I was asked the other day if blackberry seeds were #poisonous like #elderberry seeds.

Are they "superfoods"?
Are they toxic?

Fruit seeds that are small, from familiar #berries like #strawberries, #blueberries, #blackberries and #raspberries, are good for you. Chew them and you have a good chance of getting some #Omega3 essential fatty acids. But we should never reduce real foods to a list of #nutrients.

Plants make colours (pigments) and smells (essential oils) as medicine for themselves. Colourful foods contain anti oxidants that repair our cells, anti inflammatories that reduce pain and swelling, and even anti virals!

Seeds are hard to digest on purpose! The plant wants someone like us to come eat the delicious fruit treat, for the seeds to pass undigested through our bodies, and get planted with ....uh... fertilizer! Some plants make seeds too bitter to enjoy, like #oranges, and some pretty darned spicy, like #peppers. And some like elderberry play hardball with antho-cyanins that our bodies digest as #cyanide... and those we don't want to eat at all!

Best not to eat the seeds of #apples, #pears, #apricots, #peaches, #plums, #cherries, #mangoes, oranges, #tomatoes, peppers, #eggplant, #kiwi, #elderberries or #passionfruit. You could get a belly ache, but you'd have to ingest A LOT to be poisoned.

If in doubt, listen to your Elders, or your mother. They probably know. Ask me anything! AnarresHealth@gmail.com