Health Benefits of Consuming Apples

Apples, know for their antioxidant properties, loaded with fiber along with having a host of other benefits are among the popular seasonal fruit all over the world. 

From pies to salads to simply munching one right from the three, being so chock full of nutrients apples are highly beneficial in preventing and curing a lot of different diseases.  

Due to their many benefits we have been advised to "Eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away" for almost over many decades. 

Though nowadays farmers are using different farming techniques such as high density farming, rootstock farming to hydroponic systems, the primary effort still focuses on producing quality harvest that is full of necessary nutrients.

While just eating an apple a day might not keep all the diseases away but it sure does help in preventing some of them. Bringing you the list of some of the health benefits of consuming apples in your day today life:

• Improves Heart Health

Apples are high in fiber content which helps in reducing bad cholesterol in the body thus improving your heart health. The fiber content is also helpful in lowering of blood pressure which in turn keeps the heart healthy.

• Improves Brain Function

The Nordic Prudent Dietary Pattern (NPDP) which involves eating a plant based diet of vegetables and fruits including apples helps in preventing dementia as per a study done in 2017. It was seen that the longer the diet was continued the better the brain function got. 

• Helps You Shed Weight

Apples are full of fiber which when eaten helps the body to feel full for longer. This prevents overeating and snacking in between meals which is crucial when it comes to shedding the unwanted pounds.

Apart from that, the skin of apples contain prebiotics which feed the gut bacteria. Having a healthy gut microbiome is important for our overall health and eating apples contribute a lot towards achieving that.

• Reduces Risk of Diabetes

In a study conducted by the researchers at Tufts it was seen that people that ate more than one apple a day had a lower risk of developing diabetes. This is because flavonoids and fiber content in apples helps in lowering the levels of sugar in the body. 

• Cancer Fighting Properties

Among cancer fighting fruits apples come in second place after cranberries. Consuming apples daily helps in reducing the risk of several types of cancers such as prostate, colorectal, breast cancer and more.

Most of an apple's cancer fighting properties are in its peel so when you eat an apple try to eat it whole with the peel intact.

• Improves Bone Density

Eating apples daily also helps in lowering the loss of calcium from the body which in turn helps in improving bone density. This is really helpful in women that are peri and postmenopausal. 

• Reduces Risk of Gallstones

Gallstones are mainly seen in people that are obese. They occur because of too much cholesterol in the bile which then hardens and forms gallstones.

To prevent the formation of gallstones eating a diet full of fiber is advised which can easily be accomplished with a few portions of apple a day.

• Improves Liver Function

Eating fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber like apples also aids in improving the liver function by detoxifying it.

A lot of times people fall prey to odd diets and juice cleanses in order to detoxify their liver when in reality eating a plant based diet with ample amount of fiber can do the trick in a much healthier way.

Eating a diet full of varied colours of fruits and vegetables is something doctors recommend people a lot.

Going full plant based might not be a feasible option for most people. In which case adding an apple or two to their diet on a daily basis can help them achieve a healthy body by reducing the risk of many diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and even cancer.