Eat an Apricot for Good Health

My mother always told me to eat my fresh fruits and vegetables. Actually, not only did she tell me these things, but she forced the idea into my head through her yearly routines.

Every summer, I had my own space in the garden where I usually grew - my favorite thing to grow - my own patch of carrots. I would anxiously check them every day to see if I could see any carrots appearing below the dirt so I could pick one to gobble down tasting nature in action.

Additionally, one of our summer activities was to attend the local U-Pick Farms where we would stuff our faces while filling our baskets with juicy strawberries.

I always wondered why there wasn't a scale to weigh us when we were done since it seemed we ate as many as we had put into the basket. We would take them home where Mom would make a batch of her strawberry jam that everyone would fight over to dress their toast with.

Another favorite activity was to visit the local Farmer's Market to buy fresh pickling cucumbers, dill and garlic that Mom made pickles out of every year.

While I didn't learn the art of making strawberry jam or Mom's homemade pickles, I did learn that eating fresh is healthy.

At that time, while I would have rather lived on candy bars and chips, her influence finally paid off in my adult years when I became an avid reader of nutritional information - and an avid eater of the foods I was reading about.

When reading about apricots, I was amazed to learn that these little orange fruits pack an amazing amount of goodness inside.

Apricots are a nutritious source of vitamins, including Vitamin C, iron, potassium, fiber and especially, Vitamin A. The fruit may be eaten fresh or dried, and is also available in the canned fruit aisle at your local supermarket.

The health benefits of apricots have been shown through studies of the Hunza tribe whose main food staple is the apricot, which they consume throughout the year. The Hunzas maintain a low incidence of disease to which their consumption of apricots has been partially attributed.

Not only is the "meat" of the fruit nutritious, the seeds have also been shown to act as a natural chemotherapy. While its consumption does not guarantee to take cancer away, it can boost the immune system in a way like no other fruit in nature.

Please consult your doctor before adding in apricot kernel seeds to your diet. Consuming high quantities of these seeds may have adverse or toxic effects.

Additional nutritional benefits of apricots may also be derived from consuming apricot oil which comes from grinding the seeds. This may be used for cooking, on salads, or may even be used neat on the skin.

As with most foods, the consumption of apricots in their raw state will derive the most nutritional value. You can be sure that when you pick an apricot off the tree, you are consuming nature's vitamins the way nature intended.

Thanks, Mom, for pointing me in the right direction - out to the garden!