Avoid swallowing cherry pits by ensuring you remove the pit before eating, baking and adding the fruit to your blender.
Image Credit: Photo: Stocksy/B&J
In This Article
Can You Digest Pits?
Are They Poisonous?
How to Prevent It
You're snacking on sweet cherries or sipping on a fruit smoothie after dinner and suddenly feel a stiff lump slide down your throat.
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It's happened to the best of us: Swallowing the pits of cherries is common and generally nothing to be worried about.
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Can You Digest Cherry Pits?
Cherries are a type of stone fruit, like apricots, plums, peaches, mangoes and nectarines. All stone fruits have a pit in the center, which actually encapsulates the seeds of the fruit.
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Just like all food, when you swallow a cherry pit, it passes through your esophagus to get to your stomach. Unlike the fruit flesh, cherry pits are indigestible and will pass through your system whole and intact, according to the National Capital Poison Center (NCPC).
So, when it reaches your intestines, it will pass right through without being broken down.
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Are Cherry Pits Poisonous?
While swallowing a pit whole is generally safe, crushing or chewing the pit and seed (and then swallowing it) can be harmful. That’s because damaging the shell exposes the seeds. And the seeds of stone fruit contain a chemical called amygdalin, which the body converts to cyanide when consumed (yes, that cyanide). Cyanide is a poison that can deprive your cells of oxygen when swallowed, depending on the amount consumed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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While this may seem like cause for concern, swallowing a cherry pit won't generally lead to poisoning because the seeds stay within the indigestible shell, according to the NCPC.
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Warning Unless the seeds within the shell are chewed and swallowed, poisoning is not likely. But if you're concerned about the pit you swallowed, talk to your doctor.
It’s a Choking Hazard Another consideration when eating stone fruit is the potential choking hazard. This is especially dangerous for small children who may not have much experience eating cherries or other similar fruits.
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To prevent any hazards, either remove the pits in advance or teach children to spit out seeds and pits before swallowing.
How to Prevent Swallowing Cherry Pits While accidentally swallowing pits or stones is generally nothing to be concerned about, prevention is your best bet — which means, chew your fruit thoroughly and avoid swallowing the stones. And teach young children to spit out the pit.
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Before eating, blending, baking or cooking any stone fruit, remove the pits to avoid any accidental consumption.
While you may have heard about the potential health benefits of eating pits or stones, there is no legitimate medical research to support those claims and doing so can actually be dangerous, per the NCPC. Related Reading 7 Fruits That Can Cause Bloating and Gas
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references
National Capital Poison Center: "I Swallowed A Cherry Pit! Are Stone Fruit Pits Poisonous?"
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "Facts About Cyanide"
references
National Capital Poison Center: "I Swallowed A Cherry Pit! Are Stone Fruit Pits Poisonous?"
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "Facts About Cyanide"
Avoid swallowing cherry pits by ensuring you remove the pit before eating, baking and adding the fruit to your blender.
Image Credit: Photo: Stocksy/B&J
Image Credit: Photo: Stocksy/B&J
- Can You Digest Pits?
- Are They Poisonous?
- How to Prevent It
Unless the seeds within the shell are chewed and swallowed, poisoning is not likely. But if you’re concerned about the pit you swallowed, talk to your doctor.
7 Fruits That Can Cause Bloating and Gas
National Capital Poison Center: "I Swallowed A Cherry Pit! Are Stone Fruit Pits Poisonous?"
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "Facts About Cyanide"
