Apart from its captivating appearance and great taste an apple has so much to offer to the human body.
Apples can help protect the human body from serious diseases, which include Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, skin problems, and many more deadly diseases. This is why it is said, that “an apple a day keeps doctor away.” The proverb is even more meaningful than it sounds.
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Many scientific researches and studies have proven that an apple can undeniably cure numerous chronic diseases that can reportedly kill millions of people each year. Let us understand why everyone should add apples to their regular diet routine:
Nutrition that we get from an Apple:
The average nutrition that we get from an apple varies slightly between the different varieties, but not much. Below is the nutrition breakdown for 1 medium apple:
1. 95 calories
2. 0 g protein
3. 0 g fat
4. 25 g carbohydrates
5. 4 g fiber
6. 8 mg vitamin C
7. 98 IU vitamin A
8. 195 mg potassium
Apples contain 85 percent water and it contains fiber as well (a medium apple contains 4 grams or about 16 percent of a person’s daily value), these are the two things a person needs to feel full.
Apples have another feel-full benefit: That is, apple takes time to be eaten; we need to invest time in chewing apple. Foods that could be gobbled down quickly tend to make people feel hungry within a short time span, therefore people end up eating more.
Apples also have a low glycemic index, which means that blood sugar levels in human body do not spike when apples are consumed. 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. The fiber will help you to keep yourself satisfied.
Five Health Benefits of Apple
1. Saviour for Human Heart
It has been scientifically proven that high fiber content in apples helps to manage cholesterol levels (it helps in lowering bad LDL cholesterol and increasing good HDL cholesterol).
Based on a clinical trial it was found that the subjects who ate 2 apples a day for 8 weeks had significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels as compared to that the ones who didn’t eat it.
Florida State University’s review of research data proved that people who ate whole fruits including apples were less prone to develop high blood pressure.
Another research study based on Women’s Health Study found that the women who ate apples over the seven-year study period had up to a 22 percent less risk of getting any heart disease.
2. Conditions Human Brain
At Alzheimer Association’s International Conference, a group of four large studies in 2017 showed that eating a plant-based diet help to prevent Dementia.
In many other research studies it has also been proven that eating plenty of non-root vegetables, pears, peaches and apples; leads to better cognitive abilities. In many other studies, it has been proven that the older adults who follow a Mediterranean diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, their risk of getting dementia got reduced by 30 to 35%. Their cognitive function kept on improving for as long as they followed this diet routine.
3. Helpful in Weight Loss
Eventually, if one medium apple helps you feel full or fills you up for under 100 calories, so it’s no surprise that apples can help with satisfactory weight loss. A healthy weight loss with the help of apples would depend upon the way people are consuming it.
If apples are being consumed before meals, it makes stomach fuller and eventually a person would consume a little less meal as compared to that a normal routine capacity. A study also showed that consuming apples before meals made people consume an average of 200 calories lesser than their regular capacity.
4. Lowers the risk of getting type 2 diabetes
In an extensive research study, it was proven by Tuff’s researchers that there is a strong association of apple eating and diabetes prevention; they also found that for people who consumed one or more apples in a day, their a risk of getting type 2 diabetes reduced up to 23%. Another study of more than 38,000 healthy women who used to consume one or more apples in a day had a 28% lower risk of getting affected by type 2 diabetes.
5. Helps fight several types of cancers and deadly diseases
After cranberries ‘ Apples hold the secondary position for being amongst the topmost fruits that consist of cancer-fighting antioxidant activities.
Regular consumption of apples lowers the risk of several cancers, e.g. Prostrare, Breast, and Colorectal Cancer. With the help of an analysis of multiple Italian studies, it has been found that consumption of one or more apples in a day lowers the risk of Colorectal cancer than eating any other fruit. Few other studies have guaranteed that apple consumption prevents prostate and lung cancer as well. Most of the cancer-fighting antioxidants are found in apple peel.
(With inputs from Eating Well and a research-based on original reporting by Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.)
