Apples

Fun Fact: 25% of an apple’s volume is air and that is why they float.  

A low-calorie snack, high in both soluble & insoluble fiber.  

Apple fiber helps lower cholesterol & keep you regular.  

The powerful flavonoids reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, & cancer.  Flavonoids promote heart health by reducing platelet adhesion in arteries, lowering cholesterol, & relaxing & dilating arteries.

Apples are low on calories, but heavy on quertecin, a powerful antioxidant that protects brain cell degeneration, which can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.  

Adults who eat apples are less likely to develop high blood pressure, according to one study.  

Apples can also help to prevent colon cancer, as well as promote healthy teeth & weight loss.  

Apples have been found to help regulate blood sugar & are a great source of dietary fiber.

They contain a high amount of vitamin C, potassium, & vitamin K.

They also provide some B vitamins.

Studies suggest that the antioxidants in apples can promote heart health & reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, & Alzheimer’s.

The antioxidant activity in apples has also been linked with increased bone density in animal & test-tube studies.

Another notable health benefit of apples is their pectin content.  Pectin is a prebiotic fiber that feeds the good bacteria in your gut & helps improve digestion & metabolic health.

WEIGHT LOSS: Weight Loss Researchers from the State University of Rio de Janeiro studying the impact of fruit intake on weight loss found that overweight women who ate the equivalent of three apples or pears a day lost more weight on a low-calorie diet than women who didn’t add fruit to their diet.

BRAIN HEALTH-

Age-Related Memory Loss & Alzheimer’s Disease: A growing body of evidence from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell suggests that eating apples & drinking apple juice can be beneficial when it comes to improving brain health & diminishing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Brain Health & Neurodegenerative Diseases: Researchers from Cornell University also found in their in vitro study that apple nutrients protected brain neurons against oxidative damage.  Such damage can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s.

CANCER

Breast Cancer: A series of studies at Cornell University evaluated the direct effects of apples on breast cancer prevention in animals.  The more apples consumed, the greater the reduction in incidence or number of tumors among test animals.

Pancreatic Cancer: Quercetin, a flavonoid found naturally in apples, has been identified as one of the most beneficial flavonols in preventing & reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer.  Although the overall risk was reduced among the study participants, smokers who consumed foods rich in flavonols had a significantly greater risk reduction.

Colon & Liver Cancer: A research team at Cornell University identified a group of phytochemicals that are more abundant in the peel & appear to kill or inhibit the growth of at least three different types of human cancer cells: colon, breast, & liver.

Prostate Cancer: Researchers at Rochester, Minn.’s Mayo Clinic report that quercetin, a plant-based nutrient found most abundantly in apples, may provide a new method for preventing or treating prostate cancer.

Bowel Cancer: Eating just one apple a day could slash the risk of colorectal cancer by more than one-third.  The observed protective effect may result from apples’ rich content of flavonoid & other polyphenols, which can inhibit cancer onset & cell proliferation.  In addition, apples are a good source of fiber, & a high-fiber diet is known as a risk reducer for colorectal cancer.

METABOLIC SYNDROME: Apple product consumers are likely to have lower blood pressure & trimmer waistlines, resulting in a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health issues related to diabetes & heart disease.

ANTIOXIDANTS: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) categorized three specific varieties of apples among the top 20 antioxidant sources.  While the study highlighted three apple varieties in particular, all apples contain beneficial levels of antioxidants & have other healthful nutrition properties.  Two-thirds of an apple’s antioxidants are found in its peel.

LUNG HEALTH

Childhood & Adult Asthma: Research from the UK reports that children of mothers who eat apples during pregnancy are much less likely to exhibit symptoms of asthma, including wheezing, at age 5.  Among a variety of foods consumed & recorded by the pregnant women, apples were the only food found to have a positive association with a reduced risk of asthma.

Chronic Cough & Lung Cancer: A study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that foods rich in fiber & flavonoids — found abundantly in apples — may reduce chronic productive cough & other respiratory symptoms.

HEART HEALTH

Reduced Mortality: A study has identified a possible link between a common component of apples & heart health in postmenopausal women.  The study results indicate that increased consumption of apples may contribute to a decrease in mortality from both coronary heart disease & cardiovascular disease.

Fiber & Cardiovascular Disease: A French study found that diets with the highest total dietary fiber & nonsoluble dietary fiber intakes were associated with a significantly lower risk of several heart disease risk factors, including overweight, elevated waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, & cholesterol levels.

LDL Oxidation: In the first human study of its kind, researchers at the University of California-Davis report that daily consumption of apples & apple juice may help reduce the damage caused by LDL, the bad type of cholesterol, & protect against heart disease.

IMMUNITY: Soluble fiber, like pectin from apples, may reduce the inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases & strengthen the immune system, according to a study from the University of Illinois.

GUT HEALTH: Researchers from the University of Denmark have discovered that apples & apple products could give the health of your intestines — as well as your immune system — a boost by increasing the numbers of good gut bacteria

Apples