10 Juicy Facts About Apples

Comparing Apples & Oranges, & Bananas:

Americans eat more bananas than any other fresh fruit (average, 25 lb, or 100 average-sized fruits/yr).
• Number 2: Apples-average, 16+ lb/yr.
• Other widely consumed fruits: watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, grapes, strawberries.

Core Components:

Apples contain plenty of vitamins and minerals.
• Rich in phytonutrients acting as antioxidants.
• In US, apples are the largest source of phenolics consumed from fruits (22%)
• Particularly high in the flavonoid quercetin.
• Apple consumption shown to reduce “LDL oxidation lag time.”
• High in fiber.
• No fat or salt.
• Excellent source of boron.

Apples, Gut Microbes, and Cardiovascular Health:

Apples and their components may modulate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.
• Strongest effects are related to lipid metabolism but also impact vascular function, inflammation.
• Consumption shown to reduce total cholesterol.
• Microbiota-derived metabolites could contribute to the beneficial effects.
• Prebiotic impact of eating apples may be important mechanism of CVD risk marker reduction.

Antioxidants in Apples vs Cancer:

Antioxidant power in apples ranks among the highest in fruits.
• Antioxidants may protect cells from cancer-inducing oxidative damage, prevent the start of cancer growth, stop continued tumor growth, and promote cancer cell death.
• Apples may suppress breast cancer tumor growth.
• Eating ≥1 apples/d associated with lower risk of lung & colon cancer.
• Adding 3 apples/d to women’s diets helps lower calorie intake & contributes to weight loss, very important for cancer prevention.

Study: Apples Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk:

Participants from the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II, and Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
• Greater consumption of specific whole fruits, including apples-significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Associations with risk of type 2 diabetes differed significantly among individual fruits.
• Greater consumption of fruit juice is associated with a higher risk.

Potassium Protects Heart, Bones, and Muscles:

Apples rank among the best sources of K.
•

Heart:

helps relax blood vessels, decrease stroke risk, reduce blood pressure.
•

Bones:

K-rich foods produce alkali in the body to maintain acid-base balance.
•

Muscles:

K needed for muscle contraction, muscle-nerve communication, and overall muscular function.

Apple Juice Ups Mood in Alzheimer:

Apple juice reduces CNS oxidative damage, suppresses AD hallmarks, improves cognitive performance, organizes synaptic signaling.
• Caregivers reported ≈ 27% improvement in behavioral & psychotic symptoms associated with dementia-largest changes: anxiety, agitation, and delusion.
• Apple juice may supplement pharmacologic approaches for attenuating decline in mood that accompanies AD progression.

Appeal of the Peel: Please Eat!

Recommendation: Fresh apples should not be peeled.
• Most of the fruit’s fiber & antioxidants are in the peel.
• Plus, studies on liver cancer found that apple peel alone inhibited Hep G2 cell proliferation significantly more than whole apples.
• At most, very low levels of pesticide residues are found on the skin.

Just Desserts: Apple vs Chocolate Bar?

Study: assessed impact of a descriptive label that highlights an apple’s taste vs its health value on likelihood of the fruit’s selection vs a chocolate bar for a dessert.
• Labels:

apple; healthy apple; succulent apple; healthy and succulent apple; succulent and healthy apple.

• Labels that combined health and taste descriptors significantly increased selection of apple over chocolate bar.
• Conclusion: Diet interventions that emphasize

taste

attributes of healthier foods lead to healthier choices than those that stress health benefits alone.

ALERT: Does Apple a Day Really Keep Doc Away?

JAMA Intern Med.

2015;175:777-783.
• NHANES: 39.0% of apple eaters avoided physician visits vs 33.9% of non–apple eaters.
•

But not statistically significant.

• US adults who eat an apple a day do appear to use fewer prescription medications.