A recent nutrition and health review of apples completed by an Australian dietitian has looked closely at the benefits of including an apple a day in your diet. Apples have been shown to have a range of health benefits including asthma and cancer protection. But can they really keep the doctor away? Let’s take a closer look:
Apples and antioxidants
The report claims that apples have the highest antioxidant content of Australia’s most popular fruits and ten times the antioxidant power of goji berry juice. Red apples do score well on the ORAC scale a measure of the antioxidant activity of a food, however other fruits like blueberries score higher. Even though blueberries may not be considered a ‘popular’ fruit their appeal and availability is growing. So it is somewhat biased to exclude them for this study. In addition, the report mainly focuses on red apples with more phytochemicals or antioxidants than green varieties.
Reduce cancer risk
According to the report apples have been identified in population studies as having the capacity to reduce cancer risk, specifically lung cancer. An analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study involving 77,000 women and 47,000 men revealed that women who consumed at least one serving of apple per day had a reduced risk of lung cancer. It’s important to realise though that many more foods could be associated with these findings. Apples may appear to have these benefits from the very fact that they are commonly consumed fruit in the countries where the population based research on food intakes has been performed and reported in the western scientific Journals. There are publications of Asian and Indian foods, like high antioxidant activity herbs and spices, that receive less attention, but may be just as potent for health protection.
Chew on this
The bottom line is that if you’re not a great fruit eater, adding an apple a day to your diet can be a great way to boost your health and vitality. Apples are great tasting and readily available all year round. If you’ve already got the fruit habit, it’s better to mix up your 2+ serves a day, for a varied intake of nutrients and antioxidants.
Apples:
Have a low glycemic index of 38 for sustained appetite satisfaction and energy between meals
Are a good source of potassium and vitamin C
Are a good source of fibre and can be eaten on the run for breakfast
Suit most fussy kids, but remember that the peel contains much of the antioxidant activity
YOUR SAY: Do you manage to eat an apple a day? How do you incorporate this fruit into your diet? Tell us below…
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