Gourmet Flavor… with a Side of Preservatives and Pesticide
Published: Thu, 08/28/25
Updated: Thu, 08/28/25
Dear ,
Sun-dried tomatoes add bold, smoky flavor to a wide variety of foods – from pizzas and pastas… to salads, soups, sauces and dressings.
And
while this flavor-packed ingredient may seem a bit pricey (up to $20/lb), it doesn’t take many to give your favorite dishes more depth and gourmet flavor.
But as is the case with most foods… all sun-dried tomatoes are not created equal.
Most Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Come with a Hidden Health Risk
Many store-bought sun-dried tomatoes are preserved with sulfites — additives that maintain their bright red color and prevent spoilage.
Unfortunately, sulfites can trigger reactions in roughly 1 in 10 people — ranging
from mild itching or hives to severe asthma attacks or even anaphylaxis.
Sulfites are also known to worsen conditions like chronic fatigue, IBS, arthritis, and fibromyalgia.
And that’s not all...
Sun-dried tomatoes are almost always made from conventionally grown tomatoes, which rank high on the Dirty Dozen list — meaning they’re frequently sprayed with pesticides.
🍅 The USDA found 35 different pesticide residues on conventional tomatoes — including hormone disruptors, carcinogens, and neurotoxins.
But sulfites and pesticides aren’t the only pantry danger you need to know about — there’s another common pantry food that scientists say may paralyze your gut. See the full story here »
The Better Option: Organic, Sulfite-Free Sun-Dried Tomatoes
If you’re craving that bold, umami-rich flavor — without the chemical baggage — look for organic,
sulfite-free options like Mediterranean Organic Sun-Dried Tomatoes.
Unlike conventional brands, these are preserved naturally with sea salt, olive oil, and rosemary.
That means you get pure, concentrated tomato goodness plus a powerhouse of
lycopene — the antioxidant that helps defend your cells from free radical damage, protect your heart, skin, and eyes, and lower the risk of certain cancers.
In fact, sun-dried tomatoes deliver more lycopene than any other food:
45,902 mcg per 100g serving
24,787 mcg per cup
918 mcg per piece
Compare that to just 7,298 mcg per cup in cooked tomatoes — or 4,631 mcg in raw tomatoes!
In addition
to enjoying them whole with any number of dishes, try blending one or two with organic extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and herbs for a delicious salad dressing or marinade with superior antioxidant benefits!
And speaking of hidden dangers in everyday pantry staples…
This Toxic Ingredient In Your Pantry Is Causing Chronic Constipation
After years of tests and research, Harvard scientists have finally revealed that this canned food causes chronic constipation, bloating, acid reflux and stomach pain.
Scientists explain that it contains a toxic ingredient that paralyzes your gut, causing food to get stuck in your colon for weeks and even months.
Unfortunately, fiber, oats, probiotics, laxatives or drinking gallons of water will only make things worse, and might cause colon rupture.
Timbo B, Koehler KM, Wolyniak C, Klontz KC. 2004. Sulfites – a Food and Drug Administration review of recalls and reported adverse events. J Food Prot
67:1806-1811.
United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pesticide Data Program (PDP)
Punzi, JS, Lamont, M, Haynes, D, Epstein, RL, USDA Pesticide Data Program: Pesticide Residues on Fresh and Processed Fruit and Vegetables, Grains, Meats, Milk, and Drinking Water, Outlooks on Pesticide Management, June, 2005.
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20. Mascio PD, Kaiser S, Sies H. Lycopene as the most efficient biological carotenoid singlet oxygen quencher. Biochemistry and Biophysics Volume 274, Issue 2, 1 November 1989, Pages 532-538.
Giovannucci E, Ascherio A, Rimm EB, et al. Intake of carotenoids and retinol
in relation to risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995;87:1767-1776.
Sies H, Stahl W. Lycopene: antioxidant and biological effects and its bioavailability in the human. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med . 1998;218:121-124.
Rao AV, Agarwal S. Bioavailability and in vivo antioxidant properties of lycopene
from tomato products and their possible role in the prevention of cancer. Nutr Cancer . 1998;31:199-203.
Franceschi S, Bidoli E, La Vecchia C, et al. Tomatoes and risk of digestive-tract cancers. Int J Cancer . 1994;59:181-184.
Sesso HD, Liu S, Gaziano JM, et al. Dietary lycopene, tomato-based food
products and cardiovascular disease in women. J Nutr . 2003;133:2336-2341.
Sesso HD, Buring JE, Norkus EP, et al. Plasma lycopene, other carotenoids, and retinol and the risk of cardiovascular disease in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;81:990-997.
Mares-Perlman JA, Brady WE, Klein R, et al. Serum
antioxidants and age-related macular degeneration in a population-based case-control study. Arch Ophthalmol . 1995;113:1518-1523.
Bové J, Perier C. Neurotoxin-based models of Parkinson’s disease. Neuroscience. 2012 Jun 1;211:51-76. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.10.057. Epub 2011 Nov 10.
At Healing Gourmet, we are strongly committed to protecting your privacy and providing a safe & high-quality online experience for all of our visitors. We understand that you care about how the information you provide to us is used and shared. We have developed a Privacy Policy to inform you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information we receive from users of our website. Healing Gourmet operates the Website.
Our Privacy Policy, along with our Term & Conditions, governs your use of this site. By using website link, or by accepting the Terms of Use (via opt-in, checkbox, pop-up, or clicking an email link confirming the same), you agree to be bound by our Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy.
If you have
provided personal, billing, or other voluntarily provided information, you may access, review, and make changes to it via instructions found on the Website or by emailing us at our support email address. To manage your receipt of marketing and non-transactional communications, you may unsubscribe by clicking the “unsubscribe” link located on the bottom of any marketing email. Emails related to the purchase or delivery of orders are provided automatically – Customers are not able to opt out of
transactional emails. We will try to accommodate any requests related to the management of Personal Information in a timely manner. However, it is not always possible to completely remove or modify information in our databases (for example, if we have a legal obligation to keep it for certain timeframes, for example). If you have any questions, simply reply to this email or visit our website to view our official policies.
You are receiving this message because you either purchased one of our top-selling health products or joined us from our website. Please know we are happy to have you as a devoted reader, but if you decide to, you can change your email preferences at any time. Remember, we have plenty more recipes, cooking tips, and articles on our website.
The information provided by
Healing Gourmet is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. It is not a substitute for professional medical consultation, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on our website or through our communications. Healing Gourmet does not endorse or
recommend any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the website. Reliance on any information provided by Healing Gourmet is solely at your own risk.
All content, concepts, phrases, subject lines and copy in this newsletter are the exclusive property of Health-e Enterprises, LLC. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, or
modification for any purposes, including marketing, derivative works, or otherwise, is strictly prohibited. Legal action will be pursued against any infringement.
