Apricot, the photo of which you see on the right, is a round, bright, orange-colored summer fruit, beloved by adults and children. The homeland of apricot trees is China. From there they were brought to other countries. To date, the main supplier of apricots is the territory of the Middle East: Turkey and Iran, as well as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and even the country on the opposite side of the world - Japan. This fruit is a rich source of vitamins and trace elements. For excellent taste, these fruits are very fond of children. No child will give up a cup of ripe apricots. This is especially important for mothers who care about the healthy diet of their babies.
How many calories in apricots, the content of vitamins and nutrients
This fruit is an outstanding supplier of vitamin A: 100 g of product will provide you with 38% of the daily rate of its consumption. This, perhaps, is the leader in the delivery of carotene in the daily diet among its plant counterparts. Slightly less in the fruits of vitamin C, but, most importantly, apricot is one of the leading sources of potassium (for 100 g of potassium fruit there are as much as 259 mg). But it is potassium that will protect your heart from premature aging and help the vessels maintain endurance and elasticity. When calculating how many calories in apricots or, as they were called ancient, "golden apples", the result will pleasantly surprise you - only 48 kcal per 100 g. This means that one very, very large cup of orange fruit will pull by 240 kcal. Very useful information for those who follow even the strictest diet, right?
Caloric content of compotes and dried apricots
This fruit can often be found in stores not only fresh, where it is traditionally started selling it from the middle of summer, but also all year round - in a dried one. Usually such dried fruits are called dried apricots. If it is important for you to know how many calories in apricots are dried in the sun, then here's the answer: already 241 kcal per 100 g (one piece carries a charge of energy of 16 kcal). Correctly dried in the sun or sparing the factory method, apricots contain as many useful vitamins as fresh fruit. Therefore, so that in the cold winter season you are not caught cold and avitaminosis by surprise, include in your diet a handful of dried apricots. If you prefer compotes, then information on how many calories in apricots in syrup, you can find on each bank. Caloric content of compote depends more on the amount of sugar, but on average 100 g of compote has an energy value of 48 kcal.
Apricots: benefit and harm
What harm can be from fruit? After all, we are accustomed to seeing in the delicious, juicy fruits a solid benefit. Unfortunately no. It must be borne in mind that any fruit, including apricot, can cause damage to your health. In our case, this is not about the flesh of the fetus, but about its bones. If you split the hard part, then you can see the soft center, from which, in ancient times, flour was made and used to prepare a number of dishes. But it should be borne in mind that often a fresh, untreated center includes a large amount of life-threatening hydrocyanic acid and amygdalin substance, and their content in one fruit or another can not be determined by eye.
These components can cause weakness, unstable breathing and even lead to coma. Scientists can not give an unambiguous answer, which amount of bones can lead to a sad outcome, so it is strongly recommended to subject the seed to heat treatment before using them. It is not difficult to do this: just boil them in enough water and allow to dry for 20 minutes. According to some studies, bones help in the fight against cancer. Anyway, but observing simple rules, you can enjoy both the flesh of apricots, and its useful seeds.