Thursday Health Thoughts: The Benefits of Apples

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Happy Thursday friends! I am sure y'all have heard the saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". I had too, so about a year ago I started researching the theory of this saying and the health benefits that are found in apples. Y'all I am absolutely amazed at the health benefits that they bring to our bodies and wanted to share some of them with you today! Here are just a few of the powerful benefits that are found in apples:

1. Eating apples help reduce tooth decay. Studies have shown that the process of biting and chewing an an apple helps to stimulate the production of saliva in your mouth which helps lower the levels of bacteria in your mouth which helps reduce tooth decay. (Some studies show that this will also help your teeth be whiter!)

2. Apples contain a lot of soluble fiber for a little amount of calories. For those watching their weight or looking for a snack that will be filling, choose an apple. For under 100 calories (1 apple contains approximately 96 calories) you will receive 4 grams of soluble fiber which will help fill you up!

3. Eating an apple before you work out may boost your endurance. Apples help deliver quercetin to the body which aids endurance by making oxygen more available to the lungs.  (As a side note quercetin is also known to help boost the immune system!)

4. Eating apples can help promote weight loss. Following up on #2, due to the fact that you will receive soluble fiber for such little calories you will feel full longer and not feel the need to eat additional food as many salty chips will make you feel. 

5. Apples help reduce the risk of Cancer and other diseases as well! According to the New York Fruit Quarterly, three studies were recently completed that showed linked apple consumption with a decreased risk of Cancer. In addition the study showed that apple consumption was associated with a decreased risk of asthma, and coronary heart disease. A major study done in Finland also showed that there is a decreased risk of Type II diabetes associated with apple consumption. Finally, many labs have found that apples (especially apple peels) can greatly inhibit the growth of liver Cancer and Colon Cancer cells!!

6. People who eat Apples help reduce their risk of Parkinson's Disease. Parkinson's Disease is a disease that is characterized by a breakdown of the brain's dopamine-producing nerve cells. Eating fruits and other high fiber foods such as apples help the body gain a certain amount of protection against Parkinson's Disease.

7. Apples help protect your heart. In 2013, the Iowa Women's Health Study reported that among the more than 34,000 women its been tracking for almost 20 years, apples were associated with a lower risk of death from both coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Experts are saying that this is attributed to the antioxidant compounds found in apples which help prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing. In addition they found that apples help inhibit inflammation.

8. Apples can help lower cholesterol levels. As alluded to in #7, apples help lower cholesterol levels by binding fats in the intestine. 

9. Apples help to prevent gallstones. Following up on #8, gallstones form when there's too much cholesterol in your bile for it to remain a liquid (so it hardens and solidifies). If you are obese, this is a prevalent issue. Eating apples can help by lowering cholesterol and helping to control your weight.

10. Apples can help avert hemorrhoids. 

11. Consuming Apples can impact bacteria in the digestive tract. (Y'all this one is amazing to me!) In recent studies done on laboratory animals, consuming apples is known to alter amounts of two bacteria - clostridiales and bacteriodes in the large intestine. When this happens the metabolism in the large intestine is also altered and as a result many health benefits occur. For example due to the bacteria changes there seems to be more "energy fuel" available to the large intestine cells. 

12. Eating Apples can help fight the affects of aging on the brain. A new study just performed shows that when mice were fed an apple-enhanced diet they showed higher levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. 

13. Eating apples help reduce the risk of stroke.

14. Apples can help detoxify your liver. The liver is responsible for clearing the toxins out of our body that we consume. While there are a ridiculous amount of "fad diets" out there that can potentially harm your body, apples, like eating Basil that I talked about in June, are an easy and natural way to help the liver detoxify.

15. Eating apples can help prevent cataracts. Though past studies showed mixed reviews on this issue, there have been recent long-term studies that are suggesting that people who eat apples (and a diet rich in antioxidants) are 10 to 15 percent less likely to develop cataracts. 

Isn't that amazing friends? Those are just 15 benefits of apples and there are so many more! What about y'all? Do you eat apples? What health benefits have you found from eating apples?