Why Does One Want To Cough From Dried Apricots: Causes Of Coughing After Eaten Fruits

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Dangerous dried fruit: why dried apricots cause a cough

Dried apricots are a tasty, nutritious and healthy dried fruit. But sometimes a suspicious sore throat appears from it. Could this be due to allergies? Or is there another reason for this? Let's see what can cause such a reaction.

Why do you want to cough from dried apricots

Dried apricots, like other dried fruits, are now produced on an industrial scale. This means that preservatives and other substances are actively added to them, which contribute to a longer storage of the product, preserve its attractive appearance.

Dried apricots cooked naturally (that is, dried in the sun and then sent to the market) and untreated with these chemicals usually look bad - they are darkish and faded. But if you add sulfur dioxide, it retains a beautiful bright orange hue, looks appetizing and attractive.

It is sulfur dioxide that allows you to maintain the bright color of dried apricots

However, sulfur dioxide is a major health threat. It is a toxic gas used to process fruits that are sent for drying. It not only prevents loss of color brightness, but also settles on dried fruits. Sulfur dioxide is very dangerous for humans - in small doses it causes tickling and coughing, and in large doses - choking, pulmonary edema, difficulty speaking. If you eat dried apricots and notice that you feel like coughing, immediately put aside the dried fruit. The more you eat it, the higher the concentration of sulfur dioxide in your body. Therefore, the higher the risk of more serious symptoms than a sore throat.

Usually, a sore throat is caused by sulfur dioxide. But the possibility of individual intolerance cannot be denied. Most often, food allergy also manifests itself in the form of redness on the skin, itching, redness of the eyes, and tearfulness. If, in addition to a sore throat, you are worried about any other symptoms, contact an allergist to identify allergies to dried apricots or peaches.

What to do to prevent sore throat

Dried fruits that do not contain sulfur dioxide are practically not found in most supermarkets. If you are lucky, and you can find a package of "natural" dried apricots without such impurities, then it will most likely be fabulously expensive. How to be? Do you really have to give up your favorite treat?

It's not obligatory. To reduce the content of sulfur dioxide, you can keep the purchased dried apricots in boiling water for a minute or two. Some experienced users recommend another, no less effective way:

1. Soak dried apricots for 30 minutes in clean cool water.
2. Then rinse it under running water using a colander or sieve.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 three to four times.

Soaking will help remove sulfur dioxide coating

If perspiration is caused by an allergy to the dried fruit itself, then it is better to simply refuse to use it.

In most cases, sore throat after dried apricots is caused not by an allergic reaction, but by an excess of sulfur dioxide. You can get rid of it - the main thing is not to be lazy and thoroughly wash every purchased batch of dried fruits.