Fruits with salicylic acid can fight acne, clear your face and leave you feeling fresh and invigorated. The products are all natural, safe, affordable and easy to find. When choosing a type of fruit to eat it is important to look for: A common treatment we utilize to eliminate acne is salicylic acid. This is a chemical peel that can be used at home or with a professional application. It’s beneficial because it removes oil and dead skin, which opens up pores and cleans out bacteria. In this article, I’ll cover the fruit that contain salicylic acid.
High Salicylate Foods
Salicylates are natural chemicals made by plants. They are found in fruits and vegetables and help protect plants against disease and insects.
Salicylate extracts have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Salicylic acid, more commonly known as aspirin, relieves pain and inflammation and lowers fevers. However, salicylates can also cause health problems for people who take them. Learn about what salicylate does in the body and when you should avoid it.
Why You Should Avoid Salicylates
Salicylates have many of the same anti-inflammatory properties for your body as they do for the plants that make them. High salicylate diets have demonstrated health advantages, such as lowered risks for diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, similar to the Mediterranean, vegetarian, or vegan diets.
Salicylate derivatives that are used medicinally, such as methyl salicylate, salicylic acid, and white willow bark, have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Aspirin is frequently used to treat heart disease and has helped to reduce the death rates from the condition.
Salicylates in the diet, however, can have negative health effects for some people. Sensitivities, allergies, and organ edema are a few examples of these problems.
Allergies
Some individuals have a dietary salicylate allergy. Aspirin, white willow bark, methyl salicylate, and any drugs containing salicylic acid must be avoided by anyone who are allergic to salicylates. As a result, before purchasing or ingesting medication, it is crucial to read all labels for these chemicals.
The natural salicylates present in fruits and vegetables can cause sensitivity in some people. Avoid foods like: if you experience any signs of a suspected salicylate allergy.
- Blueberries
- Apples
- Avocados
- Mushrooms
- Cauliflower
- Coffee
- Pine nuts
It’s important to remember this is not a complete list of all of the foods containing salicylate. To know if a food contains salicylate, look up the item before you shop.
Allergy symptoms can include:
- Itching or hives
- Swelling of the hands or feet
- Nasal congestion
- Headaches
- Stomach pain
- Diarrhea
In some cases, people with severe allergies can go into anaphylactic shock (closing of the wind pipe). Get medical help right away if you experience any severe allergic reactions.
Reye’s Syndrome
People frequently take drugs like aspirin to treat their headaches and reduce their symptoms. However, research has revealed that some individuals who use aspirin for these issues—particularly kids or teenagers—develop liver and brain enlargement. This deadly but uncommon illness, known as Reye’s syndrome, necessitates medical intervention.
Symptoms of Reye’s syndrome include:
- Diarrhea
- Breathing quickly
- Vomiting
- Extreme tiredness
- Confusion
- Weakness
- Seizures
Foods With Salicylates
Many fruits and vegetables contain salicylates. Examples of top foods containing salicylates include:
1. Vegetables
Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, mushrooms, radishes, spinach, and zucchini all contain high amounts of salicylates. Vegetables from the nightshade family, like eggplant and peppers, also contain salicylates.
2. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are very high in salicylates. Avoid adding them to salads, sauces, or other dishes if you have a sensitivity to salicylates.
3. Fruit Juice
The salicylates found in fresh fruits are concentrated in juices. Apple, grape, orange, and grapefruit juices all contain high amounts of salicylates.
4. Fresh Fruit
If you’re looking to decrease your dietary intake of salicylates, you can do so by avoiding eating fruit. Apples, avocado, berries, cherries, grapes, peaches, and plums are all foods rich in salicylates. However, it’s important to still make sure you’re getting the right amount of nutrients that fruit provides.
5. Herbs and Spices
Many herbs and spices contain salicylates. Examples of salicylate-rich spices include thyme, rosemary, curry powder, paprika, and garam masala.
6. Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Black, green, and herbal teas all have very high levels of salicylates. Alcoholic drinks like wine, beer, rum, and sherry also contain a lot of this nutrient, so avoid them when possible.
Salicylate-Free Foods
If you’re looking for foods that have no salicylate in them, consider adding the following to your diet:
1. Chives
A recent study measured the level of salicylates in herbs and spices. As a result, chives were found to contain little to no traces of salicylate, making them appropriate for people with sensitivities to salicylates to eat.
2. Meat
Meat that is unprocessed and seasoned does not contain salicylates. That includes beef, fish, poultry, and lamb.
3. Cereal
Cereals are also generally free of salicylates. That means you can enjoy many of your favorite breakfast options — but make sure to check the label before eating, just in case. Cereals that contain almonds or peanuts are high in salicylates and should be avoided.
4. Milk
Any kind of milk is free of salicylates, as are many other dairy products.
Before you start eliminating fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient-rich foods from your diet, however, talk to your doctor or a dietitian. They will help you navigate food sensitivities and make sure you’re getting the right balance of vitamins and minerals if living a low or no salicylate life.
