“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.” ― Alice Walker
In my title, I called Fresh Peaches a Healthy Snack, but perhaps I should call them a Healthy Treat, which is how we often eat fruit in our house. Local peaches are now in season here in the Rockies, and they are delicious.
Fresh, ripe peaches have soft, fuzzy skin and sweet, juicy flesh, making them a wonderful, healthy treat or snack. You can blend them in smoothies, bake them into a peach crisp, toss them on salads, chop them into a salsa, or turn them into amazing ice cream. We do all of these things with them, plus more. But our favorite way to eat them is simply straight off of the pit. This quick and easy way to eat peaches requires no preparation other than a quick rinse to wash them off.
Here are some of the health benefits of this fantastic fruit:
Peaches contain bioactive and phenolic compounds that have anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties. This means they may help you to avoid cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and other such obesity-related illnesses (Cespedes, 2013; Ware, 2014).
Peaches contain lots of Vitamin C, which helps to combat free radicals. Their large amount of Vitamin A is linked to better eye health (Cespedes, 2013). They have also been noted to inhibit tumor growth (Herrington, 2013; Top10, 2014).
Peaches are good for improving skin health, and are natural moisturizers (Ware, 2014). In addition, peaches are full of fiber, which is good for digestive health, and can help lower high cholesterol (Top10, 2014).
Peaches are also said to reduce hair loss, to lessen anxiety, to calm an upset stomach, to help with gout and rheumatism, and to clean your kidneys and bladder (Herrington, 2013).
Those are pretty amazing benefits for eating such a delicious fruit.
When and how to choose peaches:
Summertime is when peaches are most likely to be available locally. It’s also when the fruit is at its peak, having both the best flavor and the highest nutritional value.
You want to choose peaches that have fuzzy, taut skin, and that give slightly when you apply gentle pressure.
What’s your favorite way to eat peaches?
Sources:
Cespedes, Andrea (2013, October 11). What are the health benefits of peaches? LiveStrong.com.
Herrington, Diana (2013, August 28). 16 health benefits of peaches. Care2.com.
Top10 (2014). Top 10 health benefits of peaches. Top 10 Home Remedies.
Ware, M (2014, Aug 30). What are the health benefits of peaches? Medical News Today.
I appreciate this post with all the health benefits of peaches. I didn’t know most of them. We enjoy them in season as well – healthy and yummy. I just wanted to add that peaches are one of those foods where it’s good to pay a little more for organic since they are on the Dirty Dozen list for pesticide residue. They are $0.89 each at my Trader Joe’s, but I feel it’s worth it. Farmer’s market, of course, is another option.
That is a really good point. We get our peaches at our local farmers’ market.
We buy most of our produce organic (and local, if we can), even though it costs a bit more. I believe money talks when it comes to encouraging the types of food we would like to see in our food supply.