We’ve heard that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” While it might be an exaggeration in the apple’s favor, apples are a healthy fruit that is readily available. There are 7,500 varieties of apples in the world, from red to green and sweet to sour. In this article, we will be talking about apple’s nutritional facts.
Apples are a low-calorie fruit that is mostly water, but between the water and skin, they pack a powerful nutritional punch. Apples are stocked full of antioxidants, dietary fiber, and vitamin C.
Quick Nutrition Facts About Apples
- 95 calories
- 86% water
- No significant fat, cholesterol, protein, or sodium
- 25 g of carbohydrates (8% daily value)
- 4 g of dietary fiber (17% daily value)
- 19 grams of natural sugarsf
- 195 mg of potassium
- 14% daily value of vitamin C, trace amounts of vitamin A
- 5% daily value of vitamin B-6
1. Apples Are Powerful Fruit with Plant-Based Antioxidants
Apples contain quercetin which occurs in plant foods. Quercetin has anti-inflammatory effects which can, in turn, have antiviral and antidepressant effects. A study found that quercetin readily reduces cellular death in the brain caused by inflammation and oxidation. Apples are quercetin rich, making them effective at stopping cell death in the brain.
2. Nutritional Value of Apples Have Benefits of Coffee and Tea
While you might not think that apples have much in common with tea and coffee, apples actually contain nutrients that are found in those caffeinated beverages that we know and love!
The catechin found in apples is also present in green tea. This antioxidant improves brain and muscle functioning.
Coffee and apples both contain chlorogenic acid, which is responsible for lowering blood sugar. It has also helped contribute to weight loss in some studies.
3. Best Parts of the Apple to Eat
Eat the skin! The skin of the apple is rich in antioxidants which exist in much lower amounts inside the apple. The antioxidants of the apple generally help release free radicals from cells and oxygen-rich blood, an amazing nutritional fact about apples for people suffering from asthma, because nutrients found in apples can greatly help.
Definitely don’t eat the apple seeds, because they do release the toxin cyanide into your body. It is unlikely you’ll be killed by apple seeds though because it would take about 143 apple seeds (about 18 apples-worth) to generate enough cyanide to kill an adult.
4. Great Nutritional Facts about Apples – Weight Loss
The low calorie, good plant sugar, and high fiber count of apples make them effective for weight loss. They don’t overwhelm your body with calories, and they deliver a high fiber count to improve digestion and pass food through your body.
The sugar and fiber keep you full longer, while the low fat and calories prevent unwanted retention. The antioxidants in apples can also slow down the body’s absorption and digestion of sugars.
If you eat an apple while going for a walk, you’d only have to walk for 25 minutes to burn off all the calories of the apple! If your afternoon snack also includes a little stretching and movement, the snack won’t even affect your calorie count for the day.
5. The Many Vitamins and Nutrients of Apples
We generally think that the good red fruit is just water and sugar, but apples are stocked with many helpful nutrients for blocking free radicals and nervous system damage:
- Apples contain rich B vitamins to maintain red blood cells and the nervous system
- Rich in vitamin C, which helps block free radical damage and protects against infection.
- Rich in phytonutrients and polyphenolic compounds which protect against free radicals.
6. Apples Are Gut-Friendly and Bloodstream Friendly
Apples have many benefits for your gut, heart, and blood as well:
- Apples are great sources of insoluble fiber, which doesn’t dissolve in water. The insoluble fiber is the fiber known for strengthening and bulking the intestinal tract for helping food move.
- While bananas get all the praise for being the potassium fruit, and even the potassium food, a single medium apple has about half the potassium of a banana. Eating just two apples a day gives you about the same amount of potassium as a banana!
- Apples decrease bad LDL cholesterol, making them heart-friendly, a great nutritional fact about apples for those having a high possibility of having a heart disease.
Conclusion
Apples are an amazing superfruit. They’re gut and bloodstream healthy, containing insoluble fibers for digestion and lowering LDL for your heart. Apples are good for your brain and mood, containing quercetin which is a powerful anti-inflammatory element. The quercetin is a natural antidepressant and reduces brain cell death from oxidation and degeneration.
They hydrate you with high water content, keep you full with fiber and sugar, and give mysterious antioxidants to fight free radical cell damage!
While an apple a day might not be enough to keep the doctor away, an apple a day is definitely a good start to keeping the doctor away.
I hope that this article on nutritional facts about apples was helpful. If you are interested, visit the health facts page!