“Seasonal fruits are perhaps one of the best additions you can make to your diet.
Talking about apricots, a seasonal fruit is one of the healthiest fruits in the world, overpowered with a dense nutrient profile offering a ton of health benefits,” says Lovneet Batra in her recent Instagram post. She also talks about benefits of the fruit.
Healthy vision: Apricots boast multiple compounds that are essential for eye health, including vitamins A and E. Vitamin A plays a vital role in preventing night blindness, while vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that enters your eyes directly to protect them from free radical damage.
Apricot is an excellent source of β-carotene, the main carotenoid that is a precursor of vitamin A and confers orange colour to the fruits.
Good for heart health: Phenolic components in apricots i.e. chlorogenic acid, β-carotene and lycopene prevent the oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) and thus improve the antioxidative status of the body.
Plus, the potassium content in the fruit balances the electrolyte levels in our system, keeping our heart muscles in order. Also, the dietary fibre in apricots is effective in reducing LDL cholesterol by binding bile acids or cholesterol during intraluminal micelles formation; decreasing the content of cholesterol in liver cells and increasing clearance of LDL cholesterol.
Reduces the risk of liver steatosis: Hepatic steatosis is mainly resulted from intra-cytoplasmic accumulation of neutral fats in the liver tissues and is called fatty liver disease (FLD). The occurrence of this disease in the general population may further lead to steatohepatitis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Apricot has been shown to be effective in curing hepatic steatosis.