Apricot juice may not be as widely-consumed as orange or apple juice but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t as nutritious. Find out in this article why and how you should start juicing apricots for its numerous health benefits.

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Apricots ripen during the middle of summer and used in a variety of desserts, baked goods, and fruit salads. A relative of the peach, the apricot is a rich source of iron, lycopene, and beta-carotene. Both lycopene and beta-carotene protect cholesterol from the oxidation process which can prevent several diseases.

12 Apricot Juice Benefits

Juicing apricots will not only give you a delicious tasting beverage but provide you with a plethora of health benefits and nutritive value as well. Apricots contain excellent minerals like iron, as mentioned, phosphorus, and calcium and traces of bromine, sulfur, manganese, sodium, and cobalt. It also has vitamins C, A, B3 (niacin), and B2 (riboflavin).

The apricot kernel is a source of oil similar to that found in almonds. Together with the flowers, the oil has long been used as anti-spasmodic relief for strained muscles. Additionally, it is also used to expel worms, heal wounds, and as a health tonic.

Apricot kernels are very nutritional, and they can easily be added to any drink or breakfast cereal once they have been grinded up. You can buy them in packets at a very reasonable price over at Amazon.

Now let’s take a look at the plethora of health benefits mentioned earlier that accompany apricot juice:

Protects the lungs against cancer.
Prevents macular degeneration.
Improves eyesight to prevent night blindness.
Prevents anemia because of its rich iron content.
Acts as a natural laxative for constipation.
Aids in digestion.
Helps to cool down a fever.
Soothes eczema, skin itchiness, scabies, and sun burn.
Reduces cholesterol levels.
Helps boost bone density and prevents bone-related diseases such as osteoporosis.
Maintains balance the body’s electrolytes.
Lowers blood pressure.

5 Fun Facts About Apricots

How to Make Apricot Nectar

You can always buy commercially-prepared apricot nectar, or juice, but nothing beats the fresh, homemade kind. If you make it yourself, you are guaranteed of getting 50% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) amount for vitamin A as well as the other vitamins and minerals mentioned previously.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make apricot nectar:

1) Halve the apricots and remove the pit. Slice the fruit into two pieces and place them into an electric juicer.

2) Make sure that the juicer’s catch-all container is in place for the resulting apricot juice.

3) Turn on the juicer and keep adding the pieces of apricot down the chute.

4) Store the juice in air-tight containers and refrigerate if not consumed immediately. This should keep for three to four days.

Tips and Tricks for Juicing Apricots

Always choose apricots for juicing that are firm to the touch. Unripe apricots are will be hard and yellow while those that are ripe will be soft and golden orange in color.
Ripe apricots can get easily bruised when handled and turn mushy and overly soft when overripe.
Never juice more apricots than you can or intend to consume. Ripe apricots may be stored no more than three to four days in the refrigerator; the same goes for apricot nectar or juice.
Because apricots -- like peaches, strawberries, melons, and pears – have soft textures, the extracted juice – known as nectar – will be thick in consistency. Given that, you may want to reduce this consistency with fruits or vegetables that yield thin juices such as carrots, watermelons, etc.
Straining your apricot juice will give you a finer textured beverage but remember that doing so will reduce the dietary fiber content that is helpful in conditions such as constipation.

Where Can I Get Apricot Juice From?

There are a few ways you can grab a dosage of apricot juice goodness. Here are three main options:

1) The best option is to in fact to make apricot juice from home. By following the guidelines on this page, and by using a quality juicer, you will be enjoying the benefits of apricot juice in no time.

2) Another great alternative if you prefer not to juice apricots yourself, is to buy raw apricot seeds and then grind them up and add them to your drinks or food.

3) The last option is to just buy a bottle from your local store. However a word of caution, many commercially bottled fruit juices have lots of sugar content added to them, which are not good for you, so be weary of that.

3 Apricot Juice Recipes

Below you will find 3 great juice recipes using apricots. Just follow the instructions.

APRICOT ZING
Apricot Plum
OH SO SWEET NECTAR

INGREDIENTS

5 Apricots (De-stoned)

5 Plums

1 Lemon Wedge

METHOD

A simple yet tasty fruit juice. If you want to get a little creative with apricots, then nothing will beat this delicious juice. Just add the apricots and the plums into the juicer followed by a wedge of lemon (if desired). Then pour over ice. A perfect summer morning juice to start your day.