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r Apricots
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Moderate
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low
Cholesterol: None
Carbohydrates: High
Fiber: High
Sodium: Low (fresh or dried fruit)
High (dried fruit treated with sodium sulfur compounds)
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A
Major mineral contribution: IronAbout the Nutrients in This Food
Apricots are a good source of dietary fiber with insoluble cellulose and lignin
in the skin and soluble pectins in the flesh. The apricot’s creamy golden color
comes from deep yellow carotenes (including beta-carotene) that make the
fruit a good source of vitamin A. Apricots also have vitamin C and iron.
One apricot has 0.7 g dietary fiber, 674 IU vitamin A (21 percent of the
RDA for a woman, 23 percent of the RDA for a man), and 3.5 mg vitamin C
(5 percent of the RDA for a woman, 4 percent of the RDA for a man). Two
dried apricot halves provide 0.6 g dietary fiber, 252 IU vitamin A (11 percent
of the RDA for a woman, 8 percent of the RDA for a man), no vitamin C,
and 2 mg iron (11 percent of the RDA for a woman, 25 percent of the RDA
for a man).
The bark, leaves, and inner stony pit of the apricot all contain amyg-
dalin, a naturally occurring compound that degrades to release hydrogen
cyanide (prussic acid) in your stomach. Apricot oil, treated during processing
to remove the cyanide, is marked FFPA to show that it is “free from prussic
acid.” Cases of fatal poisoning from apricot pits have been reported, including
one in a three-year-old girl who ate 15 apricot kernels (the seed inside the pit).
Extract of apricot pits, known medically as Laetrile, has been used by some
alternative practitioners to treat cancer on the theory that the cyanide in
amygdalin is released only when it comes in contact with beta-glucuronidase,
an enzyme common to tumor cells. Scientifically designed tests of amygdalin
have not shown this to be true. Laetrile is illegal in the United States.