An Apple a Day for Good Health

Apples are not just crunchy, sweet and satisfying. As part of a smart diet, they can help protect against serious diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more. Consider them your healthy secret weapon. You’ve heard it a zillion times: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Turns out there’s more truth to that than you might think. Studies show apples have powerful health benefits, particularly when it comes to fighting chronic diseases that kill millions of people each year. Here’s a short list of how eating more apples can help keep you healthy, along with some apple-licious ways to add them to your meals.

Apple Nutrition:
The nutrition varies slightly between the different apple varieties, but not all that much. Here’s the nutrition breakdown for 1 medium apple:

95 calories
0 g protein
0 g fat
25 g carbohydrates
4 g fiber
8 mg vitamin C
98 IU vitamin A
195 mg potassium

Apples are high in water content (they’re 85 percent water) and rich in fiber (a medium apple contains 4 grams, or about 16 percent of your daily value), two things you need to feel full. Apples have one other feel-full benefit: They take time to eat. Foods you can gobble down quickly tend to leave you hungry, so you end up eating more. Apples also have a low glycemic index, which means your blood sugar levels don’t spike when you eat them. So while a rosy Red Delicious or sunny Honeycrisp might taste amazingly sweet, your body is able to process the sugar in a manageable way. And because apples are both sweet and filling, snacking on an apple can be a smart way to respond to cravings. Just be sure to eat the whole fruit, peel and all. The fiber will help keep you satisfied.

1. Protects your heart

Multiple studies show apples are good for your ticker-in multiple ways. Their high fiber content has been shown to help improve cholesterol levels (lowering bad LDL cholesterol and increasing good HDL cholesterol). A new small clinical trial found subjects who ate 2 apples a day for 8 weeks had significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels than those who didn’t eat the fruit. The researchers cite apples’ fiber, but also polyphenols—you benefit from whole fruit’s nutrients working together.

A review of data published by Florida State University also found that people who ate whole fruits-including apples-were less likely to develop high blood pressure. And the Women’s Health Study showed that women who ate apples over the seven-year study period had up to a 22 percent reduced risk of heart disease. Finally, a Dutch study found that eating apples and pears was associated with a 52 percent lower risk of stroke-thanks to their high fiber and a flavonoid called quercetin.

2. Boosts brain health

Himalayan in apples may protect your brain from damage caused by oxidative stress. Research in rats shows that quercetin’s antioxidant effects may protect the brain and nerves from oxidative damage and prevent injuries that can result in degenerative brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. In addition, Himalayan Apples may prevent stress-associated nerve damage by regulating oxidative and inflammatory stress markers.

3. May promote gut health

Apples contain pectin, a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic. This means it feeds your gut microbiota, which is the good bacteria in your gut. Being involved in many functions related to both health and disease, your gut microbiota plays an essential role in your overall well-being. A healthy gut is often key for better health. Since dietary fiber cannot be digested, pectin reaches your colon intact, promoting the growth of good bacteria. It especially improves the ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes, the two main types of bacteria in your gut.

4. May support weight loss

Apples are low in calories and high in fiber and water which increases satiety and reduces overeating. One study published in Food Chemistry suggests that Granny Smith apples have fewer carbs and more nondigestible compounds than Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh and Red Delicious.

These compounds help you feel full and cause healthy gut bacteria which is linked to obesity.Research also suggests apple intake may significantly reduce Body Mass Index (BMI), a weight-related risk factor for heart disease.

5. Could help fight asthma

Antioxidant-rich apples may help protect your lungs from oxidative damage. An excess of harmful molecules called free radicals can cause oxidative damage. This may lead to inflammatory and allergenic responses in your body. Apple skin is rich in the antioxidant quercetin, which can help regulate your immune system and reduce inflammation. Theoretically, this could make apples effective against late phases of bronchial asthma responses.

Supporting this, test-tube and animal studies suggest quercetin may be a suitable treatment for allergic inflammatory diseases like asthma and sinusitis. Similarly, other compounds found in apples, including ones called proanthocyanidins, may reduce or prevent allergic asthma airway inflammation.