There is a saying you may have heard before that goes, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” But, is it really true?
Many people believe that you need to eat an extremely clean diet every day in order to stay healthy. But, maybe just making a few healthy choices each day is enough.
Apples are one of the healthiest fruits to eat because they are low in calories and carbohydrates, but high in the number of vitamins that they have in them.
Having a large number of vitamins in apples makes it one of the best foods for you to eat especially because you do not need to eat a large quantity to fulfill your daily fruit intake and they can keep you full for a longer period of time then other fruits do.
One the largest vitamins that are found in apples is vitamin C which may be the reason that saying came about because by eating an apple every day, you are increasing your immune system which could decrease how often you need to visit your doctor.
Apples have a lot of other ways that they can keep you healthy other than just from their levels of vitamin C.
What other parts of the body are apples good for?
Heart Heath
Not only are apples good for your immune system, they can also help with your heart health by lowering your cholesterol levels.
Apples can lower your cholesterol levels with the soluble fibers that they contain. Soluble fibers are those that can dissolve in water and metabolize in your stomach to help your gut bacteria.
When eating apples to help lower your cholesterol levels, the most important part to eat is the peel. The peel is the healthiest part of the apple and contains the greatest number of vitamins.
Unfortunately, a lot of people end up peeling their apples especially when adding it into different dishes but they are actually taking out most of the nutritional value of the apple without even realizing it.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that continues to harm thousands of Americans each year and many people do not understand how detrimental to their health that it can be.
Apples have been shown to lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes with their nutritional values.
Many people may think that they need to eat an apple everyday to make a difference, but even if someone eats an apple just a few times a week, it can substantially lower their changes of getting diabetes.
Apples contain polyphenols which can help to prevent tissue damages to the beta cells in your pancreas.
What kinds of apples should I eat?
In order to get the full benefits of apples, it is important to ensure that you are eating a variety of apples in your diet.
Many people have a preference over what kinds of apples they prefer since apples can vary greatly based on their texture and taste. For example, a Granny Smith apple has a much sourer taste than a Honeycrisp apple does.
Each apple has a different chemical make-up and can vary as to which nutrients it holds because of this. If you are trying to look as to which apples are the best for you, the fuji apple has the highest flavonoid and phenolic content in them.
Overall, apples are one of the healthiest fruits that you can eat and can make your health risk factors go down greatly by eating them.
Not only can they help you heart and reduce your risk for diabetes, but they can also reduce your risk of lung cancer and how your lung functions.
Although it is important to switch up the types of apples you are eating each day, as long as you are eating your apple a day you are keeping the doctor away!
