Peach: all the properties and health benefits

The peach tree, a tree of the Rosaceae family, comes from China, where It was an emblem of the tree of life and its fruits a symbol of longevity. The Chinese god of immortality and wealth, Zhongli Quan, is often depicted holding a peach.

From China, the peach tree spread to Europe through the campaigns of Alexander the Great, who brought it from Persia, where it had arrived through the silk road. For a long time it was believed that it was, in fact, a native of Persia, which was reflected in its botanical name: Prunus persica.

In Europe, the peach tree develops especially well, especially in lands such as those of Aragón, Lérida or Murcia. The harvested fruits reach maximum levels of flavor and sweetness in these areas.

Peach properties

The strong points of the peach are its content in beta-carotene (provitamin A) and vitamins C and E, of which it provides significant amounts (300 g, two pieces, cover 23% of the daily need for vitamin A, 50% of vitamin C and 15% of vitamin E)

As for minerals, it provides potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron, that make it a good diuretic (potassium) and antianemic (iron).

Its fiber (2%), most of it soluble, helps keep cholesterol levels low and exerts a laxative power; while the presence of group B vitamins makes it a good calming agent for the nervous system.

The water content of the peach is very high, it stands at over 87% of its weight. And its fats, practically zero. These two circumstances, a lot of water and little fat, explain its low caloric value, which provides between 35 and 45 calories per 100 g.

Sugars (carbohydrates), around 9%, are its most important nutrient from a quantitative point of view and are responsible for its sweetness.

As with all fresh fruits, the protein value of peach is low, 0.7%.

Health benefits of peach

The combination of nutrients that are concentrated in the pulp and skin of the peach gives this delicious fruit valuable digestive, diuretic and antioxidant properties.

Improves digestion

The peach provides, together with its abundant water, a good dose of fiber that is beneficial for the intestinal flora and of great value in chronic constipation.

But also, stimulates the production of gastric secretions (It is indicated in case of dyspepsia and to avoid the appearance of ulcers), whets the appetite and helps to drain the hepatic and bile ducts.

is diuretic

By favoring diuresis at the renal level, the peach is advisable in arterial hypertension. It exerts a favorable action in kidney inflammations, in hematuria (presence of blood in urine) and in urinary lithiasis (it helps to eliminate stones).

Great ally of sight

The presence of carotenes and lutein It favors eye health, especially the retina, as it helps prevent the formation of cataracts. Its deficiency can manifest with the so-called “night blindness”, a decrease in visual acuity when sunlight decreases at twilight.

to lose weight

Due to its low caloric intake and its potassium content, which helps eliminate excess fluids from the body, It is a very suitable fruit in slimming diets.

Protective and rejuvenating antioxidant action

Both selenium and zinc, the vitamins it contains and an antioxidant substance called chlorogenic acid make peach a protector against degenerative diseases such as cancer, especially of the colon, prostate and lungs.

uses in the kitchen

Peaches are a seasonal fruit, since they last a short time once picked. You have to eat them fresh and when they are ripe, which normally occurs between spring and fall, depending on the variety.

Those preserved in syrup are nutritious, but they lose vitamins and minerals, as well as presenting a higher percentage of calories.

Its delicate pulp and its richness in vitamins and enzymes make them ideal for eating raw. The best is choose them organic to be able to benefit from the properties that are hidden in their skin and not peel them.

They allow you to prepare salads with all kinds of green ingredients, enriched in protein with tofu. They are also ideal for fruit salads.

Another very tasty way to take this fruit is in the form of dried apricots, peeled, cut and dried at temperatures between 65 and 70 ºC, maximum. Dried apricots are ideal in compotes, jams and chutneys and in cereal-based breakfasts.

peach varieties

Although they are popularly classified into peaches of vineyard (yellow inside and out) and of water (red on the outside and white on the inside), there are dozens of varieties with very different characteristics, depending on the color of the skin, which can range from yellow to red and be velvety or smooth; the shape, globose or flat; the bone, which can be more or less attached to the meat; and the pulp, of different colours, consistencies and nuances of flavor.

In our markets you can find a dozen of the many existing varieties, but peaches from calandalarge and yellow-orange inside and out, and those from the Penedés region of Tarragona, redder and juicier.

The nectarines, with smooth red skin, are a variety of peach and not a hybrid. So are the flat peach and the Paraguayan peach, which are usually very sweet.