Fresh Apricots

Apricots are colorful and tasty, they not only contain more nutrients that promote good health.

Apricots are rich in beta-carotene and lycopene, two antioxidant compounds found in red-orange fruits and vegetables to promote health and prevent heart of several forms of cancer. Beta-carotene and lycopene protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and several cardiovascular diseases.

The research, involving 50,000 registered nurses found that women with higher intake of vitamin A, 40% had a lower risk of developing cataracts: apricots are high in vitamin A equivalents, which protects from the degenerative effects of free radicals (oxidative stress) , which is usually damage the blood supply to the eyes and cause macular degeneration.

Role of vitamin A can be explained by the characteristics of the extinguishing agent produced from oxygen free radicals, protecting cells and tissues of its mutagenic effects.

Apricots are also an excellent source of fiber, which has many health benefits, especially health of the digestive system: prevents constipation and promotes cancer conditions such as diverticulosis.

It should be noted that most of the United States receive less than 10 grams of fiber per day, while the recommended daily amount of about 25 to 35 grams, which means apricots are a good addition to almost any diet and help us achieve the recommended levels in healthy and tasty snacks.
Protection against macular degeneration

The study, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology includes 110,000 people of both sexes and to assess the effects of consumption of fruits, vegetables, antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E and carotenoids to the risk of developing macular degeneration related to age.

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in adults, the study found that by eating at least 1.5 servings of fruit per day may reduce the risk of developing the disease by 36%.

Reduce the risk was not directly associated with the consumption of vegetables, antioxidants and vitamins, but in the overall consumption of fruit: the optimal level, according to the study, three servings per day can easily be achieved by the addition of apricots in your morning cereal flakes / or yogurt Dressing up salads with canned apricots.
Green tea and Apricots

A case-control study published by the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involved 130 patients with prostate cancer and 274 hospital controls.

These themes were given different amounts of green tea and foods rich in lycopene, such as apricots, papaya and tomato.

The study showed that people who drank the most green tea had a 86% reduction in risk of developing prostate cancer compared with those drinking less.

Similarly, men who ate the highest amount of foods rich in lycopene had a 82% reduction in relative risk of prostate cancer.

Other research suggests the effects of integration of these two foods are even greater than the sum of individual effects.