# Is it safe to juice whole apples, including seeds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374 "2011-05-27T00:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/1 "2011-05-27T00:32:03Z")
I just got a juicer, and it very proudly announces it will juice whole apples. Awesome! Except, wait, aren’t apple seeds full of cyanide? But maybe the seeds don’t get into the juice? Safe or not? ---
**Author:** ![classyladyhp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5ac83/32.png) [@classyladyhp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/classyladyhp)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/2 "2011-05-27T00:35:27Z")
It’s not safe to juice the seeds. You should remove them or risk cyanide poisoning if you drink the juice with seeds in large quantities. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/3 "2011-05-27T00:42:46Z")
> [@classyladyhp](#): > > It’s not safe to juice the seeds. You should remove them or risk cyanide poisoning if you drink the juice with seeds in large quantities. That’s absurd - when apples are pressed commercially for cider or juice, they’re shredded and pressed. Nobody removes the seeds. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/4 "2011-05-27T00:56:55Z")
My brother was a big fan of eating all the fruit cores seeds and all. He’d love to munch apricot kernels too I imagine if you were juicing it it might be possible to get poisoned. The poison in apple seeds is packed tight so it’s less harmful to swallow them whole, and you get more poison if you chew them up. I read it takes about 20 apple seeds to kill a mouse. So if someone wants to calculate how many a human must consume, I guess you could do the math 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/5 "2011-05-27T01:03:27Z")
[Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/apples.asp) says the amount of cyanide in apple seeds can be metobolised safely by the body. Several places seem to state that it takes 100g (almost a half cup) of crushed appleseeds to make a 150lb person ill, but there’s never any source so I’m not sure. Don’t drink a gallon of the stuff daily and you should be ok. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/6 "2011-05-27T01:10:43Z")
To reiterate: If it were unsafe to juice apples along with their seeds, people would be dropping like flies. Commercial apple juice and cider is made from pressed, shredded whole apples with their seeds. The seeds get broken and crushed in the pressing - although they’re harder and drier than the flesh of the apples, so probably don’t contribute proportionally to the juice. Blending and drinking quantities of whole apples might be a problem, if apple seeds are indeed as toxic as reputed. Juicing them with a machine that separates the solids should be safe. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/7 "2011-05-27T01:19:55Z")
I eat apples whole (except for the stem), but I try to avoid crushing the seed, in which case they will go right through you (that is their purpose in life, after all). But I am sure that I have crunched many a seed and lived to tell about it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/8 "2011-05-27T01:32:31Z")
I used to, when young and left to my own devices, laboriously split open a peach pit and EAT THE SEED. Under the impression it was an almond. … I eat the whole pear except for the stem, are pear seeds OK to eat? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/9 "2011-05-27T01:52:17Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/apples.asp) says the amount of cyanide in apple seeds can be metobolised safely by the body. And [here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/193/are-apricot-seeds-poisonous) is Cecil’s column on the issue of cyanide in fruit seeds. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/10 "2011-05-27T02:15:54Z")
apples are cut into chunks if hard, it will juice faster. no need to remove seeds. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/11 "2011-05-27T04:28:12Z")
Well, evidently “juice whole apples!” means “juice midget apples from Lilliput!” But I juiced some apple quarters (to make, god I can’t believe I’m admitting this, Apple Pear Beet Ginger juice, which was suprisingly not bad) and have not dropped dead yet. I am advised that I should call it Apple Pear Ginger Surprise juice. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/12 "2011-05-27T04:57:05Z")
I have never ever seeded apples when I’ve juiced them and I’m still alive, so far as I can tell, so take that as you will. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/13 "2011-05-27T05:05:15Z")
The beets might kill you from shock though - FYI the colorful effects show up surprisingly early. As in, a few hours ago, and I just made this stuff at 9:30. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/14 "2011-05-27T05:17:53Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > The beets might kill you from shock though - FYI the colorful effects show up surprisingly early. As in, a few hours ago, and I just made this stuff at 9:30. I love beets. (I have an Eastern European heritage.) I don’t know if I’ve ever seen their effects that quickly, though. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/15 "2011-05-27T05:22:34Z")
> [@classyladyhp](#): > > It’s not safe to juice the seeds. You should remove them or risk cyanide poisoning if you drink the juice with seeds in large quantities. Do you have impartial evidence to support this assertion? If not, you should not have posted in this thread in this forum. If so, you should have included it in your post. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/16 "2011-05-27T14:10:53Z")
We’ve made hard cider from fresh apples a few times, and just cut 'em in quarters, throw them in the juicer and have lived to tell the tale. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/17 "2011-05-27T14:16:01Z")
I’d heartily advise against juicing bitter almonds, though. ---
**Author:** ![djc2323](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@djc2323](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djc2323)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/18 "2011-05-27T19:32:25Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I just got a juicer, and it very proudly announces it will juice whole apples. Awesome! Except, wait, aren’t apple seeds full of cyanide? But maybe the seeds don’t get into the juice? Safe or not? it is most definitely safe most fruit seeds contain vitamin b17 and it is very important to our diets to eliminate the possibility of cancer..fda wont approve b17 bear in mind the guy who did the only study for the fda is named macdonald and is the very man who coin the term “a pack a day keeps lung cancer away” ahhhh the 50’s gotta love em..the info is out there if u need it just google b17 or (Nitrilosides) or Laetrile and amygdalin…then u will find the straight dope by the way u need a hundred grams of apple seeds to make 500g of b17 so even if u dont care to know the rest at least u can rest assured a few seeds are safe…much love ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/19 "2011-05-27T19:41:07Z")
> [@djc2323](#): > > it is most definitely safe most fruit seeds contain vitamin b17 and it is very important to our diets to eliminate the possibility of cancer..fda wont approve b17 bear in mind the guy who did the only study for the fda is named macdonald and is the very man who coin the term “a pack a day keeps lung cancer away” ahhhh the 50’s gotta love em..the info is out there if u need it just google b17 or (Nitrilosides) or Laetrile and amygdalin…then u will find the straight dope > by the way u need a hundred grams of apple seeds to make 500g of b17 so even if u dont care to know the rest at least u can rest assured a few seeds are safe…much love Wait… what? So, something that both isn’t effective for cancer treatment, and also slowly poisons me with cyanide is a good deal? Where can I find this in bulk? ---
**Author:** ![djc2323](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@djc2323](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djc2323)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374/20 "2011-05-27T19:50:26Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I just got a juicer, and it very proudly announces it will juice whole apples. Awesome! Except, wait, aren’t apple seeds full of cyanide? But maybe the seeds don’t get into the juice? Safe or not? oops 100g seeds=500mg b17 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-juice-whole-apples-including-seeds/583374.md?page=2)