“If you swallow a fruit seed, a plant will grow in your tummy”
You might have heard the story of a poor boy in childhood who swallow a fruit seed. After this plant starts growing out of his body. It was just a story for fun to stop kids from swallowing fruit seeds like cherries. Why do you need to stop kids from ingesting cherry seeds? Zoom in to know the answer here!
Cherries belong to a group of fruit called stone fruit. Other fruits in this category are peaches, mangoes, and apricots. All the seeds of this group are enclosed in a hard pit. The shell of the pit is indigestible. The bad thing about these seeds is that they all contain Cyanide which is a highly toxic substance.
What happens if you swallow cherry seed? Swallowing one or two seeds accidently won’t harm your body. It’s indigestible and passes out of the body within a day or 2 through stool. If you chew the hard pits it can cause the symptoms of cyanide toxicity such as intoxication, headache, vomiting, and even convulsion. It requires emergency treatment.
The way you eat the pit and the type of cherry you eat matter a lot. Some cherries contain more cyanide, while others are mildly toxic. For kids, Morello cherries ‘pits are very dangerous. If you’re a cherry lover read this full post.
Is It Safe To eat Cherry Seeds Or Cherry Pits?
Is cherry pit eatable? Not at all, only the flesh of the fruit is eatable. Cherry seed is a hard substance that contains cyanide compounds. It’s uneatable both in crushed and unbroken form. So, guide your kids to spit the pit out of the mouth when eating cherries.
Is it safe to eat cherry seeds or cherry pits? It’s unsafe to eat the unbroken pit and chew the crushed one. If you chew the crushed pit, the cyanide in it will get mixed in your body. It’s toxic. If chewed in large amounts it can cause a poisonous effect like vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Is Cherry Seed Toxic If Swallowed
It’s true that the cherry pit contains toxins. This toxin is stored inside the hard covering of the seed. It’s safe unless it is covered. When it is swallowed in a low amount it would cause no damage. If you take it in large amounts it will side effects such as dizziness, vomiting, and anxiety.
Is cherry seed toxic if swallowed? The toxin inside the cherry seed is harmful only if you chew the seed. In this way, it will come out of hard covering to get mixed in our blood. Otherwise, if you swallow the whole unbroken seed, it will not be toxic.
Symptoms After Swallowing Cherry Pits
The symptoms are similar to cyanide toxicity. It would be acute, mild, or severe depending on the factors below:
- Type Of Cherry
- Amount Of Seeds swallowed
- Way of swallowing, chewing, or eating as a whole
- Overall health condition of swallowed person
- Age of person
The most notable symptoms after eating 3-4 pits of Morello cherry or 7 to 9 pits of red and black cherries are:
- Intoxication
- Dizziness
- Abdominal distress
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Colon Obstruction
- Headache
- Difficulty in Breathing
- Convulsion
How Much Toxin Do Cherry Pits Contain
When we chew the pit, the harmful chemical amygdalin come in contact with saliva. It turns the amygdalin into hydrogen cyanide which is poisonous. Not all types of cherries contain much toxicity. Different types of cherry pits contain different amounts of amygdalin. It is hard to diagnose what amount of toxin each cherry pit contains.
How many toxins do cherry pits contain? On average this fruit release 0.01-1.1mg of cyanide into your body. However, it depends mainly on how much you chew in crushed form. Foe Morelloo Cherry 2-3 pits are enough to cause cyanide toxicity, while for red and black cherries the amount to produce enough toxin is 7 to 9 pits.
Cyanide toxicity in the human body starts with consuming 0.2-1.6mg per pound. If you consume one gram of the red cherry it will produce 3.9mg of amygdalin. The black cherry pit is mild toxic with amygdalin 2.7 mg per gram. Morello cherry pit is the most poisonous with a potency of 65 mg per gram.
| Names Of Cherries | Amyglydain per gram |
| Red CHerry | 3.9mg/gram |
| Black Cherry | 2.7mg/grams |
| Morello | 65mg/grams |
How Many Cherry Pits Are Toxic If Swallowed
The interesting thing about cherry pit is that the amount of toxin in each pit varies considerably. It is difficult to guess the exact amount of toxin stored in every pit. So, you cant have a clear idea of how many pits to swallow and how much to leave.
