Are Apricots Good For You? Health Benefits, Nutrition & Uses 2024

Apricots have a good nickname as golden fruit. The high amount of carotene content gives this golden color to apricots with many health benefits. Besides, it has a good composition of nutritious structures such as polyphenols, flavonoids, potassium, iron, or dietary fiber.

Consuming apricots may lead to health benefits in different systems and functions in the body. You may get benefits for your digestive system, metabolic health, vision, anti-cancer mechanisms, and skin health. The unique flavor and fragrance of apricots make them enjoyable fruit to add to our diets. 

Are Apricots Good For You?

Yes, eating apricots may benefit several functions and systems in your body. Let’s take a closer look at the health benefits of apricots.

Regulation Of The Digestive System

One of the main apricot uses is the relief of constipation. The dietary fiber, especially the soluble fiber content of these stone fruits, helps motility and increases stool frequency. It reduces stiffness and bloating in your belly. Increasing dietary fiber intake is the best way for you to manage your digestive problems.   

Eye And Vision Health

Vitamin A and beta-carotene intake are closely related to maintaining eye health against age-related eye diseases.^[1] The daily recommended vitamin A dose is 900 micrograms for men and 700 micrograms for women. You can have nearly 250 micrograms of vitamin A per 100 grams of fresh apricots. Recommended beta-carotene intake for adults is between 6 milligrams to 15 milligrams per day. Apricot uses will provide 2.5 milligrams per 100 grams.

Since we cannot synthesize vitamin A in our body, we must obtain it either from animal sources as pre-produced vitamin A or from plant sources as carotenoid forms that are precursors of vitamin A. The primary role^[2] of vitamin A in the visual system is the photoreceptor function. Even in its short-term deficiency, it can affect vision functions and cause poor vision in night blindness or dim light conditions. Chronic vitamin A deficiency may result in the death of cells that carry out our visual functions.

Skin Care 

A diet rich in vitamins and minerals is necessary for healthy skin due to its antioxidant effects.^[3] This is because the main cause of skin problems and skin aging is oxidative stress caused by environmental factors such as sun and air pollution. The antioxidant substances^[4] we obtain from diet help skin cells and epithelial cells fight oxidative stress.

As we mentioned above, apricot has nutritional content including vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids, and antioxidant minerals. This content helps to boost skin health. 

Good Source Of Antioxidants

Many of the carotenes, flavonoids, organic acids, vitamins, and minerals contained in apricots have anti-cancer properties due to their antioxidant effects.

Also, chronic diseases such as obesity or cardiovascular diseases are closely related to oxidative stress. They are also mentioned as low-grade chronic inflammation diseases. Therefore, apricot consumption would help decrease the oxidative stress and inflammation in these diseases.   

What Makes Apricots Good For Your Health?

The bioactive compounds determine apricots’ color, taste, and health benefits. A study^[5] examining different types of apricots showed that more orange-colored apricots were higher in total flavonoid, total carotenoid, and antioxidant capacity than lighter yellow apricot varieties. In addition, the taste you get from apricots is directly proportional to this content. These bioactive components were higher in dark apricots, which also have a sweeter taste.

Health Behind The Color

Carotenoids are responsible for the yellow-orange color of fruits. Apricots may contain 0.44 to 3.55 milligrams of carotenoid per 100 grams. The dominant subtype is beta-carotenoid among the carotene family.

Beta-carotene is a precursor of vitamin A that we obtain from plants. It is a well-known essential vitamin^[6] for immunity and eye function. It also contributes to skin health by maintaining skin cell function. When we get alpha-carotene and beta-carotene from diet sources, we convert them into retinol, the active form of vitamin A.

Beta-carotene may reduce oxidative stress during infection or inflammation. Also, several studies^[7] systematically reviewed indicate that higher beta-carotene levels may help against cancer.

Suppose you have blood sugar control or insulin resistance issues or you have diabetes in your family, you may get benefits from apricots. The reason is that their beta-carotene^[8] content showed beneficial effects on blood insulin and blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes patients. Researchers indicated that people with high body weight have a lower^[9] beta-carotene level in their tissues compared to healthy people. Furthermore, when their beta-carotene level is increased, they showed normalized blood lipid levels, which were high before.  

Health Behind The Flavor

Flavonoids, polyphenols, and organic acids contribute to the apricot’s unique taste and smell besides its natural sugar and carbohydrate content.

Phenolic and flavonoid compounds are important signs for the quality of fruits and vegetables. These are commonly studied nutraceuticals in treating various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases or aging. 

The phenolic content may vary more than threefold according to the type of apricot. Similar to carotenoids, phenolic content is also higher in dark-colored apricots than in light-yellow ones. 

