The Health Benefits of ApplesThe health benefits of apples can be enjoyed all the time, not just as a snack - which, of course is a good starting point!Studies suggest that eating apples can help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma and type 2 diabetes. How is that possible? Come with me on this journey and you'll soon discover that the old saying about 'one apple a day...' may actually be true. Apple Nutrition FactsA 100 g. serving of apple is one small apple and provides:
Apples are also an excellent source of vitamin C, pectin and other fibers and a good source of potassium. Most of the apple's important nutrients are contained in its skin and raw apples are higher in many nutrients and phytochemical as well, such as ellagic acid and flavonoids (especially quercitin). So to enjoy the health benefits of apples you should eat them raw and with their skin on. Filled with Antioxidants
The antioxidants in apples are mainly a type of phytochemicals called phenolics, which neutralise free radicals before they have a chance to harm your DNA and other important components within your body.You might think that the health benefits of apples are mainly due to their high vitamin C content which provides the main antioxidant protection. Apparently not. According to research conducted by scientists at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Seoul University in South Korea, phenolics, rather than vitamin C in the fruit, may provide the bulk of apples' antioxidant power and apples came second after cranberries and before red grape, strawberry, pineapple, banana, peach, lemon, orange, pear and grapefruits (although these fruits are all rich with other very important phytochemicals). One particular study also measured the ability of extracts of these fruits to inhibit liver-cancer cells in the lab. Apples came in third place, behind cranberries and lemons. Problem is, you can't just grab a handful of cranberries or a lemon and eat them, can you? Hardly, but nothing can beat the tastiness, easy preparation and versatility of an apple! Health Benefits of Apples on Heart DiseaseApple health benefits extend to your heart.In fact, a study that followed almost 40,000 women over 7 years, associated apples with a 13 to 22% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. A study carried out in Finland, found that intake of flavonoids, a type of phenolic found in apples, as well as onions and tea, was inversely associated with death of heart disease in women. Data gathered from the same group of people also found that those who ate the most apples had a lower risk of a type of stroke than people who ate the fewest apples. Another study, involving more than 30,000 older Iowa women, found that consuming catechin and epicatechin - both flavonoids found in apples - was associated with a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease. Unfortunately, most people favour the flesh, but much of the apple's healing power resides in the skin, which contains large amounts of an antioxidant compound called quercitin (about 4 milligrams). Like vitamin C and beta-carotene, quercitin can help prevent harmful oxygen molecules from damaging individual cells. Even in the healing world of antioxidants, quercitin is thought to be exceptional. Another Finnish study found that the people who ate the most quercitin had a 20% lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease than those who ate the least. Another study was conducted by Dr. R. Sablé-Amplis at the University of Paul Sabatier, Institute of Physiology, in Toulose, France. He asked a group of thirty middle-aged healthy men and women not to change their diet one bit - except for one thing: Eat two or three apples every day for one month, one at about 10 A.M., another at four P.M. By the end of the month, the apples had pushed down the blood cholesterol of twentyfour - or 80% - of the group. In half of them the drop was more than 10%. One person's cholesterol dived by 30%. Plus, the apples manipulated the blood so that good HDL cholesterol went up and the destructive LDL cholesterol went down. They suspect that pectin, the soluble-type fiber contained in apples, is what caused the reduction, but they can't be sure. Pectin alone doesn't explain the health benefits of apples, for the whole apple itself is a much more powerful cholesterol depressor than all the pectin squeezed out of an apple. Health Benefits of Apples on Asthma
In a study carried out in the United Kingdom, 1,500 adults were asked about their eating habits during the previous year and the researchers found that people who ate at least two apples each week had a 22 to 32% lower risk of developing asthma tha those who ate less of this fruit.Another Australian study involving 1,600 adults associated apple and pear consumption with a lower risk of asthma. Finnish researchers found fewer cases of asthma among people with high levels of quercitin in their diets. And a study of more than 13,000 adults in the Netherlands found that those who ate more apples and pears had better lung function and less chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Benefits of Apples on CancerQuite a few studies show the health benefits of apples on lung cancer.For example, a study involving more than 120,000 men and women found that women who ate at least one serving of apples or pears daily had a lower risk of this form of cancer. A Hawaiian study looking at the diet history of 582 people who had lung cancer and 582 without the disease found that people who ate the most apples, onions and white grapefruit had roughly half the risk of lung cancer than those who ate the least amounts of these foods. Apples and onions are both high in quercitin. In another study, Finnish researchers found that men who consumed more quercitin were 60% less likely to have lung cancer than men with lower quercitin intakes. What happens "when you subject cells to a carcinogen and then put in the quercitin", says Dr. Lawrence H. Kushi, ScD, associate director for etiology and prevention research at Kaiser Permanente's division of research in Oakland, California, "you prevent mutation from occuring - you prevent the carcinogen from acting." Health Benefits of Apples on Blood SugarThere's no doubt that apples are good for diabetics and others who want to avoid steep rises in blood sugar. Apples rank near the bottom of the "glycaemic index" - right along with dried beans, one of the very best regulators of blood sugar.This means that despite an apple's natural sugar content, it doesn't spur a rapid rise in blood sugar. The fruit keeps the throttle on insulin, and foods that do this invariably also lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure. And, apparently, to enjoy the health benefits of apples you don't even have to eat them. Researchers at the prestigious Yale University have found that you may have only to smell apples to get your blood pressure down. Dr. Gary Schwartz, director of Yale's Psychophysiology Centre, reported that the aroma of spiced apples has a calming effect on many people that tends to lower blood pressure. Apples for Weight LossBecause whole apples keep blood glucose levels up for a while, they also make you feel fuller than equivalent carbohydrate calories from apple juice or apple puree, a bonus if you're dieting.The juice is much quicker at inducing a spurt of insulin and drop in blood sugar, making you hungry. So apples are a far better weight-loos food than apple juice. Try eating one apple 20 to 30 minutes before lunch or dinner and you'll eat much less than you normally do. Health Benefits of Apples Against Virus
Viruses don't live long in the presence of apple juice.In Canadian studies, apple juice taken right off supermarket shelves proved highly potent in inactivating polioviruses in test tubes. Tested against eighteen other commercial juices, apple juice ranked tops with grape juice and tea as being able to cause the demise of the viruses one hundred percent. Researchers also find that those who eat more apples tend to have a lower incidence of colds and upper respiratory ailments. As far back as 1961, researchers at Michigan State University compared health records of 1,300 students with how many apples they ate. They found that most dedicated apple eaters over three years made fully one third fewer calls to the university's health centers than non-apple lovers, and had less upper respiratory infection, and less tension and sickness in general than was expected. So, all in all, eating apples on a regular basis has an incredible impact on your health. But to enjoy the health benefits of apples you must eat them with their skin. Hence you might want to go organic to be able to enjoy them as you should!
I find that having an Organic Vegetable and Fruit Box delivered directly to my door every week helps me to eat fruit regularly. Do you want to try having one delivered to your door? Goodness Direct have an excellent choice of boxes. Also, there's even more to apples than what we've discussed here. Read on the health benefits of apples on constipation.  References: 1) Carper, J., (1988) The Food Pharmacy: Dramatic New Evidence That Food is Your Best Medicine 2) Murray, M., Pizzorno, J., (2005) The Encyclopaedia of Healing Foods 3) Yeager, S., (2007) The Doctors Book of Food Remedies Back to Homepage from The Health Benefits of Apples
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