How many cherry pits are toxic? It’s difficult to tell the exact amount of toxin produced in each pit. It’s better to avoid eating or swallowing even a single pit. The toxicity can be mild or severe no matter how many you eat. So, it’s good to throw the seed out!
What To Do If Someone Swallow a Cherry Pit
Ingesting Cherry Pit is quite common in both kids and adults. When toddlers eat this fruit without parental guidance, they are likely to gulp the pits. If they love cherries most, they would surely swallow or ingest more seeds. In this situation, it can be problematic.
What to do if someone swallows a cherry pit. No action is needed for swallowing only one pit. If you feel symptoms like dizziness, headache, vomiting, and increased pulse rate, seek a doctor’s advice. It is extremely rare to feel any symptoms because the toxin inside the pit is mild impotence.
What Happens If You Swallow a Cherry Seed By Accident
Poison control centers daily receive calls inquiring about cherry pit toxicity. Mothers get conscious when they see kids eating the cherry fruit as a whole. Even after keen monitoring, it is impossible to avoid accidental swallowing of cherry seeds in kids.
What happens if you swallow a cherry seed by accident.? Nothing bad as it is indigestible. It will pass out of the body within 24 to 48 hours through poop. The chances of poisoning in accidental swallowing are very rare. It happens only in deliberate chewing and eating up alot of crushed pits.
What Happens If you Swallow a Cherry Seed Whole
The whole seed of cherry has a hard covering that surrounds the seed. This hard covering is called the kernel. It contains a toxic chemical named amygdalin. This chemical has the ability to convert into toxic hydrogen cyanide.
What happens if you swallow a cherry seed whole? Swallowing whole seed is safe unless you chew it in crushed form. It contains toxic chemicals that can cause symptoms like dizziness, vomiting, abdominal pain, and headache.
It’s completely safe and may require no medical treatment. The seed whole after passing through the food pipe will come out of the body with excretion. It may cause no symptoms because poison is still inside the unbroken seed. The seed is not going to break out inside the stomach. It will come out as a whole after 1 or 2 days.
What Happens If You Swallow a Cherry Seed While Pregnant
If you’re pregnant, it’s your utmost responsibility to take extreme care of your diet. In this situation, whether you eat or not, it may have a direct or indirect impact on your fetus. The whole body and hormonal system of a pregnant woman undergo many changes if you take anything not recommended to eat.
What happens if you swallow a cherry seed while pregnant? Its recommended to avoid any toxic substance during pregnancy. If you take swallow too many cherry pits you are likely to suffer from cyanide toxicity. Symptoms may be acute or mild depending on ingested quantity. If you feel intoxication and dizziness contact your doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Eating Two Cherries Kill You?
No, not at all, cherry is safe fruit. Its flesh is eatable and healthy. However, its pit is toxic only when chewed in crushed form. ONly swallowing accidently one of two pits will never kill you. If you keep the pit in your mouth and lick it with your tongue and eventually chew it, it would be dangerous.
How Many Cherry Seeds can Kill You?
It depends on the type of cherry pits and the amount consumed. Morello cherry pit is most poisonous than others. Consuming 7 to 9 cherry pits of red and black can show cyanide toxicity symptoms. However, 2 to 3 cherry pits of MOrello are enough to cause symptoms.
Conclusion
Dear cherry lovers, pits are indigestible.No need to get panic if you swallow it accidentally. It will pass as a whole through your digestive tract and eventually out of the body in poop. You feel symptoms of indigestion only if you have a pre-existing health condition. Otherwise, you will be fine.
Remember you might be in trouble if you open the pit and chew it before swallowing. In this way, the cyanide will release into your body that can put you quickly in the hospital bed. So beware, monitor, and instruct your kids when they’re eating this food.