The main phenolics and flavonoids are gallic acid,^[10] caffeic acid,^[11] p-coumaric acid,^[12] and quercetin,^[13] rutin,^[14] and resveratrol.^[15] When you look up the literature, you can easily see that each has health advantages. 

Phenolic species have numerous benefits^[16] in preventing cancers, cardiovascular health, immune function, skin health, and reducing neurologic diseases.

Dietary Fiber Source

Many studies indicated that high fiber intake in a low-fat and calorie-restricted diet has beneficial effects on weight loss and diabetes^[17] in people at high risk. Dietary fiber also can increase motility in the digestive tract and decrease gut transit time, which regulates constipation and increases defecation frequency. 

Increased fiber intake contributes to appetite control^[18] because soluble dietary fibers help hold a large amount of water. The increased volume in your digestive tract leads to gastric and intestinal tension. It stimulates the digestive system cells to produce several satiety hormones from the digestive system to the brain about fullness and satiation.

Get Your Micro-Essentials 

Apricot also includes many essential vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin B, and a precursor of vitamin A along with minerals. 

As it is well-established, vitamin C has an important function on gum, skin, and bone health because it plays a pivotal role in collagen synthesis besides its strong antioxidant capacity. 

Potassium is the most abundant mineral in apricots. Its concentration may differ according to apricot fruit type, like other phytochemicals, even twice the time. The second mineral found in apricots at high levels is phosphorous, and iron follows. Copper and zinc also occur in apricots.

Potassium^[19] has a special place in cardiovascular and metabolic health. For vascular health, it has a vital function in maintaining intracellular and extracellular fluid balance. It is a key ion for insulin synthesis in the beta-cell of the pancreas. It is important to consume low-sodium and adequate-potassium foods for heart health.  

Apricot Nutrition Values

Apricot is a nutritious fruit for you to have in your daily diet. The nutritional profile of a fresh fruit was given in Food Data Central.^[20] 

Nutrient	Fresh Apricot (15 grams)	Unit
Energy	16.8	kilocalorie
Protein	0.49	gram
Total lipid	0.136	gram
Carbohydrate	3.88	gram
Total Dietary Fiber	0.7	gram
Sugars	3.23	gram
Calcium	4.55	milligram
Iron	0.136	milligram
Magnesium	3.5	milligram
Phosphorus	8.05	milligram
Potassium	90.6	milligram
Sodium	0.35	milligram
Zinc	0.07	milligram
Copper	0.027	milligram
Selenium	0.035	microgram
Vitamin C	3.5	microgram
Vitamin A	33.6	microgram
Carotene, beta	382	microgram
Carotene, alpha	6.65	microgram
Lutein + zeaxanthin	31.2	microgram
Vitamin E	0.311	milligram

Ways To Add Apricots To Your Diet

You have many options to consume the delicious apricot in your healthy diet. You can eat apricots in fresh, dried, marmalade, juice, or jam form. However, choosing the forms that do not contain added sugar would be better to see the most health benefits. 

• Healthy snack: You can prefer fresh or dried apricots, especially nuts, as a healthy snack you consume with your coffee or tea. Its dry form is advantageous for carrying to work or school.
• Colorful salads: Using fruits alongside vegetables in salads is beneficial in providing a more diverse source of vitamins and minerals, and using dried apricots in salads is quite common because it is delicious. Try adding apricots to your salads, especially in salads with cheese. You will get a really delicious result.
• Rich breakfast bowls: Oat bowls for breakfast have become a prevalent and healthy habit. Eating oatmeals, which are rich in dietary fiber, is beneficial for people with constipation problems. Starting the day with a healthy bowl prepared with apricots, oats, milk, or yogurt supports your digestive health and microbiota. 

Are Dried Apricots Good For You?

Apricots are suitable for sun drying, making them a common fruit in the diet. Since the water is removed from the food during drying, you consume the same calories in a smaller volume. This can be a factor that makes it difficult for portion control for some people. However, after controlling your portion, you can take advantage of the dried fruits that are easy to carry for your snack time.

Don’t Miss The Benefits Of Apricot Kernels 

Amygdalin is a molecule found in high amounts in the apricot kernel^[21] that induces cancer or disturbed function cells to apoptosis, which means programmed cell death. This mechanism is vital for scavenging cancer cells from the body. Also, it is easy to eat the apricot kernel because it tastes like fresh almonds. Also, apricot kernel is nutritious in other macro- and micro-nutrients like most nuts and seeds.

The Bottom Line

All these research results we have summarized show that apricot is a stone fruit rich in key antioxidant molecules for health. Adding apricots to your diet can increase your intake of vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, flavonoids, some minerals, and especially dietary fiber. Moreover, it is pretty easy to add apricots to the diet because it has properties that can take many forms.  

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