Dried Fruit : Good or Bad ?

Published on 06 June 2020 

Dried fruit - Good or bad ??

WhenI changed my diet to a natural diet more than 30 years ago, I thought I couldjust eat dried fruit of any kind, as long as it contained no added sugar. Onlyto find that most dried fruit can cause symptoms that mimic Covid 19!!!

Dried Fruit Good or Bad?

I found dried fruit to be agreat alternative to sweets and candy, high in natural glucose to satisfy yoursugar cravings, yet because it is natural sugar AND high in fibre, vitamins,minerals, and antioxidants - it is stable on your blood sugar and does notcause hyperactivity or attention deficit problems. Initially, as a diabeticvery small portions can be eaten, but more as your health improves.

But little did I know thatmost of what I was eating was preserved with SO2, AKA Sulphur Dioxide, AKA E220and resulted in me getting hives or urticaria which caused flu-like symptoms,really sticky mucous and a raised rash on my arms, legs, and face and mildasthma or a tight chest. 

Sulphur Dioxide is the mostcommonly used preservative, due to easy access and low cost. You simply smokeout the whole warehouse and the stuff gets into everything - I mean like rightthrough the food and you cannot rinse it off. .

Sulphur dioxide is used asa preservative fordried apricots, dried figs, and other dried fruits, owing to its anti-microbial properties andability to prevent oxidation, and is called E220 when used in thisway in Europe. As a preservative, it maintains the colourful appearance ofthe fruit and prevents rotting. It is also added tosulfured molasses.

Sulphur dioxide was firstused in winemaking by the Romans, when theydiscovered that burning sulphur candles inside empty wine vessels keeps themfresh and free from vinegar smell.

It is still an importantcompound in winemaking, and is measured in parts per million (ppm) in wine. It ispresent even in so-called unsulphurated wine at concentrations of up to 10mg/L. It serves as an antibiotic and antioxidant, protecting wine from spoilage bybacteria and oxidation - a phenomenon that leads to the browning of the wineand a loss of cultivar specific flavoursIts antimicrobial action also helpsminimize volatile acidity. Wines containing sulphur dioxide are typicallylabeled with "containing sulphites".

Sideeffects other than urticaria are; promotes cancer cells multiplying, can causerespiratory problems such as bronchitis, asthma, and can irritate your nose,throat, and lungs. It may cause coughing, wheezing, phlegm, and asthma attacks. The effects are worse when you areexercising. Sulphur dioxide has been linked to cardiovasculardisease.

So I set out to warneverybody to stay away from E220. Within a couple of years, I noticed the foodsand drinks that usually have E220 on the labels, now said E223 or Sodiummetabisulphite. So I investigated and found a whole family of sulphating "agents"that all had similar side effects as E220 

I have listed their names andnumbers below. Then I discovered that nitrites and nitrates (E 249- E252) canhave similar effects - so I had to avoid those too. 

Then came Sodium Benzoate injust about everything else - from spreads to juices and even health supplementslike aloe! These also affect the lungs and can cause hives...

Thiswas probably one of the driving forces that got us started with our Mary-Annsbusiness - we wanted to provide people with the best dried fruit we could findwith no preservatives on them and it started in 1991 with Pofadder Dates and Non-Oiled Raisins as we also foundout that raisins are oiled with highly processed, carcinogenic oils to stopthem clumping together and preserve them from pests (smart bugs they even knowthe oil is toxic!) 

Since then we have gone on toprepare and dry our famous apple rings in 5 flavours, our banana pennies,banana cigar, banana flatties, our pomegranate arils, our herb, and chilli tomatoes,our 4 flavours of flax crackers and any other interesting food that comes ourway. We also get dried pineapples dried with no preservatives directly from thefarmer in the Eastern Cape and dried figs from the Western Cape and any otherfarmers we know and have checked out. We have grown to become the mosttrusted Gluten-Free, preservative-free whole food, plant-based online shoppingsite www.mary-anns.com 

To Health - to Life

Mary-Ann

Here is what just one ofthese preserving agents are used for - most of the sulphite group are used formany of these as well as wine, beer, and soft drinks

Sodiumand potassiummetabisulfite has manymajor and niche uses. It is widely used for preservingfood and beverages.

• Sodium metabisulphite is added as an excipient to medications which contain adrenaline (epinephrine), in order to prevent the oxidation of adrenaline. For example, it is added to combination drug formulations which contain a local anaesthetic and adrenaline, and to the formulation in epinephrine autoinjectors, such as the EpiPen. This lengthens the shelf life of the formulation, although the sodium metabisulphite reacts with adrenaline, causing it to degrade and form epinephrine sulphonate.
• It is used in photography.
• Concentrated sodium metabisulphite can be used to remove tree stumps. Some brands contain 98% sodium metabisulphite, and cause degradation of lignin in the stumps, facilitating removal.
• It is also used as an excipient in some tablets, such as paracetamol.
• A very important health related aspect of this substance is that it can be added to a blood smear in a test for sickle cell anaemia (and other similar forms of haemoglobin mutation). The substances causes defunct cells to sickle (through a complex polymerisation) hence confirming disease.
• It is used as a bleaching agent in the production of coconut cream
• It is used as a reducing agent to break sulphide bonds in shrunken items of clothing made of natural fibers, thus allowing the garment to go back to its original shape after washing
• It is used as an SO2 source (mixed with air or oxygen) for the destruction of cyanide in commercial gold cyanidation processes.
• It is used in the water treatment industry to quench chlorine residual
• It is used in tint etching iron-based metal samples for microstructural analysis. 
• It is used as a fungicide for anti-microbe and mould prevention during shipping of consumer goods such as shoes and clothing. Plastic stickers and packaging (such as Micro-Pak™) containing the anhydrous, sodium metabisulphite solid active ingredient are added prior to shipping. The devices absorb moisture from the atmosphere during shipping and release low levels of suphur dioxide.