The nutritious peach is high in antioxidants and may protect against heart disease, cancer, and moisture loss in the skin, among other things.There are many Surprising Health Benefits and Uses of Peaches.
They are estimated to have originated more than 8,000 years ago in China (1Trusted Source).
Plums, apricots, cherries, and almonds are all linked to peaches. They are classified as drupes or stone fruit because their meat is surrounded by a shell that contains an edible seed.
They are delicious on their own or in a variety of cuisines. Furthermore, peaches are high in nutrients and may provide a variety of health benefits such as improved digestion, smoother skin, and allergy relief.
Here are ten surprising health benefits and applications for peaches.
Packed With Nutrients and Antioxidants
Peaches are rich in many vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds.
One medium-sized peach (5.4 ounces or 150 grams) provides approximately (2Trusted Source):
- Calories: 58
- Protein: 1 gram
- Fat: less than 1
gram - Carbs: 14 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Vitamin
C:
17% of the Daily Value (DV) - Vitamin
A:
10% of the DV - Potassium: 8% of the DV
- Niacin: 6% of the DV
- Vitamin
E:
5% of the DV - Vitamin
K:
5% of the DV - Copper: 5% of the DV
- Manganese: 5% of the DV
- Peaches include trace levels of magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and B vitamins.
- Furthermore, they are high in antioxidants, which are beneficial plant components that fight oxidative damage and help protect your body from aging and disease. The more antioxidants a fruit contains, the fresher and riper it is (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).
- Fresh peach juice revealed antioxidant activity in healthy individuals within 30 minutes of ingestion in one study (7Trusted Source).
- Fresh and canned peaches appear to have comparable vitamin and mineral content — as long as canned versions are unpeeled (8Trusted Source, 9).
- Fresh peaches, on the other hand, contain higher antioxidant levels and appear to be more effective at guarding against oxidative damage than canned peaches (9, 10Trusted Source).
Note; Peaches include a lot of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They also include valuable plant chemicals such as antioxidants, which can aid in the prevention of aging and disease.
May Aid Digestion and Surprising Health Benefits and Uses of Peaches
- Peaches may be beneficial to digestion.
- One medium-sized fruit contains roughly 2 grams of fiber, half of which is soluble fiber and half of which is insoluble fiber (2Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
- Insoluble fiber bulks up your stool and aids in the movement of food through your digestive tract, reducing the probability of constipation (12Trusted Source).
- Soluble fiber, on the other hand, feeds the good microorganisms in your intestines. These bacteria, in turn, create short-chain fatty acids like acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which fuel the cells in your gut.
- Short-chain fatty acids in the gut may also help reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms of digestive illnesses such as Crohn’s disease, IBS, and ulcerative colitis (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).
- Peach blossoms are another fruit component that may aid digestion. They are often used to treat digestive issues in traditional Chinese medicine.
- Compounds contained in flowers have been shown in animal studies to successfully boost the strength and frequency of stomach contractions, which helps maintain the right rhythm to push food along smoothly (16Trusted Source).
- While peach blossom extract is frequently used in studies, a herbal tea made from the blooms is popular in Korea (17Trusted Source).
Note: Peaches include fiber, which aids digestion and reduces the risk of digestive problems. Peach flowers also contain chemicals that appear to help digestive health.
May Improve Heart Health
- Consuming fruit on a regular basis, including peaches, may benefit heart health.
- Peaches may reduce heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels (18Trusted Source).
- Furthermore, research suggests that peaches may bind to bile acids, which are substances created by the liver from cholesterol.
- The bound bile acids are eventually expelled through your stools, along with the cholesterol they contain, which may help lower blood cholesterol levels (19).
- Peaches may lower total and “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, as well as blood pressure and triglyceride levels, according to additional test-tube and animal research (20, 21, 22Trusted Source).
- Peach juice may lower levels of the hormone angiotensin II, which raises blood pressure, according to research in obese rats (22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).
- While these results appear promising, additional research is required to validate them in humans.
Note; peaches include chemicals that may help reduce heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, triglyceride and cholesterol levels.
May Protect Your Skin
- Peaches may offer anti-aging properties that help keep your skin healthy.
- According to test-tube research, chemicals present in peaches may increase your skin’s ability to absorb moisture, hence enhancing skin texture (24Trusted Source).
- Furthermore, animal and test-tube studies demonstrate that extracts derived from peach blooms or flesh applied directly to the skin may help reduce UV damage (25, 26Trusted Source, 27).
- In mice, peach flower extracts were also proven to slow the growth of skin cancers (28Trusted Source).
- However, further human study is required before conclusions can be reached.
May Prevent Certain Types of Cancer
- Peaches, like most fruits, contain beneficial plant chemicals that may provide some protection against certain malignancies.
- Carotenoids and caffeic acid, two types of antioxidants reported to have anticancer qualities, are abundant in peach skin and flesh (29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source, 31, 32Trusted Source).
- Compounds in peach seeds have also been demonstrated in animal and test-tube studies to reduce the growth of non-cancerous skin lesions and keep them from developing malignant (33Trusted Source).
- Not to mention, peaches are high in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that has been shown in lab experiments to decrease the growth and spread of cancer cells (34Trusted Source).
- Peach polyphenols may be able to kill malignant cells while causing no harm to healthy cells (35Trusted Source).
- In one animal study, these polyphenols were very efficient at preventing the growth and spread of a specific type of breast cancer.
- According to the researchers, a person would need to eat two to three peaches every day to consume the same quantity of polyphenols as used in the study (34Trusted Source).
- Another study found that postmenopausal women who ate at least two peaches or nectarines per day had a 41% decreased risk of breast cancer over a 24-year period (36Trusted Source).
- However, few human studies have been conducted, thus additional research is required.
Note: Peach compounds may give some cancer protection by inhibiting the creation, growth, and spread of malignant cells. More research is needed, however, to establish these benefits.
May Reduce Allergy Symptoms
- Peaches may help with allergy issues.
- When you are exposed to an allergen, your body produces histamines, which are molecules produced by your immune system to assist rid your body of the allergen.
- Histamines are components of your body’s defense system that cause allergy symptoms such as sneezing, itching, and coughing.
- According to research, peaches may help lessen allergy symptoms by reducing histamine release in the blood (37Trusted Source).
- Furthermore, test-tube studies indicate that peach extracts may be useful in reducing the inflammation seen in allergic reactions (38Trusted Source, 39Trusted Source).
- More research is needed, however, to evaluate the intensity of these effects in allergy sufferers.
Note: Peaches may help reduce allergy symptoms by lowering your immune system’s sensitivity to allergens. More research, particularly in humans, is required.
Other Potential Benefits
- Peaches may have additional health benefits. Among the most well researched are:
- Immunity-boosting elements and antioxidants are abundant in peaches. According to test-tube studies, they may also be effective against certain species of bacteria (40Trusted Source).
May protect against specific toxins: - In one study, peach extracts given to smokers enhanced nicotine elimination through urine (41Trusted Source).
- Studies have shown that chemicals contained in peaches may help prevent excessive blood sugar levels and insulin resistance in obese animals (22Trusted Source).
- However, these trials were limited, and the majority of the advantages were not observed in humans.
The Bottom Line
Peaches include a lot of vitamins, minerals, and plant chemicals that are good for you. They’re simple to integrate into a number of cuisines and may provide significant health benefits like as clearer skin, fewer allergy symptoms, and better digestion and heart health.
Peaches may also increase immunity, fight against pollutants, and lower blood sugar levels, in addition to being associated to a lower risk of some cancers. Overall, it’s a fruit worth including in your diet.
