If the apricot is 'the orange of summer', it is perhaps the peach that is the fruit of the summer and of the holidays par excellence. Flavor of the sea, where it can be rinsed in salted water, the sweet taste of fresh rest. Just a pleasure, or even health food? The answer is number two: le peaches they are a gift from Welfare.

We have already learned to choose, preserve and enjoy them. Now let's deepen their health properties. First of all they are rich in water and fibers and keep an assortment remarkable of minerals – primarily potassium, whose deficiency can be responsible for tiredness and muscle weakness and cramps. The presence of vitamins is also excellent, especially C and A. The latter is especially valuable for the health of the skin, and those who eat peaches can rest assured of giving a touch of color and beauty to your complexion. And then – how not to love them for this! – they are packaged with antioxidants of various kinds and kinds, all ready to help us prevent diseases and aging.

Vitamins and antioxidants, including vitamin E and selenium, also help detoxify the body system. Peaches increase the sense of satiety, and therefore, thanks above all to the fibers they contain, they are excellent for those who have the goal of losing weight.

Not for nothing have they been much appreciated in folk medicine, both Western and Eastern and in particular Chinese for centuries, given that – it may surprise us Mediterraneans – if there is a country in the world for peaches, that's China. The properties are cleansing and digestive, and then many others, ranging from candida to anemia. Several scientific studies have even examined the properties of cancer prevention: a 2014 study found that the polyphenols present in selected peaches inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells in breast tumors. Finally, the benefits of peaches would also be on the psyche, and in particular these fruits would help reduce stress.

Don't mind the peel: on the tongue the sensation changes a lot depending on the variety, and sometimes it is too hard and above all a little hairy … In most cases, however, it is good on the palate and does really well: most of the fibers, for example, are contained just in the peel, as well as many vitamins that – like so many other fruits – are in its skin but not necessarily in the pulp. One more reason to buy organic peaches, and not risk filling up on vitamins and pesticides.

Last detail, the peach, cha is part of the family of roses, in Chinese mythology is symbol of longevity: the Immortals fed on this fruit, in fact associated with the God of longevity and health …

Carola Traverso Saibante
June 2017
updated June 2019

DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES OF SALT & PEPE

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