Apricots: Food of the Hunzas, Nature's "Carotenoid Complex

Apricots are the number one ingredient in the Hunza diet and also the number one ingredient in Nutrient Complex. The Hunza dried apricots are nutritional powerhouses, with three times as much potassium as bananas, twice as much magnesium as broccoli, and four times as much niacin as spinach. A two-ounce portion of dried apricots has over 4,000 IU of vitamin A, (80% of recommended daily allowance or RDA) and nearly 760 mg of potassium (20% of the RDA).

Some of the health-sustaining effects of apricots may be due to their high concentration of carotenoids, a class of high-powered antioxidants that includes beta carotene (provitamin A). Beta carotene has been shown in many studies to directly reduce the risk of cancer. One of the largest studies, published in The Lancet, examined the incidence of lung cancer over a 19-year period in middle-aged men (Shekelle et al., 1981). The group consuming the most carotene suffered only 13% of the cancer risk as the lowest group. This meant that a deficiency in carotene increased the incidence of cancer almost eight times.

While other studies have not supported beta carotene’s anti-cancer effects, these studies have relied on beta carotene supplements alone, rather than using the mixed carotenoids contained in whole foods. Whole foods are not only rich in beta carotene, but also contain related compounds that may exert a far more potent synergistic anti-cancer effect than beta carotene alone. These carotenoids include alpha carotene, zeaxanthin. lutein, and lycopene, which has twice the antioxidant punch as vitamin E (Klebanov et al., 1998).

Apricots are also rich in rutin, a potent antioxidant bioflavonoid. Rutin strengthens blood vessels, promotes cell regeneration, improves immune response and protects against hypertension. By making blood vessel walls more flexible, rutin has a unique ability to slow down damage caused by arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) that can lead to heart attack, stroke, and premature death (Afanas’ev et al., 1998).