How many bitter almonds does An Lingrong have to eat before committing suicide?

From time to time, there are news reports on the Internet and TV: someone committed suicide by eating too many almonds. How toxic are almonds? Will we also be poisoned when we eat almonds in our daily lives? Does this have anything to do with the variety of almonds ?

Twenty years ago, eating almonds was just a pastime after eating the apricot meat. If you ate bitter ones, you would throw them away immediately; if you ate sweet ones, you would just chew them casually. But now, we can encounter all kinds of almonds in the supermarket. There are blanched almonds soaked in salt water on the fresh food counter, and salted American almonds on the dried fruit shelf. As for other almond-related products, there are even more, such as almond crisps, almond tea, almond chocolate, etc., and even the beverage shelf has a corner of almond dew. Almonds are so popular nowadays, and naturally there are more questions about almonds.

Large and small almonds are not of the same family

If you pay attention, you will find that the almonds on the market are big and small, round and flat . Although they are all called almonds, their sources are diverse. Among them, the dried mature seeds of wild apricots , Siberian apricots , Northeastern apricots and cultivated apricots are all considered almonds. These native plants that produce almonds are classified as the genus Armeniaca.

Nowadays, except for a few commercial almonds that come from cultivated sweet almond trees , most are still picked from wild almond trees . Their almonds are divided into bitter and sweet . The bitter ones are called " northern almonds " and the sweet ones are called " southern almonds ". However, the distinction between sweet almonds and bitter almonds and between southern and northern almonds are only traditional terms, not botanical classifications. The "northern and southern almonds" ingredients in many Cantonese soups are actually almonds.

As for the American almonds that are now popular in the market, they are not produced by real almond trees. They are actually the seeds of almonds (also called almonds ), which belong to the Amygdalus subgenus in plant classification. Rather than calling them American almonds, it would be more accurate to call them American peach kernels. The most significant difference between the two plants is that the almond flesh will split in half when ripe, while the apricot flesh we are familiar with will wrap the seeds tightly from beginning to end and will not split.

Almonds, American almonds, wild may be more dangerous

The "quest" for "American almonds" is not new. Humans have been collecting and eating almonds for a long time. Traces of wild almonds were found in human sites in the Jordan River Basin 12,000 years ago. People at that time stored them together with wild peas , indicating that the collectors went straight for these edible seeds. However, wild almonds and almonds are not safe foods .

The toxicity of bitter almonds comes from the hydrocyanic acid released by the hydrolysis of amygdalin , which can block the respiratory chain of cells and hinder the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the direct energy source for all life activities). The amygdalin contained in every 100 grams of bitter almonds can decompose and release 100-250 mg of hydrocyanic acid , and 60 mg of hydrocyanic acid can kill a person. This is also an important means for almond trees to protect their seeds. In the past, there have been tragedies where young children died because they ate too much bitter almonds out of curiosity.

So theoretically, An Lingrong only needed to eat 24 to 60 grams of bitter almonds to commit suicide. The bitter almonds in the emperor's house must be fuller, and if one bitter almond weighs 0.8 grams, An Lingrong only needed to eat 30 to 75 bitter almonds ...

However, with a little processing, bitter almonds can become very safe. Literature reports that bitter almonds with a hydrocyanic acid content of 0.1399% can be reduced to 0.0667% by soaking them in 60°C warm water for 10 minutes, removing them, peeling them and drying them.

There is a debate over whether the bitter almonds that killed An Lingrong were actually almonds, but if you look closely, you will find that the "bitter almonds" in the picture are actually almonds, which are American almonds, but they are non-toxic.

There is another interesting phenomenon about almonds. Wild almonds have a strong bitter taste, while the almonds from cultivated almond trees are mostly sweet .

Researchers believe that a genetic mutation may have caused some almond trees to lose their defensive weapon, amygdalin, causing the hydrocyanic acid content of sweet almonds to drop to about 1/3 of that of bitter almonds. Early farmers accidentally noticed that some almond trees could produce sweet almonds, so they continued to cultivate and improve them. Some scientists also believe that almond trees were domesticated because their seeds are extremely attractive. The cultivated almonds found in the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (1341-1323 BC) mean that this plant may have become a permanent resident in the orchard as early as the Bronze Age in 2000 BC. Therefore, if you eat unprocessed almonds, especially bitter almonds, there is a great risk of infection.

