Find out why the common apple has uncommonly huge health benefits, and how to best enjoy them. Your mom didn’t use the term superfood but she knew about apples. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” was the first nutritional advice I and many children heard from their moms. For this reason, we call them “the first superfood.”
Health Benefits of an Apple:
1. They are filled with soluble fiber (5 grams)
- This fiber has been shown to reduce intestinal disorders, including diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and possibly some types of cancer.
- Helps control insulin levels by releasing sugar slowly into the bloodstream.
- Cleanses and detoxifies, which helps eliminate heavy metals, such as lead and mercury.
2. The pectin in them helps reduce cholesterol levels by lowering insulin secretion.
3. In two studies researchers found that eating five apples a week lowered the risk for respiratory diseases like asthma.
4. According to Chinese Medicine: Apples strengthen the heart, quench thirst, lubricate the lungs, decrease mucous and increase body fluids.
5. Apple cider vinegar can help prevent the formation of kidney stones.
6. Studies indicate that eating apples daily can reduce skin diseases.
7. According to a Brazilian study, eating an apple before a meal helped women lose 33% more weight than those who didn’t.
8. They provide a source of potassium which may promote heart health.
So there you have it…lots of good reasons why it is good for you to eat an apple a day! I like apples so much that when I started living by myself I substituted those sugar-laden cereals with one.
Please Note:
- The seeds from apples are toxic when eaten in high doses, they should be avoided by pregnant or breastfeeding women and children.
- The juice from the concentrate of apples can be full of arsenic when it is not organic according to Dr. Oz in his research. They did not find arsenic in the organic juice.
Apple Nutrition
An apple has only 50-80 calories and has no fat or sodium.
They are packed with vitamins C, A, and flavonoids and with smaller amounts of phosphorus, iron, and calcium.
Interesting facts:
- There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples. When I lived in England I tasted many different and delicious apples that I never see in Canada.
- The apple tree is a member of the rose family.
- When you eat an apple you are consuming a lot of air; 25 percent of their volume is air!
- Apples have 5 percent protein.
- Their trees can live to be 100 years old!
- The largest apple weighed three pounds.
- In ancient Greece when a man proposed to a woman would he would toss her an apple and if she decided to catch it, it meant she accepted.
- The original proverb about eating an apple a day, which came about in 1866, was: “Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.”
- It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.
“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
To get the most from eating superfood apples:
- Eat apples with skin to get the nutrients; many of the nutrients are in the skin or just under the skin (most of the vitamin C and vitamin A are in the skin).
- Apples have been found to be the most heavily pesticide-contaminated produce products according to The Environmental Working Group. The most common pesticides found on apples are Permethrin and DDT. Non-organic apples are often waxed which is not digestible. Try to buy organic apples or if you cannot, wash them thoroughly before use preferably with a fruit and vegetable wash or peel them.
Recipes with apples:
Enjoy a sugar-free treat made with this wonderful powerfood: Sugarfree Apple Sauce
Bake a delicious Apple Cake
Berry Crumble filled with apples
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no wonder I usually burp after eating one of these beauties-all that air!
You are funny Annie. 🙂
Guess the thing is to eat them slowly and chew well.
A sweet apple is balancing for all energetic physilogical patterns Everyone can eat an apple but not so with other fruits, such as banana, sour fruits, peaches So indeed the sweet apple is brings balance for everyone
I am very health conscious and I try to eat as healthy as possible most of the time. My favorite these days are smoothies, and green drinks. I will not tell you the ingredients until I get results. Thanks for your insights on eating right.
Very interesting article 🙂 . I knew that apple is a healthy food.Thank you for your beautiful description of apples and their nutritional benefits.I have always enjoyed apples 🙂
Diana, I did not know about the arsenic thing but I’m pretty sure the people responsible for food safety isn’t going to let arsenic laced apple juice get into the hands (and bodies) of consumers.
Love apples and try to eat them as regularly as I can. I also drink apple cider vinegar every now and then.
Thanks for all the tips.