How Healthy Are Peaches?

There’s a reason you need a napkin when you bite into a ripe summer peach — the fruit is nearly 90 percent water.

In addition to helping you stay hydrated, peaches contain nutrients that keep your eyes healthy and may reduce chronic disease risk. Here are some of their biggest benefits, plus some recipes from New York Times Cooking.

Their potassium is helpful on summer days.

Getting fluids from fruit and other food sources is just as good as drinking a glass of water, said Diane Stadler, the director of the graduate programs in human nutrition at Oregon Health & Science University. In addition to their high water content, peaches contain a modest dose of the electrolyte potassium, which you sweat out during exercise and on hot days, she said. Electrolytes like potassium help your muscles contract, your heart pump and your neurons fire.

One small peach contains around 180 milligrams of potassium, which is about five percent of the recommended daily amount. (By comparison, one Nuun electrolyte tablet contains 125 milligrams.)

They’re rich in flavonoids and carotenoids.

“Peaches combine two groups of pigments that you don’t often see together in other fruits and vegetables,” said Mary Ann Lila, a distinguished professor in the Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University. Their signature sunset colors come from flavonoids and carotenoids — chemicals plants produce as a defense mechanism against insects and the harmful effects of sunlight.

Research suggests that people who eat a diet rich in flavonoids, which produce peaches’ red and pink shades, tend to have a lower risk of heart disease.

Flavonoids can also help keep memory and cognition sharp, Dr. Lila said. After gut bacteria break them down, they release chemicals into the bloodstream that can cross into the brain. Dr. Lila has studied flavonoids (using wild blueberry powder, not peaches), and her research has found that a diet rich in them may improve reaction times, motor skills and information processing in older adults.

Carotenoids, responsible for peaches’ orange tones, are powerful antioxidants, added Beth Olson, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Antioxidants help reduce disease risk by binding to free radicals, molecules that can cause damage to our tissues and trigger inflammation.

They provide a modest amount of vitamin A.

Carotenoids have a second benefit: The body can convert them into vitamin A. A small peach contains the equivalent of 35 micrograms of vitamin A, around four percent of the recommended daily amount.

Vitamin A is best known for its role in eye health and vision. That’s because it’s a key building block in the retina, the part of the eye that converts light into information that it sends to the brain, Dr. Lila said.

It’s also crucial for cell division, Dr. Olson said, including those cells that need to replace themselves frequently, like immune and skin cells.

What’s the best way to eat peaches?

To maximize the nutritional benefits, don’t peel them, Dr. Lila said: “Most of the good stuff is in the skin.” That includes much of the vitamin A and polyphenols, plus a few grams of heart- and gut-healthy fiber.

Before you tuck into that peach, run it under cold water and dry it with a paper towel; that should be enough to remove pesticides and potentially harmful bacteria, Dr. Stadler said.

While nothing beats a fresh peach, frozen or canned varieties are also nutritious, as long as there is no added sugar, Dr. Olson said. Just keep in mind that you won’t get the health benefits of the skin.

Dr. Lila recommends cooking peaches without exposing them to too much heat, since that can degrade some important nutrients, like vitamin A. Her favorite method is to cut peaches in half, brush them with olive oil and grill them. Here are some other ideas to try from NYT Cooking.