What are the health benefits and harms of apricots and how to use them correctly?

Apricot fruits are valued for their special taste and value of the product. Fruits begin to appear in garden plots at the end of June, and fruiting continues until the end of summer. Many people have heard about the benefits of fresh fruits, but only a few think about the fact that abusing the fruit can be dangerous. To get a complete picture, you should find out the benefits and harms of apricots.

Composition and main components

The calorie content of 100 g of apricots is 43 kcal. When consuming one fruit, a person receives no more than 12 kcal. The fruit is famous for its rich content of folic acid, vitamins A, B and H. The product is valued due to its high potassium content. It contains a large list of various mineral compounds, including iodine and iron. Apricots are rich in sucrose and dietary fiber, the latter helping to improve the functioning of the food system and speed up metabolism.

Benefits and harm to the body

Apricot is considered a valuable product for the entire human body. The peculiarity of the fruit is its versatility; it can be consumed fresh or dried, made into decoctions and jams, and used as an ingredient in decoctions and teas. Recipes for winter preparations are very popular among housewives, with the help of which the valuable qualities of the product can be preserved for a long period of time.

For women

For women who control their body weight or want to lose weight, apricot is considered an indispensable product. The low calorie content of the product allows it to be included in the diet of those losing weight. The pleasant taste and natural sweetness of the fruit help reduce the level of stress that inevitably arises when a person needs to refuse previously available products. It is an excellent replacement for traditional sweets and candies.

For women suffering from painful and heavy menstrual cycles, eating apricots is a direct indication.During the period of menstruation, their hemoglobin drops sharply, the level of which can easily be increased by eating fruits. The fruits help normalize blood composition, eliminate dizziness and relieve spasms.

For men

Due to the high content of B vitamins in apricots, its consumption has a positive effect on the functioning of the nervous system, allowing you to be more focused when solving complex problems. Phosphorus and magnesium are natural stimulants that can improve the functioning of brain cells.

The fruit is recommended to be included in the diet when there is great mental and physical stress, a feeling of apathy or chronic fatigue.

Eating apricots helps increase potency, as it increases blood flow in the groin area. They act as a prophylactic against prostate diseases. Men over the age of 45 are at risk of developing heart pathologies; fruits help prevent pathological processes, atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

Use during pregnancy

Apricots contain a lot of iron. For pregnant women suffering from anemia while carrying a child, it becomes a valuable source of replenishing mineral deficiency in the body. Its regular use helps normalize the production of red blood cells and normalizes blood.

Women during pregnancy often suffer from edema, which negatively affects their well-being. Apricot fruits have a diuretic effect and promote the natural elimination of excess fluid. In women, their blood pressure normalizes, headaches stop bothering them, and the urge to vomit decreases.Thanks to the rich composition of apricot, its consumption has a positive effect on the baby’s development processes and helps preserve the beauty of a woman.

Apricot is useful when breastfeeding, as it stimulates the production and quality of milk, increasing its fat content. The fruit helps remove bitterness from it, which often appears in women due to poor nutrition.

Children

For children, apricots are a tasty treat that can quickly eliminate hunger and replenish energy. Fruits help increase immunity, which has a beneficial effect on the child’s ability to resist viral and infectious diseases. A natural source of minerals and vitamins in the form of apricot helps children develop normally physically and mentally.

The healing properties of apricot help cope with the problem of seizures in children. Dry fruits have such properties - kaisa, apricots, dried apricots. The juice contains special substances that can influence the processes of brain excitability, thereby affecting convulsive conditions.

Old people

Older people often suffer from various types of digestive system disorders. To solve problems of this kind, it is enough to eat apricots daily; you can eat up to 100 g of pulp per day in order to feel an improvement in your well-being. Apricot fiber has a gentle effect on the mucous membranes of the stomach, helps normalize the acidity of gastric juice and normalize the functioning of the pancreas.

The complex effect has a positive effect on the functioning of the gallbladder and liver.

Due to the presence of carotenoids, apricot has a positive effect on vision function.It is recommended to include it in the diet for problems with the eye muscles, as a prophylactic against the threat of developing cataracts or glaucoma.

What is the best form to consume?

Apricot can be consumed fresh or dried, as both forms contain a large amount of useful substances. Making jam and desserts is a good way to preserve the value of the product for the winter, but the amount of vitamins in the product is reduced due to heat treatment.

Ripe fruit

The advantage of fresh apricots is the ability to obtain a valuable source of vitamins directly into food. A fresh harvest makes it possible to immediately eat fruits without requiring time for additional processing. When using, you should take into account the list of contraindications, which will allow you not to harm the body.

