Crunch on this: Apples are a major source of disease-fighting nutrition neatly packaged in a delicious, easily portable, portion-controlled fruit. It turns out “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is based in fact. Science shows apples’ multiple health benefits — from your brain to your bowels.
With fall comes a bounty of crisp, juicy apple varieties to pick from. Check out the apple’s many juicy perks:
• Studies have linked the consumption of apples with reduced risk of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, asthma and diabetes.
• In the Women’s Health Study, women eating apples had a 13 to 22 percent decrease in heart disease risk.
Fiber in apples combined with the fruit’s strong antioxidant activity lowers cholesterol to reduce your risk of heart disease.
• Apples are a good source of both soluble and insoluble fiber to aid digestive health.
• Apple pectin, an insoluble fiber, may reduce the risk of colon cancer.
• Apples are a very significant source of flavonoids, a type of phytonutrient. In a Finnish study, flavonoid intake — mainly through eating apples — was associated with decreased mortality.
• Several studies have specifically linked eating apples with a reduced risk for cancer, especially lung cancer. Scientists credit apples’ high concentration of flavonoids, particularly quercetin.
• Apple peel is loaded with vitamin C, an antioxidant.
• Research is showing a group of phytonutrients in apples could protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
• Quercetin, one of the phytonutrients in apples, has stronger anti-cancer activity and antioxidant protective effects than even vitamin C.
• Apple’s phytochemicals fight bacterial and viral infections, and are anti-inflammatory.
• Eating apples has been shown to lower the risk for type 2 diabetes partly thanks to the high concentration of quercetin in apple peels.
For better health, treat yourself to a healthy diet abundant with fruits and vegetables. Reliv nutritional products can also boost your intake of beneficial phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals and fiber. For example, FibRestore® is a rich source of carotenoids and other antioxidants with 21 herbs and 10 grams of soluble and insoluble fiber.