An apple a day

Fruit for your Health, it's beautiful, taste good, and can give your body a boost.

Apples are a decent source of fibre, vitamins, minerals and flavonoids (which may help to prevent cancer).

But are they any better than fruit in general, and does daily consumption have a measurable health benefit?

Per 100g, apples have more fibre than melons, mangoes or grapes, and twice as much vitamin A as pears.

But apples have less folate than blueberries and less vitamin C than oranges or bananas.

A 2015 study used diet survey data for 8,000 adults in the US
and compared the number of doctor’s visits, overnight hospital stays and prescription medicines, between apple-eaters and non-eaters.

The study found that those who ate at least one apple per day (either whole,
or as part of other foods) were slightly less likely to need a GP visit or medication.

Crucially, this difference disappeared once the researchers adjusted for socio-demographic and health-related characteristics.

In other words, it is not that eating an apple a day means that you don’t get sick, rather, the study found that healthy people tend to eat more apples.

This might be because the apple-eaters were also making other lifestyle choices with a more direct effect on their health.

Ultimately, focusing on any one food for its unique health benefits is the wrong approach.

A healthy diet includes a wide variety of different fruits and vegetables.

Source: Science Focus