If apricot is 'the orange of summer', perhaps peach is the fruit of summer and holidays par excellence. Taste of the sea, where you can rinse it in salt water, sweet taste of fresh rest. Just a pleasure, or even health food? The answer is number two: peaches are a gift of well-being.

We have already learned how to choose them, keep them and enjoy them. Let's now explore their properties for health. First of all, they are rich in water and fiber and contain a remarkable assortment of minerals - above all potassium, whose deficiency can be responsible for muscle fatigue and weakness and cramps. The presence of vitamins is also excellent, especially C and A. The latter is especially precious for the health of the skin, and those who eat peaches can be sure to give a touch of color and beauty to their complexion. And then - how not to love them for this! - they are packed with antioxidants of various kinds and kinds, all ready to help us prevent pathologies 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.

It is not for nothing that they have been highly appreciated for centuries in popular medicine, both Western and Eastern and in particular Chinese, since - it may surprise us Mediterraneans - if there is a country in the world for peaches, that is China. The properties are purifying and digestive, and then many others, ranging from candida to anemia. Several scientific studies have even looked at cancer prevention properties: A 2014 study found that polyphenols present in selected peaches inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells in breast cancers. Finally, the benefits of peaches would also be on the psyche, and in particular these fruits would help reduce stress.

Do not disdain 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 to the taste and really good: most of the fibers, for example, they are contained in the peel, as well as many vitamins which - 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 & pesticides.

Last detail, the peach, which is part of the rose family, in Chinese mythology is a symbol of longevity: the Immortals ate this fruit, associated with the God of longevity and health ...