My chemistry teacher told me that arsenic is (or can be) naturally occuring in almonds. Is this true? And if it is, why don't we get sick? Because I read in a book of mine that arsenic is lethal in doses as small as 65 milligrams. So if I eat a box of chocolate almonds, why don't I get sick?
2007-05-28 12:27:54 · 6 answers · asked by Michael G 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Yeah its in doeses far far less than 65mg because to the analytical chemist 65mg is a tonne! Also not only would it be in an extremely trace amounts e.g ng level max I would presume thats 1x10-9g if you can imagine something that small? But also the form that the arsenic takes in the body - a side subject of chemistry called speciation.
Also some people are getting confused with cyanide that smells like almonds, which is genetic whether you can smell it or not and its usually women that can smell it!
2007-05-28 12:44:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Almonds Arsenic
2016-11-15 00:06:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Almond kernels naturally contain some cyanide, Arsenic might occur only in arsenic-contaminated soil or water but it is not characteristic of almonds. There are grossly two kinds of almonds, sweet almonds which are used as is (For example, in the chocolate bar you mention), and the bitter ones, which have more cyanide and are normally not sold to the public. These are processed to obtain oil and purified to eliminate cyanide. Speaking about the products you can get on the supermarket, perhaps you should be more worried about the calories rather than the cyanide. :-)
2007-05-28 13:23:56 · answer #3 · answered by Manuelon 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if it's for fact in almonds but in a body(deceased) during autopsy a almond smell is present when a person is poisoned with arsenic.
2007-05-28 12:36:14 · answer #4 · answered by The nu cancer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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RE:
Arsenic in Almonds?
My chemistry teacher told me that arsenic is (or can be) naturally occuring in almonds. Is this true? And if it is, why don't we get sick? Because I read in a book of mine that arsenic is lethal in doses as small as 65 milligrams. So if I eat a box of chocolate almonds, why don't I get sick?
2015-08-07 22:07:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about there being arsenic in almonds but I have been told the following story:
If working in a lab, a fellow chemist requires CPR because of injuries, and if his/her breath SMELLS like almonds, then it may be arsenic poisoning, and don't give him/her CPR.
He may have said cyanide... I don't remember
2007-05-28 12:33:08 · answer #6 · answered by Rick P. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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no. Arsenic is said to smell like toasted almonds but that's it.
2016-04-01 05:16:01 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The pits of fruits like peach pits have cyanide, but it would take several to amount to a lethal dose.
2007-05-28 12:32:04 · answer #8 · answered by Alex 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