says Germany's Centre for Nutrition (BZfE).

Apple cores, or more specifically the seeds, contain amygdalin, a cyanide-and-sugar based molecule which is converted into hydrogen cyanide - a highly poisonous substance - by the digestive system, the BZfE explains. But the substance is only released if you bite into the seeds, and only lethal if you eat very large quantities of them.

However an adult would need to eat a staggering amount of crushed seeds to be at risk of poisoning-by-apple-core, which is unlikely not least because the seeds have an unpleasantly bitter taste.

If you want to be completely sure, simply don't chew them and they will pass through your body whole and leave in the same form.

Otherwise, the core of the apple is very healthy as it contains a lot of fibre, which is helpful for your digestion. So if you don't mind the texture of an apple core, then it makes perfect nutritional and ecological sense to eat it.

The only thing to watch out for is the rare case that your apple has core rot, which develops during blossoming. But don't worry, that is immediately visible when you cut the fruit open.

Apple cores, or more specifically the seeds, contain amygdalin, a cyanide-and-sugar based molecule which is converted into hydrogen cyanide - a highly poisonous substance - by the digestive system. But the substance is only released if you bite into the seeds, and only lethal if you eat very large quantities of them. Peter Endig/dpa
Apple cores, or more specifically the seeds, contain amygdalin, a cyanide-and-sugar based molecule which is converted into hydrogen cyanide - a highly poisonous substance - by the digestive system. But the substance is only released if you bite into the seeds, and only lethal if you eat very large quantities of them. Peter Endig/dpa