Which Foods Contain Salicylic Acid?
The biggest concentrations of salicylic acid are found in fruits, vegetables, and spices.
Salicylic acid is a naturally occurring substance that is present in many foods, so it may be simpler than you think to find it in food. Before purchasing a product that might contain the chemical salicylic acid, be cautious to read all packaged food labels if you have a sensitivity to this component.
Tip
Vegetables, fruits and spices have the highest amounts of salicylic acid, according to an article by Christine Sexton, MPH, RD, published on the website Diet vs Disease. Fish, meat, milk products and cereals contain negligible quantities at most.
Salicylic Acid in Food
According to Sexton’s article on diet and disease, although the name “salicylates” is strictly a scientific one, it merely designates a molecule that contains a salicylic acid base. Many different plants naturally produce this organic acid as a defense strategy. Theoretically, salicylic acid shields plants from pests, pathogens, diseases, and environmental stresses.
Salicylic acid is present in a surprising variety of foods, according to the Diet vs Disease article.
Salicylic acid is found in the highest concentrations in fruits and vegetables. Salicylic acid concentrations in herbs and spices, however, are determined by the relative weights of the meals. These foods have the greatest salicylic acid concentrations based on that metric.
Fresh carrots, fresh mushrooms, fresh onions, pumpkin, and frozen spinach are examples of vegetables that contain extremely modest levels of salicylic acid. Red potatoes, parsley, non-iceberg lettuces, canned maize, and snow peas all have a fair amount of salicylic acid in them.
The foods broccoli, cucumbers, fresh spinach, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes contain higher concentrations of salicylic acid. The salicylic acid content of canned mushrooms, radishes, sweet peppers, tomato sauce, and zucchini is particularly high. It’s quite intriguing how different vegetable varieties can have varying salicylic acid amounts.
Salicylic Acid for Skin
According to the Mayo Clinic, salicylic acid is present in many topical skin care products, including salicylic acid gel. The majority of salicylic acid skin care products are available without a prescription, although some do.
Salicylic acid in topical form is used to treat skin conditions such acne, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis. You may be familiar with a product that contains this well-known ingredient if you suffer from calluses, corns, or have ever had plantar or common warts.
Be aware that the preparation strengths and dose formats for these topical skin treatments vary. In fact, a wide variety of dose forms for salicylic acid for skin products are undoubtedly available at your local drugstore or big box retailer.
You can come across creams, ointments, lotions, foams, or liquids depending on the application. Additionally popular are shampoo, soap, moistened pads, salicylic acid gels or jellies, and patches that continuously release medication over time.
Salicylic Acid Food Intolerance
Most people can accept regular levels of salicylates without any problems and won’t have any bad effects from ingesting salicylic acid in food or using salicylic acid gel.
According to Montana State University, however, even a modest dosage might create issues in certain people, and unfortunate diners may discover they have a food intolerance to the salicylates in their most recent meal. This condition is known as salicylate sensitivity or intolerance.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a dietary substance turns your digestive system inside out, which is when a food intolerance manifests itself. When your body lacks the enzymes to properly digest a particular item you just ate, as is the case with lactose intolerance, you may also experience a food intolerance.
The inclusion of specific foods with special-purpose chemicals can also cause food intolerances. These ingredients are intended to enhance the flavor of the food, give enticing color, and prevent bacterial growth.
Although the symptoms of food intolerance might be unpleasant, they are typically less severe than an immune system reaction brought on by a food allergy. You can suffer bloating, heartburn, or stomach pain after eating an upsetting item. Vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, and nausea are other typical signs of food intolerance. You can get cranky or get a terrible headache to make things even worse.
The amount of food consumed affects some cases of food intolerance. For instance, if you have gluten intolerance, you might be able to munch on a few wheat crackers without experiencing any negative side effects, but consuming some bread may result in unpleasant symptoms.
Effects of a Reduced-Salicylate Diet
You may have made the decision (maybe with the advice of your doctor) to significantly reduce your salicylate consumption if you’ve experienced an unpleasant reaction after taking salicylic acid in food. A tiny study that followed the nutritional consequences of a low-salicylate diet was released in the Pomeranian Journal of Life Sciences in 2016.
Researchers wanted to find out if a low-salicylate diet would have the same detrimental consequences because they were aware that elimination diets often result in nutritional deficiencies. They assessed the nutritional value of 30 diets using nutrition software.
Each of the three 1,500, 2,000, and 2,500 calorie groups consisted of 10 participants. The average nutritional value of each diet was compared to the then-current adult dietary guidelines.
The study’s findings weren’t very upbeat. A 1,500-calorie reduced-salicylate diet gave appalling nutritional results for both men and women. Although vitamin deficiencies differed between genders and age groups, each group lacked particular nutrients when following this diet. However, there were no distinct nutritional hazards with the two higher-calorie low-salicylate diets.
