Janice R. Andrews
As fall approaches, apple picking season really gets going. It’s a favorite time of the year, and there are lots of crisp, juicy apples around. This saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” is true. However, it doesn’t mean you should skip your checkups.
You can eat apples raw, bake them into pies, or add them to spicy meals. They taste great and are full of good nutrients. There are four main reasons why eating apples every day is very good for your health.
Apples help you get the fiber you need every day.
Apples have a lot of dietary fiber, which is good for your gut health. One medium-sized apple has more than 4 grams of fiber, which is about 18% of the daily fiber needs for women and 12% for men. A lot of people don’t get enough fiber every day—only 58% of what they need.
Fiber-rich foods, like apples, make you feel full for longer, which can help you control your weight and stop you from eating too much. Fiber also helps your body digest food well, control blood sugar better, and keep your heart healthy.
Apples have both solid and soluble fiber, but pectin, a type of soluble fiber, is what you should focus on. In your digestive system, pectin forms a gel-like material that binds to sugars and cholesterol to help keep their levels in check. This is good for your heart and also feeds the good bacteria in your gut, which is good for your digestive health generally.
As a pro tip, don’t peel your apples! There is a lot of fiber in the skin, but removing it can take away up to half of that fiber.
They are full of antioxidants that fight disease
Apples are full of vitamins, especially quercetin, a strong flavonoid that is known to reduce inflammation. Free radicals can damage cells and speed up the aging process and make people sick. Quercetin protects cells from these damage.
Apples’ antioxidants have been linked to a lower chance of a number of long-term diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, asthma, and heart disease. In particular, quercetin has shown promise for its ability to fight cancer. Some studies show that it might help stop the growth of lung, prostate, breast, cervical, and stomach cancers.
Eating antioxidant-rich foods like apples on a regular basis can help your body fight off sicknesses and make you live longer generally.
Apples are good for your heart
One of the best known benefits of apples is that they are good for your heart. Several heart health indicators can get better if you eat 100 to 150 grams of apples every day, which is about one big apple or one cup of chopped apples.
Apples are good for you because they lower blood pressure, lower pulse pressure, and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol. In one study, people with slightly high cholesterol who ate two apples every day for eight weeks saw big drops in both their total and LDL cholesterol levels.
Apples have flavonoids that lower inflammation and oxidative stress, which are both things that can lead to heart disease. Pectin in apples helps by sticking to cholesterol and getting rid of it from the body.
Want a safe way to lower your blood pressure? Three big studies that followed people for eight years found that if they ate at least four apples a week, their risk of high blood pressure went down by 9%. Researchers have also found a link between eating a lot of apples and a lower chance of stroke. This is more proof that apples are good for your heart.
Apples may help keep you from getting Type 2 diabetes
Even though apples have carbs, the fiber in them helps them stay low on the glycemic index (GI). The glycemic index tells you how foods that are high in carbs affect your blood sugar. Low-GI foods have less of an effect on blood sugar, which makes them good for people who want to control or avoid type 2 diabetes.
A diet high in low-GI foods has been shown over and over again to lower the chance of getting type 2 diabetes. Apples have been singled out because they are low in GI. According to the Nurses’ Health Study, people who ate apples at least three times a week had a lower chance of getting type 2 diabetes. This is probably because apples contain a lot of anthocyanins, which are another type of flavonoid.
Studies have also shown that eating apples or pears can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by 18%. Eating just one serving a day can lower the risk by 3%. Apple fiber slows down the uptake of sugar, which helps keep blood sugar levels from rising too quickly. Apple juice, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same health effects and has been linked to higher blood sugar.
What You Can Do to Eat More Apples
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that people should eat 1.5 to 2.5 cups of fruit every day, but there is no hard and fast rule about how many apples they should eat every day. So, a small to medium apple is equal to about one cup. This is a simple and tasty way to get your daily fruit.
These are some ways you can eat more apples:
- Sliced with peanut butter: A filling mix of protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
- Apple dices add crunch and a touch of sweetness to oatmeal or salads.
- Mixed into smoothies: Adding an apple to your drink in the morning is a great way to make it taste better and add calories.
- With vanilla and cinnamon added to the sauce: Apples cooked with spices are a healthy snack that goes well with yogurt or ice cream.
- Baked into sweets: Apples are great in pies, crisps, muffins, and other baked goods.
When paired with spicy dishes: Apples taste great with cheeses, roasted veggies, pork, and chicken.
Apples are very healthy and can be used in many ways, like as a snack, in sweets, or as part of a meal.
Now that apple picking season has begun, it’s the ideal time to enjoy the health benefits of this tasty and crunchy fruit. Apples are a healthy wonder that should be a part of your daily diet. They lower cholesterol, protect your heart, and lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.
This fall, make sure to buy lots of apples at the farm or the grocery store near you. Your heart, gut, and general health will thank you!
