What will happen to you if you eat the shells of sunflower seeds?

Question

My cousin just told me that when he sunflower seeds (the kind with shells) he chews up shell and all and swallows. Is this NORMAL for people to do? What conditions do you figure his esophagus/stomach/intestines are in?

Answer 1

They are edible I guess, like, you won't die or anything, but they are probably hard for your body to digest, which may result in stomach aches, cramps, etc.

Answer 2

that shell has 2 - 3 times the fiber of the seed ??5

constipation is not fun BUT as you please..

I no longer buy such treats because they are TOO expensive

for $2.00 I can plant 50 - 100 sunflowers and play with 20 to 40 pounds of seeds

Get REAL this next year YOU have no idea who is going to get it in rear end

Plant Your Victory Garden..democrats will not save you...Look at the American Asians thet buy vavcant property and within the year their garden is there..  

Answer 3

nothing my brother eats the shell

Answer 4

some ppl do that... its kinda normal.. its not good for you thought..  

Answer 5

I used to do that all the time when I was a kid, and that was 20 years ago. Just remember what goes in must come out...I know gross, right!

Answer 6

Nothing will bad will happen to him; although it might be painful upon exit.  

Answer 7

Depending on what quantity consumed, I would give him some soft foods to ease the exit.. and make sure to hydrate..

Answer 8

Well, I certainly would not consider it to be 'normal'. If you watch birds, you'll see that they don't eat the shell and there is a reason for that!

The hull of a sunflower seed is approximately 87% scarified cellulose tissue (i.e. really rough fiber) with the rest coming in as lipids, proteins, fats, etc. There is no nutrition benefit from eating them as any and all nutrients/fats/proteins are trapped within the cells of the cellulose. Human digestive tracts are not able to digest cellulose.

As for the ... exit... of the hulls, that cannot be comfortable! The hulls of seeds are made to be waterproof, so there is no way that it will absorb water to soften it while in the intestines. Think of the hull covering on popcorn -- it comes out intact. While it is somewhat more flexible, the sunflower hulls are rigid!

My concern for your cousin is what he is doing to his insides. Eating very rough material like that can cause nicks and perforations in your intestine. While this may initially cause no problems (or seem to not cause problems), repeatedly eating the hulls will add up over time and lead to more damage, scarring, etc. of the small intestines and the microvilli in them. This weakens the lining of the intestine and later down the road could result in a number of problems, including ulcers, polyps, appendicitis, tumor growths, and more.

Tell your cousin to start spitting them out!