There are some foods that have proverbs and popular sayings that praise their properties and extol their benefits. The apple is one of these, it is said that “one a day keeps the doctor away.” Surely we will have heard it more than once throughout our lives. It is also a symbolic fruit on a historical level: it appears in the Bible as a forbidden fruit and in some very popular children’s stories.
Anecdotes aside, it seems that the proverb we are talking about could have good and compelling reasons for the daily consumption of apples to become a healthy habit to integrate into our daily lives. Although no food can keep diseases at bay on its own, there are foods that offer us a variety of health benefits. What are the apples?
Nutritional properties of apples
The nutrients of apples change a little, depending on the variety we consume – we must keep in mind that it is a fruit with dozens of varieties.–. A serving of one apple (about 200 grams) has 89 calories. It has very little protein or fat and carbohydrates, especially in the form of sugars such as fructose, glucose and sucroseand respectable amounts of fiber, both soluble and insoluble.
The red skin of some of them contains more antioxidants, although all are packed with nutrients such as antioxidants, especially quercetin, a nutrient found in highly pigmented foods, such as citrus fruits, and which has received a lot of attention for its ability to regulate the system. immunological. Like pears, apples contain a substance called pectin, an excellent source of prebioticsfood for good bacteria.
Apples’ water content is also important, approximately 85% of each one is, which makes them a food with an important hydrating action.
Apples are also a rich source of vitamin C and K, but more importantly, they can provide phenolic antioxidants. These compounds have significant health effects, such as neutralizing free radicals in the body that can cause tissue damage.
Benefits of eating an apple a day
May help reduce LDL cholesterol and improve heart health
One of the main benefits of apples, and which justifies the aforementioned proverb, is associated with heart health. According to this investigation collected in PubMedadults with slightly high cholesterol who consumed two apples a day experienced a notable reduction in LDL cholesterol, which would help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
In this article Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritrion, experts found that eating apples rich in fiber and polyphenols reduces the amount of total and LDL cholesterol, and improves markers associated with blood vessel health in people with slightly elevated blood cholesterol levels.
Various studies Conducted on people with high cholesterol also show that consuming an apple a day can reduce total cholesterol levels by 5% to 8%. Some research have shown that eating between 100 and 150 grams of apples a day is associated with a lower probability of suffering from heart disease and risk factors such as high blood pressure. One of the reasons that would explain this may be its soluble fiber content.
May promote intestinal health
Apples contain pectin, a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic in the gut microbiome. This pectin promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria. Various studies They have also suggested that eating apples can help digest food better, which can help combat constipation, although this would depend on the type of apple we eat.
It is associated with a possible reduction in diabetes
Although it naturally contains fructose, the fruit sugar, eating an apple a day is related to a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. After evaluating about 10,000 people, the results of a study published in Nutrition Journal showed that those people who ate apples regularly were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who did not do so regularly. Other investigationthis time conducted on more than 38,000 people, found that those who ate more than one apple a day were 28% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not eat any.
The experts explained the benefits by relating them to the antioxidants and fiber in apples; the former for its ability to protect the pancreas from damage, as it produces insulin to remove glucose from the blood, and fiber because it would help slow the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream.
Apples, whole and unpeeled
The way we take the apple will decisively influence whether or not we benefit from all these effects. The best way to take advantage of their properties is to consume them whole and with skin, since it contains much of the fiber and most of the flavonoids. Discarding the skin means we will lose some important phytonutrients that are not present in the pulp alone, such as insoluble fiber and a type of soluble fiber, pectin.
The skin of the apple is also rich in antioxidants in the form of polyphenols, flavonoids and vitamin C. Therefore, it is one of the parts with the highest nutritional value.
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