by Barb Hopkins

Created on: May 11, 2008   Last Updated: August 27, 2009

Need a bit of luck? Eat an apricot! According to English folklore, eating an apricot will bring you good fortune, but will it provide you with good nutrition?

Fresh apricots, stone fruits with a seed nut and shaped like a small peach, are low in calories and but high on health. According to the California Apricot Council, a serving of three apricots (114g) contains a skinny 60 calories and one gram of fat. The same serving size also packs a nutritional punch with 45 percent of your daily vitamin A requirement. Faithful apricot eaters can avoid vitamin A deficiency that may diminish eyesight or may even cause night blindness.

The nutritional benefits of apricots are many. A quick snack of fresh apricots provides your body with easy to digest natural sugars as well as the vitamins A, C, B2 (riboflavin), and B3 (niacin.) In addition, this little golden-orange fruit has many minerals our bodies need, including calcium, iron, and phosphorus. Eating the fruit after it has been dried does raise the calorie count, but it also increases the amount of healthy minerals in each serving. Apricots also contain beta-carotene and lycopene which can help protect your LDL cholesterol.

The apricot has a sweet taste, similar to a peach with just a hint of plum. The fruit and its seed, oil, and flowers have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. The seed is actually a nut, rich in protein and vitamin B17 or Laetrile. Laetrile has been used since Seventeenth Century England as a treatment for tumors as well as ulcers but in 1980, the National Cancer Institute of the United States recorded that Laetrile, was not an effective cancer treatment although there are still patients that choose to use it as an alternative.

Apricots can act as a natural laxative. Their pectin absorbs water, increasing bulk in stools while their cellulose aids in bowel movement. Do you often experience an unsettled tummy after meals? Eat an apricot before your bowl of chili or burger and fries to help digestion. It will have an alkaline reaction in your system that helps ease digestion and the after-meal rumbles.

Oil extracted from the apricot kernel can give relief to tense muscles and can help to lessen the time it takes a wound to heal. If you suffer from anemia, eating apricots with their high iron content can actually increase the production of hemoglobin in your body. This can be especially helpful for women with heavy menstrual flows.

Are you suffering from eczema or itchy sunburnt skin? Process the leaves of the apricot through your juicer and then apply the extracted juice for a gentle remedy.

Apricots are easy to find in your local grocery store or market. Fresh, ripe apricots have golden-orange coloring and should be handled gently because like peaches these fruits can bruise easily. If stored in your refrigerator, they should last three to four days. Dried apricots can even be easier to find and can be used in desserts, trail mixes, granola, or as a simple snack. Dried apricots do contain sulfur dioxide, which may cause people with asthma to have adverse reactions after eating.

Is the apricot the fruit for you? It is if you are looking for an easy to find, nutritionally sound and tasty treat. Feeling adventurous? Try one of the new apricot hybrids like the plumcot (50 percent plum, 50 percent apricot,) the aprium (75 percent apricot, 25 percent plum,) or the pluot (75 percent plum, 25 percent apricot.)

The apricot with its sweet taste, versatility, and many health benefits can be a great addition to anyone's well-balanced diet.

References: www.juicing-for-health.com

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