Fresh apricots are high in vitamin C, another antioxidant that helps the body absorb iron. Dried and canned apricots lose most of their vitamin C, but whichever apricots you eat, you get plenty of iron and potassium, nutrients necessary to maintain nerve and muscle function, and they help maintain normal blood pressure and balance body fluids.
Apricots also contain natural salicylic acid, which is very similar to the active ingredient in aspirin. Therefore, eating apricots can also cause an allergic reaction in people who are allergic to aspirin. The same weight of dried apricots contains more nutrients than fresh and canned apricots. This is because, dried apricots are only 32% water, while other forms of apricots can be as high as 83% water. Apricots are a high calorie source, with 115 grams of fresh apricots providing 50 calories, while 115 grams of dried apricots can be as high as 260 calories. Dried apricots are not only easy to eat but also nutritious.
Apricots are often treated with sulfur dioxide to make dried apricots to preserve their color and nutrients. Eating apricots produced with this sulfite treatment may trigger asthma attacks or allergic reactions in some people. Therefore, unless dried apricots are labeled as sulfite-free, people with asthma should avoid this food.
To understand the medicinal value of apricots, one must necessarily mention bitter amygdalin. Bitter amygdalin is a very controversial substance. Legally, it cannot be sold as a drug, but it can be used as an ingredient in nutritional supplements, and health foods often refer to amygdalin as vitamin B17. Folklorists use it as a natural alternative treatment for cancer, heart disease, allergies, liver disease, and other ailments. However, a large number of modern scientific studies have not found any health benefits from amygdalin. Bitter amygdalin from almonds or other sources is capable of releasing cyanide, so doctors warn that taking large amounts of bitter amygdalin may lead to cyanide poisoning.