Happy ‘eat a red apple day’! Here are some apple health benefits. After all, an apple a day is healthier. Apples may prevent cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Apples may help you lose weight and improve gut and brain health, according to research.
1. Apples nourish.
Nutrient-dense apples have many nutrients per serving. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 2 cups of fruit per day, focusing on whole fruits like apples, for 2,000 calories.
2. Apples may aid weight loss.
Apples are filling due to their fibre and water content.
Whole apples were more filling than apple juice in one study. This may be because whole apples slow gastric emptying.
3. Apples may benefit your heart.
Apples reduce heart disease risk. Research shows that eating 100-150 g/d of whole apples reduces the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Soluble fibre may explain it. This fibre also reduces heart disease risk.
4. Apples reduce diabetes risk.
Apples may also lower type 2 diabetes risk. A review found that eating apples and pears reduced type 2 diabetes risk by 18%. Serve once a week to cut risk by 3%. The high polyphenol quercetin content in apples may explain this benefit.
5. Apples may help digestion.
Healthy prebiotic fibre in your gut microbiome is pectin in apples. Due to its indigestibility, pectin enters the colon intact, promoting good bacteria. It boosts the gut bacteria Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes ratio.
6. Apples may prevent cancer.
Apple antioxidants may help fight lung, breast, and digestive tract cancers. Apple polyphenols may prevent cancerous cells from multiplying, according to research. One study in women found that apple consumption reduced cancer mortality.
7. Apples may help asthma.
Apples with antioxidants may reduce allergic asthma airway inflammation. Quercetin, found in apple skin, boosts immunity and reduces inflammation. Apples may be effective against late-phase bronchial asthma responses.
8. Apples may protect your brain.
Apples' quercetin may prevent brain damage from oxidative stress. Quercetin may prevent Alzheimer's disease, according to a meta-analysis of 14 animal studies. However, the researchers questioned some study methods and thought more research was needed.
9. Apples may help mental health
One 2020 systematic review found that eating more vegetables and apples may improve mental health. The study found that this benefit occurs if you eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily, as recommended by the American Dietary Guidelines.
10. Helps digestive issues
Eating apples may reduce the risk of GERD, according to research. Apples may also help with constipation by improving digestion, according to multiple studies. However, the effect may vary by apple type.