Conventional nutrition is half a catty

So, are almonds really taking the name of almonds? Are we paying more for something with less nutrition? Before we jump to conclusions, let's compare the nutritional content of almonds and almonds.

Except that almonds have slightly more protein than almonds , and less vitamin B1 and calcium than almonds, the nutritional content of the two is about the same. As for the fashionable nutritional concept of unsaturated fatty acids in the fat composition, there is not much difference between the two. Unsaturated fats in almonds account for 92.5% of the total fatty acids, while almonds account for 95%.

In addition, under normal circumstances, the amount of almonds we eat at one time is about 100 grams (2 taels), so these nutritional differences can be completely ignored.

Amygdalin is both a poison and a medicine

Like popular health foods, almonds are labeled as anti-cancer, anti-aging, and immune-enhancing, but these claims lack experimental evidence . The only experimental evidence is obtained from experiments using pure ingredients, and all of them are animal experiments or in vitro animal experiments.

In fact, both bitter almonds and almonds contain a certain amount of antitussive and antiasthmatic ingredients, that is, amygdalin , which produces cyanide after hydrolysis in humans. It is these cyanides that can inhibit the activity of the respiratory center, thereby playing a role in antitussive and antiasthmatic effects. We occasionally eat bitter almonds, and their bitterness comes from amygdalin. However, as mentioned earlier, amygdalin is a toxic substance. If people eat too much, it will endanger their lives . It is not a panacea that the more the better.

In the process of selecting and breeding edible almonds and almonds, a very important criterion is to reduce the content of amygdalin, and the content of amygdalin in almonds is less than that in almonds. From a safety perspective, people will not be too demanding on almonds. After all, reducing amygdalin is the most beneficial to health. At present, the almonds and almonds we eat have been selected for a long time, and there are very few toxic ingredients in them. As long as you like their taste, you can eat them as much as you want. They are a good source of protein and fat. Of course, a single food source is always bad, and consuming too much fat and protein is not a good thing.

As for whether to choose almonds or almond kernels, it depends on your taste, because their nutritional content is almost the same. However, it should be noted that the history of cultivating almond kernels is very short, and it can even be said that they have not yet been truly cultivated. In addition, seeds of plants such as wild apricots will also be mixed into edible almonds, which will bring great risks . If the amygdalin is not completely processed, it is likely to cause poisoning . From this perspective, the risk of almonds may be greater than that of almond kernels .

Foodie Class: Almond Tofu is Not Tofu

The apricot tree, which is native to China, was originally a fruit tree, so Chinese almonds are mostly a byproduct of eating apricot pulp. Bitter almonds are more often found in pharmacies, and have always been used as a cough and asthma medicine. Although the bitter taste of almonds is not very pleasing to the tongue, this taste can balance the "greasy" feeling of sweets, so almonds soon became associated with food. The most famous in China are almond tea and almond tofu .

Almond tofu does not contain any bean ingredients . It is made by grinding sweet almonds into pulp, adding water and boiling, and then adding agar boiled from agar agar. It will become a solid like tofu when frozen and condensed. In the hot summer, it is a pleasant thing to have a bowl of cool almond tofu.

As for almond tea, it was originally made by grinding almonds into pulp, boiling them, and then adding milk and sugar to make a drink . The production method is no different from grinding soy milk. The almond tea, a famous snack in old Beijing, is made with refined almond powder as the main ingredient, and is paired with more than ten kinds of condiments such as peanuts, sesame seeds, roses, osmanthus, raisins, wolfberries, cherries, and white sugar. It can be enjoyed by pouring boiling water from a large copper pot made of dragon and phoenix copper. This kind of almond tea tastes more like sweet oil tea. In comparison, it is more interesting to watch the process of brewing tea in a large teapot with a long spout.

Health Tips: Never eat almonds raw!

Generally speaking, apricot trees growing in mountainous areas will "provide" a lot of apricot kernels. Don't eat them out of curiosity and get poisoned. If you must eat them, the standard method is to cook the almond kernels in boiling water , then soak them in clean water for 24 hours , and then soak them again after changing the water . This will remove most of the cyanide.

However, since the cyanide content depends on the type of almonds and the processing method, it is recommended that you buy the processed almonds. Don't let your mouth hurt your body.

Author: Shi Jun

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