Eat a Red Apple Day or 3 Reasons Why You Should Include This Fruit To Your Diet
It’s Eat a Red Apple Day! On this occasion I would like to share some interesting facts about apples and why it’s worth having one right now! As recommended by healthy eating guidelines to have at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day, apple is something worth including into your eating routine.
Benefits Of Apples
1. It is Nutritious
Apart from the vitamins and minerals, an average apple provides 4 grams of fibre. Optimal fibre intake per day is approximately 30g so an apple makes a great 13% of daily intake. Furthermore, apples are rich in polyphenols, these are micronutrients that have antioxidant properties. In other words, polyphenols help prevent cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In order to get the most of it, leave the skin on! A lot of fibre and polyphenols are there as well!
2. Helps With Weight Management
It’s not a myth, although many of the diet cliches state ‘Eat an Apple instead of a cookie’. An interesting study has been conducted in which one group of participants who ate apples lost more weight that the group who consumed oat cookies (containing similar fibre amounts). Furthermore, participants who were eating apples naturally reduced overall energy intake per day. Thus, by adding apple slices to your meal or eating as a snack you increase a chance of consuming less calories as you will feel fuller.
3. Great Brain Function Improvement
How can it help you ask? Well, as we age, our cognitive abilities reduce. The chances of developing a cognitive impairment increases and in animal based research studies, it was found that apple consumption reduced anxious behaviour and improved performance at maze tests in aged rats to a level of the young ones!
To Sum Up
In several studies apples are associated with clear general health improvement. Risk of developing cancer or cardiovascular decreases due to strong antioxidant activity. Once again the evidence suggests that a diet high in fruits and vegetables can really be beneficial for us. Let’s grab an apple, shall we? :)
Ref:
de Oliveira, M. C., Sichieri, R., & Venturim Mozzer, R. (2008). A low-energy-dense diet adding fruit reduces weight and energy intake in women. Appetite, 51(2), 291–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2008.03.001
Liu, Rui. (2004). Apple phytochemicals and their health benefits. Nutrition journal. 3. 5. 10.1186/1475-2891-3-5.
Viggiano A, Monda M, Turco I, Incarnato L, Vinno V, Viggiano E, Baccari M, De Luca B. Annurca apple-rich diet restores long-term potentiation and induces behaviorial modifications in aged rats. Exp Neurol. 2006;199:354–61
