Apple vs. Apricot — Health Impact and Nutrition Comparison
Summary
Apricots and apples are sweet fruits that have a lot in common, but they have significant differences in terms of nutrition. Apricots are higher in proteins, vitamins, and minerals. They provide two times more potassium than apples. Apples are high in fructose: they contain 6g of it per 100g, in contrast to one gram in the same amount of apricots.
Table of contents
Introduction
Being members of the Rosaceae family and having many things in common, apricots and apples have a lot of differences.
Usually, the taste of an apple falls between a little sweet and a little tart flavor: it depends on the harvest conditions and the weather conditions it is grown. Being a member of the genus Prunus, apricot tastes sweet but has a tiny tart flavor: it is like a small peach. You can read about apricot and peach nutrition comparison here.
This article will discuss the differences between apricot and apple in terms of nutrition and health impact. We will mention the nutritional values of raw apples with smooth skin (1) and raw apricots with peachy flesh(2). However, we will also address other types of these fruits for comparison.
Macronutrients
Proteins
Apricots and apples are not rich in proteins because they are fruits, not animal food products. However, apricots are higher in proteins than apples, with 1.4g of proteins per 100g of fruit.
Carbs
The two fruits are sweet because of their high carb content. Apples provide a little bit more carbs (13.8g per 100g) than apricots (11.1g per 100g) do.
Fiber
The fiber content of apples and apricots is approximately the same, with 2.4g and 2g, accordingly.
Most of the fiber in apples is soluble and is located in their skin. Apricots are also high in soluble fiber.
Net carbs
These are the carbs used for energy synthesis. Apples provide more net carbs than apricots. They are significantly higher in fructose. Apples contain 6g of fructose per 100g, while the same serving of apricots provides only one g of it.
Fats
Both apples and apricots have negligible amounts of fats. However, apricots contain two times more fats than apples. Neither apples nor apricots do not provide any cholesterol.
Vitamins
The winner in this section is the apricot. It is richer than apple in all vitamins. Apricots provide significant amounts of vitamin A, E, and C. Apples are also rich in vitamin B6, substantial in protein metabolism (3). These fruits do not contain vitamins B12 and D.
Vitamin Comparison
Contains
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CholineCholine
+21.4%
Contains
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Vitamin CVitamin C
+117.4%
Contains
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Vitamin AVitamin A
+2268.5%
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Vitamin EVitamin E
+394.4%
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Vitamin B1Vitamin B1
+76.5%
Contains
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Vitamin B2Vitamin B2
+53.8%
Contains
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Vitamin B3Vitamin B3
+559.3%
Contains
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Vitamin B5Vitamin B5
+293.4%
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Vitamin B6Vitamin B6
+31.7%
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Vitamin KVitamin K
+50%
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FolateFolate
+200%
Minerals
Apricot is richer in minerals than apple. Apricots contain nearly two times more calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium than apples. Apricots provide 259mg of potassium per 100g of fruit, while the same amount of apples contains 107mg of it.
You can see the mineral distribution in two fruits in the chart shown below.
Mineral Comparison
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MagnesiumMagnesium
+100%
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CalciumCalcium
+116.7%
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PotassiumPotassium
+142.1%
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IronIron
+225%
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CopperCopper
+188.9%
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ZincZinc
+400%
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PhosphorusPhosphorus
+109.1%
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ManganeseManganese
+120%
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SeleniumSelenium
+∞%
Dried apricots vs. dried apples
Sometimes people choose the dried versions of the fruits. This part of the article discusses the nutritional values of dried apricot (4) and dried apple (5) and the differences between them and fresh fruits.
The water content of dried types of these fruits is significantly lower: both dried apricots and dried apples have approximately 55g less water than the fresh ones. The dried variants are nearly five times higher in calories and six times higher in carbs than the fresh ones. Vitamin amounts in dried variants are negligible.
Dried apricots are higher in proteins: they have 3.4g of proteins per 100g, while the same amount of dried apples contains only one gram of them. Dried apricots are richer in most minerals, especially potassium, with 1160mg compared to 450mg in dried apples.
Cardiovascular health
Both apricots and apples promote cardiovascular health, but the mechanisms and chemicals provided by them are different.
According to these studies, apricot and apple have antioxidant effects which are important for reducing the risk of atherosclerosis (6.7).
