Eating a lot of raw, bitter almonds can lead to poisoning.

In this statement, there are three necessary conditions:

One, it must be bitter almonds;

Two, the food must be raw, bitter almonds that have not been soaked or heated;

Three. The food must be eaten a lot.

The toxic ingredient in bitter almonds is bitter amygdalin [Dai]. This compound is broken down by bitter amygdalin or enterobacteria when it enters the intestines, producing hydrocyanic acid, which has a high affinity for trivalent iron in cytochrome oxidase. When combined, it blocks the oxidative respiratory chain of the cell, failing to use oxygen and produce the energy supply substance ATP, ultimately leading to tissue. And when organs are deprived of oxygen, mild poisoning is mainly headache, nausea, vomiting, severe respiratory depression, coma and even death.

Bitter almonds contain bitter amygdalin per 100 grams, which can be broken down to release 100-250 milligrams of hydrocyanic acid, while 60 milligrams of hydrocyanic acid can kill. Therefore, consuming untreated almonds, especially bitter almonds, carries a high risk of poisoning.

40-60 raw bitter almonds may be poisonous and 50-100 may be fatal. According to the experimental transformation of mice, 55 grains of bitter almonds (about 60g) containing 1.8g of bitter amygdalin will cause the death of mice. Therefore, if you need to eat bitter almonds, it is recommended not to exceed 10 per day, especially raw bitter almonds.

Generally, supermarkets sell sweet almonds. Some almond teas and almond lotions are also made from sweet almonds. In fact, sweet almonds also contain bitter amygdalin, but are far less toxic than bitter almonds, but it is not recommended to eat more than one at a time.

The bitter almonds, sweet almonds, and almonds mentioned in this article actually all contain bitter amygdalin, but in relatively large amounts. For the sake of your own life, you should usually pay more attention to this aspect of prevention, and promptly remind your family and friends around you to control the intake of almonds, especially bitter almonds.