APRICOT KERNELS (SEEDS)

Nutritionally, apricot seeds are similar to other nuts — they’re rich in healthy fats and provide some fiber and iron. Seeds or kernels of the apricot grown in central Asia and around the Mediterranean are so sweet that they’re sometimes substituted for almonds. The Italian liqueur amaretto, and amaretti biscotti, is flavored with extract of apricot seeds as well as almonds; plus, oil pressed from the seeds have also been used as cooking oil.

Sweet apricot seeds are sometimes sold as snacks or for baking, and they contain very little or no amygdalin, a controversial component in the kernel. People eat apricot seeds as a snack, very much like nutrition-rich almonds. Bitter apricot seeds, on the other hand, definitely contain higher amounts of amygdalin than those grown in the US, which can be toxic in high amounts.

While there is controversy about the apricot kernel’s ability to fight cancer, there are other known benefits in consuming them, for example, it has been established in scientific studies that they can boost one’s immunity, in traditional Chinese medicine they have been used to help treat pains related to arthritis. They are also known to help reduce high-blood pressure.