Eating apples may lower total cholesterol and bad cholesterol levels in the blood. This effect is unknown for apricots, however, eating apricot seeds may positively modify the lipoprotein profile in people who have high total cholesterol (8.9).
In this study, apples had no significant effect on blood pressure, unlike apricots, which have soluble fibers that may help with blood pressure control (10.11).
Gut health
Both apples and apricots contain soluble dietary fibers that are beneficial for the gut microbiome. Apples contain pectin, which helps improve the colon's Bacteriodetes content. Soluble dietary fiber is also linked to a decreased risk of obesity (12.13.14).
Due to their soluble and insoluble fiber contents, they beneficially affect chronic constipation by increasing bowel movements and adding bulk to the stool.
References
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171688/nutrients
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171697/nutrients
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173941/nutrients
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173941/nutrients
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691509000246
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32725042/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35449537/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35055679/
- https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/108/5/1006/5201457
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-7285-2_27
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808856/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23768554/
- https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-016-0173-x
Infographic
Macronutrient Comparison
Contains more CarbsCarbs | +24.2% |
Contains more ProteinProtein | +438.5% |
Contains more FatsFats | +129.4% |
Contains more OtherOther | +270% |
Fat Type Comparison
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated Fat | +2328.6% |
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat | +51% |
Carbohydrate type comparison
Contains more StarchStarch | +∞% |
Contains more FructoseFructose | +527.7% |
Contains more SucroseSucrose | +183.6% |
Contains more MaltoseMaltose | +∞% |
Comparison summary table
Lower in Sugar | |||
Lower in Saturated Fat | |||
Lower in Glycemic Index | |||
Rich in minerals | |||
Rich in vitamins | |||
Lower in Cholesterol | Equal | ||
Lower in Sodium | Equal | ||
Lower in price | Equal |
All nutrients comparison - raw data values
Nutrient | Opinion | ||
Calories | 52kcal | 48kcal | |
Protein | 0.26g | 1.4g | |
Fats | 0.17g | 0.39g | |
Vitamin C | 4.6mg | 10mg | |
Net carbs | 11.41g | 9.12g | |
Carbs | 13.81g | 11.12g | |
Magnesium | 5mg | 10mg | |
Calcium | 6mg | 13mg | |
Potassium | 107mg | 259mg | |
Iron | 0.12mg | 0.39mg | |
Sugar | 10.39g | 9.24g | |
Fiber | 2.4g | 2g | |
Copper | 0.027mg | 0.078mg | |
Zinc | 0.04mg | 0.2mg | |
Starch | 0.05g | ||
Phosphorus | 11mg | 23mg | |
Sodium | 1mg | 1mg | |
Vitamin A | 54IU | 1279IU | |
Vitamin A | 3µg | 96µg | |
Vitamin E | 0.18mg | 0.89mg | |
Manganese | 0.035mg | 0.077mg | |
Selenium | 0µg | 0.1µg | |
Vitamin B1 | 0.017mg | 0.03mg | |
Vitamin B2 | 0.026mg | 0.04mg | |
Vitamin B3 | 0.091mg | 0.6mg | |
Vitamin B5 | 0.061mg | 0.24mg | |
Vitamin B6 | 0.041mg | 0.054mg | |
Vitamin K | 2.2µg | 3.3µg | |
Folate | 3µg | 9µg | |
Choline | 3.4mg | 2.8mg | |
Saturated Fat | 0.028g | 0.027g | |
Monounsaturated Fat | 0.007g | 0.17g | |
Polyunsaturated fat | 0.051g | 0.077g | |
Tryptophan | 0.001mg | 0.015mg | |
Threonine | 0.006mg | 0.047mg | |
Isoleucine | 0.006mg | 0.041mg | |
Leucine | 0.013mg | 0.077mg | |
Lysine | 0.012mg | 0.097mg | |
Methionine | 0.001mg | 0.006mg | |
Phenylalanine | 0.006mg | 0.052mg | |
Valine | 0.012mg | 0.047mg | |
Histidine | 0.005mg | 0.027mg | |
Fructose | 5.9g | 0.94g |
Which food is preferable for your diet?
Low Calories diet | ||
Low Fats diet | ||
Low Carbs diet | ||
Low Glycemic Index diet |
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Vitamins & Minerals Daily Need Coverage Score
Comparison summary
References
All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.
- Apple - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171688/nutrients
- Apricot - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171697/nutrients
All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.