They are believed to have originated in China about 8,000 years ago. Peaches are linked to cherries, apricots, plums, and almonds. They're called drupes or stone fruit because their flesh surrounds a shell that contains an edible seed.
They may be consumed on their own or mixed into a variety of recipes. Furthermore, peaches are healthy and may provide a variety of health advantages, such as better digestion, smoother skin, and allergy relief.
1. Packed With Nutrients and Antioxidants
Peaches are rich in many vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds. One medium-sized peach (5.4 ounces or 150 grams) provides approximately:
- Calories: 58
- Protein: 1 gram
- Fat: less than 1 gram
- Carbs: 14 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Vitamin C: 17% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin A: 10% of the DV
- Potassium: 8% of the DV
- Niacin: 6% of the DV
- Vitamin E: 5% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 5% of the DV
- Copper: 5% of the DV
- Manganese: 5% of the DV
Peaches include lower levels of magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and several B vitamins. Additionally, they contain antioxidants and useful plant chemicals that fight against oxidative damage, aging, and illness. The fresher and riper the fruit, the higher its antioxidant content.
2. May Aid Digestion
Peaches may promote good digestion.One medium-sized fruit has around 2 grams of fiber, half of which is soluble and the other half is insoluble.In contrast, soluble fiber feeds healthy microorganisms in your intestines. In turn, these bacteria create short-chain fatty acids like acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which fuel the cells in your gut.
Short-chain fatty acids in your stomach may also help reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms of digestive illnesses such as Crohn's disease, IBS, and ulcerative colitis.
Peach petals are another component of the fruit that may aid digestion. They are often used in traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate stomach issues.
3. May Improve Heart Health
Consuming fruits, such as peaches, on a regular basis can improve heart health. Peaches may reduce risk factors for heart disease, including high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Furthermore, test-tube studies suggest that peaches may bind to bile acids, which your liver produces from cholesterol. Additional laboratory and animal research revealed that peaches may lower total and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, as well as blood pressure and triglyceride levels. Regular fruit consumption, particularly peaches, may improve heart health. Peaches may reduce risk factors for heart disease, including high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Furthermore, test-tube studies suggest that peaches may bind to bile acids, which your liver produces from cholesterol. Additional laboratory and animal research revealed that peaches may lower total and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, as well as blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
4. May Protect Your Skin
Peaches may have protective effects that help keep your skin healthy. Test-tube studies indicate that compounds found in peaches may improve your skin’s ability to retain moisture thus improving skin texture What’s more, both test-tube and animal studies show that extracts made from peach flowers or flesh applied directly to the skin may help prevent UV damage.
Peach flower extracts were also found to delay the development of skin tumors in mice However, more research in humans is needed before conclusions can be drawn.
Read also: Ensuring Food Safety with Preservatives
5. May Prevent Certain Types of Cancer
Peaches, like other fruits, contain beneficial plant components that may help protect against certain malignancies.Peach peel and meat include carotenoids and caffeic acid, two antioxidants known to have anticancer effects. Compounds found in peach seeds have also been demonstrated in test tubes and on animals to restrict the formation of non-cancerous skin lesions and prevent them from progressing to malignancy.
Not to mention, peaches are abundant of polyphenols—a group of antioxidants found to decrease the development and spread of cancer cells in test-tube experiments. Peach polyphenols may also be capable of killing malignant cells while causing no harm to healthy cells.
In one animal research, these polyphenols were very efficient at inhibiting the growth and spread of a specific form of breast cancer. Researchers stated that a person would need to eat roughly two to three peaches a day to ingest a quantity of polyphenols similar to what was utilized in the study.
