Forget exotic “superfruits” like the goji berry and camu camu. It turns out that the trusty apple can lower the risk of or even prevent an array of diseases. Researchers at California State University compared several studies and found that apples reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, asthma and cancer. A favorable relationship may also exist between eating apples and preventing diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, researchers at VU University Amsterdam have discovered that the unassuming fruit cuts the risk of stroke in half.
Apples can also help you lose weight. People who eat one 15 minutes before lunch or dinner consume 15 percent fewer calories than those who don’t, according to researchers at Pennsylvania State University. Adding fiber to apple juice doesn’t have the same effect. That suggests that it’s the whole fruit, not just its fiber, that causes satiety.
Apples derive their health-enhancing properties from high quantities of antioxidants. The fruit is teeming with flavonoids, beneficial plant pigments that also increase vitamin C’s effect. Quercetin, a powerful flavonoid antioxidant found primarily in apples, may be partially responsible for the fruit’s positive influence on the heart; as quercetin consumption increases, the risk of heart disease drops. Research at the University of Bonn on 30 European varieties of apple identified the humble Jonagold as the leading supplier of antioxidants. According to researchers at Cornell University, the Fuji contains the most flavonoids among the 10 most common apple varieties in America.