Dried apricots

Experts, speaking about the benefits of dried apricots, put them in first place compared to fresh fruits. This is due to the fact that the dried product contains more nutrients per gram of fruit weight. Dried apricots are especially suitable for those who need an additional source of vitamins and minerals during the recovery period after surgery. For pregnant women, it becomes a valuable product during periods of shortage of fresh fruits during the cold season.

Benefits of apricot juice

Apricot juice retains the full list of vitamins and minerals that are present in fresh fruit. It is also able to remove waste and toxins from the body. When consumed, the risk of developing cholesterol plaques is reduced, and tannins help strengthen the intestinal walls. The antibacterial properties of the product help in the fight against bacteria.

In addition to the positive effect on all important vital organs of the body, it helps to cope with vitamin deficiencies and anemia. When drinking 10 ml of juice per day, improvements in stomach function are observed, and stool normalizes. For problems with blood pressure, it should be taken 0.5 glasses 3 times a day before meals.

Can you eat green apricots?

Unripe apricots are not recommended for consumption, since they do not contain the proper beneficial components that the human digestive system would be able to accept. Eating such fruits can cause poisoning, accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, fever and other characteristic signs of intoxication.

For what diseases is the apricot diet recommended?

With the help of apricots, you can lose weight easily, and most importantly, pleasantly. The problem of weight is often not only aesthetic; excessive excess body weight, compared to the norm, can be the cause of various kinds of diseases. The main ones include:

• diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• blood pressure problems;
• joint diseases;
• hormonal imbalance;
• gynecological problems.

The apricot diet is often prescribed when it is necessary to improve the functioning of the digestive system. The therapeutic effect of including fruits in the diet is obtained in the form of normalization of kidney function. Due to the ability of apricots to improve blood composition, it is often used to prevent various heart diseases.

The apricot diet requires compliance with a number of rules. The diet includes fresh fruits, preparing salads, fresh juices, juices or eating them fresh. In this case, basic foods are excluded from the diet.Such a restriction in food intake should last no more than 5 days, otherwise the body will experience negative stress. During the diet, you need to eat in small portions, before and after meals, take clean water without gases. They eat up to 1.5 kg per day, resulting in a loss of 3 to 5 kg.

If you want to resort to less severe dietary restrictions, you can include in the menu foods that contain a lot of iron and potassium. Regardless of the type of diet you choose, you can resort to the benefits of apricot no more than once a month.

Who should abstain from fruits?

Apricot should not be taken uncontrollably, as it has a number of contraindications. It may harm people with symptoms of chronic gastritis and exacerbations of peptic ulcers. The fruit should be consumed with caution in cases of thyroid dysfunction and the presence of hepatitis. The body with such diseases poorly absorbs the keratin contained in apricots, so it is more advisable for them to take vitamin A in its pure form.

Patients with diabetes should exclude this fruit from their diet. Some apricot varieties contain up to 80% sucrose, the intake of which should be kept under control during this disease.

Some people like to eat nuts from apricot kernels, which can be dangerous. Nuts contain amygdalin, exceeding the permissible limit is dangerous for humans. The acceptable amount per day for an adult is considered to be 20 g of grains. The concentration of a hazardous substance can be reduced by heat treatment of the seeds and their contents.

The use of fruit pulp in cosmetology

At home, you can prepare cosmetics and care products from apricot and its oil, including masks for the face, body and hair. The fruit is considered a “savior” for problem skin, as it normalizes the functioning of the sebaceous glands and helps cleanse pores. The oil has a unique biological activity, and when it enters tissue cells, it prevents aging. It is suitable for any skin type, improves its appearance and helps improve its tone.

Apricots are often included in traditional creams, masks and shampoos. Thanks to the large amount of organic substances, the rejuvenation effect is ensured when using such products. Carotene helps moisturize the skin, and retinoid prevents flaking and inflammation. When applied, a protective film appears on the surface of the skin, and ascorbic acid provides a wrinkle smoothing effect.

What fruits should you choose and how long can apricot be stored?

When choosing apricots, you need to pay attention to the appearance of the fruit. High-quality fruits meet the following criteria:

• Uniform coloring of the fruits, the presence of spots and inclusions of any color is unacceptable;
• pleasant fruit aroma;
• elastic flesh that does not deform when pressed;
• no cracks, rot or signs of impacts.

Apricots that are dark orange in color or have a brownish matte skin surface are more valuable. The presence of shine indicates that the fruit has been treated with glycerin.

The length of shelf life depends on environmental factors, the chosen method and the degree of maturity of the product. Fresh fruits at a temperature of 0 ⁰C and 90% humidity are stored for 7 to 14 days. When stored in conditions above +20 ⁰C the fruit darkens and loses nutritional value.

At room temperature, dried apricots retain their quality for 30 days, and they must be tightly sealed in a bag. Refrigerated for up to 6 months. Apricot jam can be stored from 1 to 5 years, which depends on the quality of sterilization of the jars and their tightness.