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Here’s Why You Should Eat More Apples

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Close to all people know this saying but few of us actually understand the numerous benefits of eating apples. These fruits are delicious and were actually linked to several health benefits. This includes improving gut health, reducing high blood pressure, and obesity risks.

If you are thinking about eating more apples, here’s why it is such a good idea.

Apples Might Lower Blood Pressure And High Cholesterol

Several studies showed us that apple consumption could help reduce cardiovascular disease risks, which automatically lowers cholesterol thanks to soluble fiber inside the fruit. The soluble fibers are dissolving inside water and forming a material similar to a gel. This helps prevent the buildup of cholesterol inside blood vessel wall lining. As a result, atherosclerosis incidence is lowered. Higher soluble fiber intake basically leads to decreased risks of cardiovascular diseases.

Stroke risks were shown to go down by 52% when regularly eating apples (source). So, if you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, start eating your apples (you can also eat pears).

Apples Can Help With Digestion

This is actually true for all foods with high fiber content, which includes apples. Harvard Health Publishing showed that both insoluble and soluble fibers are very important when it comes to digestion. Apples actually include both types so they are very useful.

The soluble fiber will practically slow down your digestion. You will end up feeling full and glucose digestion will be slowed down. This is useful since it controls blood sugar. At the same time, insoluble fiber will make it easier to move food in your system. It even aids with regularity and constipation. Just make sure you eat the skin of the apple since it contains most of the insoluble fibers inside the fruit.

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Supporting A Healthier Immune System

The importance of having a strong immune system became so obvious starting with the pandemic that hit the world. And apples might be something that you want to use.

Research was done and it showed that diets with soluble fiber in them helped to convert pro-inflammatory cells into immune-supporting and anti-inflammatory cells. We also saw in animals that diet with dietary fibers protected against the appearance of flu. We do not know exactly if this is the same with humans but it might be so.

Apples almost surely bolster your immunity. This is in part due to the fact that they include vitamin C, with is a natural immune-boosting vitamin. We know that vitamin C is particularly useful for our immune system and helps with several functions, like strengthening our body against pathogens. It also helps against the effects of environmental oxidative stress, like radiation and pollution.

Apple Antioxidants Might Be Useful To Prevent Cancer

There is no guarantee you will be able to prevent cancer but when you eat apples, it might actually help. This is because apples might reduce the risk of ending up with some cancers. This is because of the antioxidants present in them. They could limit the growth of cancer cells.

According to a Public Health Nutrition review from 2016, regularly eating apples reduces the risks of some cancer types, like oral cavity, breast cancer, esophageal, and colorectal. In addition, apples will help deal with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes as they will aid the body to protect itself.

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Apples Are Diabetes-Friendly

When you suffer from type 2 diabetes, apples can be a great addition to the diet. Some people think that when you have diabetes, you should not and cannot eat fruit. This is incorrect. You just need to be careful which ones you choose.

The soluble fiber inside apples will help to slow down sugar absorption for your bloodstream. This can easily improve your blood sugar levels. Also, when you have a healthy diet with insoluble fibers in it (fibers that are present in apples, as already highlighted above), you have lower odds of ending up with type 2 diabetes.

We also know that if you suffer from type 2 diabetes and you regularly eat soluble fibers, insulin resistance is reduced. At the same time, your triglyceride and blood sugar levels will be improved, which is definitely something that will help you to better protect your body.

Supporting A Healthier Weight Loss

When your diet is rich in vegetables and fruits, it is so much easier to maintain the healthy weight you surely want. It also becomes so much easier to lose weight.

Due to the fact that apples include high quantities of dietary fiber, they are highly recommended for those interested in weight loss. This is because fibers will slow down your digestion and will help blood sugar levels stay at proper levels. You end up staying satiated and there is a lower possibility you will end up overeating.

It was shown through several studies that those who eat more fiber have lower body weight. Also, this study showed that overweight women who choose to eat 3 apples per day end up losing almost 3 pounds after 4 months, without doing anything else different than others.

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One apple of a medium-size has just 95 calories. This makes the fruit a very useful one for all who need to control sweet cravings. Instead of some chocolate, you can always grab a nice apple to chew on as a healthy snack.

Apples Might Prevent The Appearance Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Now is the best time possible to eat more flavonoid-rich foods (like tea and berries) and apples. In August 2020, we saw a study published in The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition showing that adults over fifty years old who choose to include just a little bit of flavonoid-rich foods (including apples) in their diet were actually around 3 times more likely to end up with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease over the duration of twenty years when compared with those that consume more foods rich in flavonoids.

A January 2020 study published in Biomolecules showed that quercetin, which is a flavonoid in apples, works great at protecting our neurons from the damage caused by oxidation. However, more research is needed right now to establish if apples are particularly good when it comes to diminishing the risks of Alzheimer’s disease.

At the end of the day though, it is clear that consuming more apples benefits our body. So, why not just grab some?