The fruit season is in full swing. We are fond of the beautiful season because it means delicious seasonal products to beautify our homes and our plates. So, in honor of the beautiful season, let’s take a look at a fruit that doesn’t always get much attention: the apricot.
Apricots, aka Prunus armeniaca, are closely related to fruits like peaches, plums, cherries, and even almonds. Most people know them in their dried form (which, by the way, can be a good way to get some iron) but they can also be enjoyed fresh for a tasty, if tiny, delight.
Visually, apricots look a bit like mini peaches but their flavor has a tartness you won’t find in the larger fruit. Some people compare the taste of an apricot to a cross between a peach and a plum. Apricots are small but bursting with nutrition.
So, without further ado, here are five reasons to eat more apricots.
The first reason to add apricots to your diet is that they provide an extra boost of hydration. Eating fruit can be a good way to help you get what you need if reaching your daily water goal proves difficult and apricots are no exception.
Like most fruits, apricots have a naturally high water content. Just one cup of them amounts to about 2/3 of a cup of water. And, as an added bonus, there’s also potassium. So, if you’re looking to replenish water and electrolytes after strenuous activity (for example, your daily workout), this little fruit might be the way to go.
While hydration is certainly a wonderful thing, it’s not all there is to apricots. They also offer plenty of good dietary fiber that can help if you’re aiming for a healthy digestive system.
One cup of apricots will have about 3.3 grams of fiber (and around 79 calories) which can reach up to 13% of the recommended daily value (might vary slightly). In addition, this content includes two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Both are excellent for reducing the chances of certain diseases and for keeping things moving (if you catch our drift). Soluble fiber in particular can help maintain healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels, as well as encourage the growth of good bacteria.
What we really love about fruit is that they can really hit the spot when we crave something sweet. Even better, while giving our sweet tooth exactly what it wants (yes, we have one and we don’t regret it) we can also give our body a good dose of antioxidants.
Apricots in particular are a great way to get a variety of antioxidants. They contain beta carotene and vitamins A, C, and E which can help fight free radicals, potentially preventing harmful diseases. And there are many more where that came from.
The antioxidants in apricots are great for their health benefits, but we’d be lying if we said we don’t also like what they can do for your skin. Vitamins E and C can both be beneficial for the skin by helping combat UV damage and improving skin elasticity. Vitamin C in particular is essential for collagen production. Also, we assume hydration won’t hurt either.
Finally, the nutrients in apricots can be helpful for vision. This is largely due to their vitamin A content. This antioxidant helps the eyes work well by enabling our bodies to produce the pigments needed by our retinas. Without them, we can develop night blindness. In addition, vitamin A also helps our eyes stay lubricated. Similarly, vitamin E can help protect the eyes from free radical damage.
If you want to add more apricots to your diet you can add them to a salad, enjoy them raw, or even turn them into a sauce for your favorite meat dishes.
