What kind of apple eater are you? Do you slice it? Cut it into quarters? Or do you just pick the apple up off the counter and take a bite out of it?

No matter what your answers to these questions are, I think the more pressing matter is: Do you eat the core?

Most people I’ve talked to would say, “No, of course I don’t eat the core!” After all, it’s the part of the apple that society has shunned. The part that’s been rejected, for centuries thrown in the trash.

But I’m here to beg the question: Is it alright to eat the core of the apple?

Luckily, science is here to help. As it turns out, the core is one of the most nutritious parts of the apple. Not only is it filled with an excess of fiber, but it also contains many probiotics.

Probiotics are healthy microorganisms that live within the body. They’re associated with positive gut health, such as digestion and bowel movement, and help to boost immune health.

Many foods contain probiotics, such as yogurt and kombucha. By eating these foods, one adds diversity to the already existing population of probiotics within their body.

Now, you might be thinking, with health benefits such as these, how could someone not want to eat the core of the apple? And here comes the tricky part: It’s a common belief that apple seeds contain poison.

And they do. Although small, apple seeds, otherwise known as pips, contain small amounts of amygdalin. When digested, amygdalin degrades into hydrogen cyanide. Once having entered the bloodstream, this poison prevents cells from utilizing oxygen, causing them to die.

However, the coating around apple seeds keeps them from being digested. After all, apple seeds rely on animals eating and then later defecating their seeds as a means of seed dispersion, and so need to ensure they’re not digested within the digestive tract. So, the only way the amygdalin would degrade into hydrogen cyanide would be if one intentionally crushed or chewed the apple seeds before consuming them.

Furthermore, apple seeds contain such small amounts of amygdalin that, even if they were to be digested, the body would be able to convert the cyanide into thiocyanate, which is less harmful and easily extractable through urine. In fact, it would take hundreds of digested apple seeds to be eaten before harm would come.

So, with this in mind, there truly are no downsides to eating the whole of the apple – rejected core and all. And the benefits, including but not limited to fiber, probiotics, and less food waste, are hard to ignore. Plus, if one’s worried about eating the seeds, then just don’t eat them – they’re easily avoidable.

So, the next time you’re eating an apple and eyeing that trash can, don’t partake in society’s shunning of the core. Eat it, and enjoy the delicious benefits you’re reaping!