When I lived in Israel I used to go hiking and was taught by my teacher you can snack on the wild bitter almonds on the trees. He also told us they contain cyanide or rather amygdalin which converts into cyanide when ingested. It is what gives them that "bitter" taste. He would say don't eat more than say 3 and you know you won't need to because a few of them gives you the energy you need to keep going.

The body can process small amounts of cyanide; after all, apple seeds contain cyanide as examples and I know plenty of people who have eaten an apple and it's core and live to tell the tale with no trips to the hospital. The sweet almonds have very small trace amounts of cyanide which wouldn't harm a human.

So what of toxic? Have you eaten white rice lately? That contains arsenic.

Are you still alive? Have honey in your tea? Ayurvedic wisdom considers that toxic along with ingesting the out skin of almonds or eating more than 7 almonds in a day. They state they should be soaked an peeled which in fact increases their digestibility. And quinoa contains a toxin called phytic acid if not soaked before cooking. I'm sure you've had that without soaking.

Are you still alive? Did you get sick? There are toxins everywhere aren't there? What is the solution I say? Well moderation for one and varying the diet so you are not exposed to the same toxins day in and day out along with engaging in soaking practices to increase the digestibility of food. Pictured on the left is what I included in my recipe, sweet apricot kernels. They are found inside the pits. As I am steering away from almonds due to my bodies reactivity and other reasons I turned to these similar tasting nuts.