Health Benefits: Apples fight Alzheimer’s.
Apples contain quercetin, a powerful antioxidant that protects brain cells from degeneration in rats and might do the same in humans. Eat the skin to get maximum disease-fighting compounds.
Health Benefit: Apples prevent colon cancer.
When the natural fiber in apples ferments in the colon, it produces chemicals that help fight the formation of cancer cells, according to recent research from Germany. Other studies have shown that one type of antioxidant found in apples, called procyanidins, triggered a series of cell signals that resulted in cancer cell death.
Health Benefit: Apples stabilize blood sugar.
Apples are loaded with soluble fiber, which slows the digestion of food and the entry of glucose into the bloodstream. One group of researchers discovered that women who ate at least one apple a day were 28 percent less likely to develop diabetes than those who ate none.
Health Benefit: Apples boost gum health.
Apples have long been called nature’s toothbrush. Though eating an apple doesn’t actually cleanse the teeth, biting and chewing one stimulates the gums, and the sweetness of the apple prompts an increased flow of saliva, which reduces tooth decay by lowering the level of bacteria in the mouth.