Topical Salicylic Acid Sensitivity
According to Sexton’s page on diet and disease, some persons may also develop a salicylate sensitivity after taking a dose of aspirin. A salicylate sensitivity has nothing to do with your immune system, despite the fact that this intolerance might lead to allergy-like symptoms.
A salicylate sensitivity is more likely to afflict adults than children. Adults with asthma are more likely to also be sensitive to salicylates.
If you have a salicylate sensitivity, you can experience swelling in your tissues or the development of hives. You can develop an infection and experience sinus inflammation. Additionally, you can get a fever and tiny polyps in your sinuses and nasal passageways.
On the other hand, unpleasant diarrheal bouts can be brought on by a salicylate intolerance. An inflamed large intestine may be the cause of your discomfort and pain in the abdomen. Consult your doctor; they might be able to offer some help.
Fruits That Contain Salicylic Acid
Salicylic acid, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is a chemical found in food and is the active ingredient in aspirin. Salicylic acid seems to have a part in reducing inflammation and may even lessen the chance of developing some malignancies. According to a 2001 study published in the “Journal Epidemiology,” aspirin users have a decreased risk of developing colorectal cancer.
According to researchers, consuming a balanced diet that is high in salicylic acid may potentially have cardiovascular advantages. Fruits are a delicious source of salicylic acid, but even though they are typically included in our meals, they shouldn’t be used as a substitute for any prescriptions you may be taking. If you wish to look for alternatives, first talk to your doctor. Also be warned that if you consume enough fruit, the salicylic component may cause you to experience a reaction if you have an aspirin allergy.
Raspberries
Raspberries and blackberries, collectively called caneberries or brambles, are quite high in salicylic acid. Blackberries have over 1 milligram of salicylic acid per 100 grams of fruit, but Oregon State University states that raspberries pack a 5-milligram punch. Blackberries, raspberries, black raspberries and related hybrids are available in markets in spring and summer. They decay quickly, so eat them soon after purchasing.
Tomatoes
The fleshy tomato is the plant ovary, safeguarding all those inside seeds, despite the fact that we treat tomatoes like vegetables when we cook with them. According to Wageningen University, 100 grams of tomatoes contain more than 1 milligram of salicylic acid. According to an Italian study from 2008 that was published in the “European Journal of Nutrition,” tomatoes cultivated organically contained more salicylic acid than non-organic tomatoes.
The “Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture” presented an older study from 1981 that found that canned tomato products had greater salicylic acid levels. The exact process was not known, but a comparison of maize products in the same study revealed that heat may contribute to the rise in salicylic acid concentration. Before it can be expected that cooking tomatoes will produce more salicylic acid, more research is required.
Grapes
Grapes, both fresh and dried as raisins, provide salicylic acid. The dried, concentrated raisins have a higher content than the fresh, watery grape. Wageningen University lists red grapes as having between 1/2 to 1 milligram of salicylic acid per 100 grams of fruit, and raisins, 1 milligram in 100 grams. However, the exact amount of salicylic acid will vary between fruit.
A 1983 study on grapes in the “American Journal of Enology and Viticulture” noted that the grapes they studied had about 0.04 milligrams of salicylic acid per 1 kilogram — that’s 1000 gram — in the juice, and 0.07 milligrams in the pulp. That’s only 0.011 milligram of salicylic acid per 100 grams of fruit. Interestingly, that same study found that heat did not increase salicylic acid content, although fermenting and crushing the pulp did increase the amounts slightly.
The Foods with the Highest Aspirin Content
The findings of a recent aspirin meta-analysis that people on daily low-dose aspirin experienced a reduction in cancer mortality of around one-third “may justly be called amazing.” However, people who consume more conventional plant-based diets, like the Japanese, are protected from “Western” malignancies in a “more dramatic way.
Animal items made up just approximately 5% or less of the Japanese diet before their diets were Westernized. You may observe the disparity in cancer mortality between Japanese and American men and women and Americans around 0:37 in my video.
“At that time, mortality from pancreatic cancer, leukemias, and lymphomas was 3–4 times lower in Japan than in the US; age-adjusted mortality rates from malignancies of the colon, prostate, breast, and ovary were on the order of 5–10 times lower in Japan than in the US. It should be noted, however, that this phenomena was not exclusive to Japan; Western malignancies were also comparatively uncommon in other cultures where “people ate plant-based diets.”
Leanness and insulin sensitivity are typically encouraged by low-fat plant-based diets, thus the cancer protection provided by a lifetime of plant-based eating may be very large indeed. A whole-food plant-based diet could therefore be part of a “lifestyle regimen for lowering cancer risk”.
Are there any particular plants that are particularly high in salicylates if a portion of this cancer protection comes from the aspirin phytonutrients in plants? The largest amounts of salicylic acid, the active component of aspirin, can be found in herbs and spices, despite the fact that it is “ubiquitously prevalent in fruits and vegetables.”