If you eat bitter almonds, be very careful: did you know that they are very dangerous and that eating only 20 bitter almonds would be fatal?
There is no doubt that almonds are healthy and very healthy nuts, which from a nutritional point of view contain a very interesting amount of vitamins and minerals. In the group of vitamins we can highlight vitamin A, B1 and B2, C, D, E and PP. While in the group of minerals, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, manganese and chlorine stand out.
If we take a look at our seasonal food calendar, we realize that -actually- its best season is found in the months of September, October and November. Although it is true that, today, it is possible to find them throughout the year thanks to their extensive cultivation.
If you are a regular consumer of almonds, and every day you consume the recommended daily amounts of this delicious dried fruit (around 25 grams), you will probably have come across bitter almonds at some point; that is to say, almonds that present an intense bitterness.
This unpleasant taste is due to amygdalin, a compound of cyanide and glucose that in large doses is very harmful to our body. In addition, to this compound we must add the presence of emulsion, another toxic substance.
When you eat a bitter almond you put both compounds in contact, the result of which is the breakdown of amygdalin into hydrocyanic acid (HCN), D-glucose and benzaldehyde. Hydrocyanic acid is deadly.
Many nutrition experts indicate that it is enough to consume 15 to 20 bitter almonds for its consequences in an adult person to be certainly fatal. In the case of children, the lethal amount would be 5 to 10 bitter almonds.
Therefore, if when you eat an almond you realize that it is bitter, it is best that you discard it immediately and do not consume it. And if you are unlucky enough to find several in the package you have purchased, it is best to throw it away. Or its consequences may be dangerous for your body.
