What is Apple?
An apple is a crunchy, colorful fruit that many people in the U.S. love. You might have heard the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” While it’s not a magic cure, eating apples is good for your health.
When European settlers came to America, they brought apples with them because they liked them better than the small, tart crab apples that grew here.
Today, there are many kinds of apples grown in the U.S., but most apples you find in stores are not imported. Each type of apple has its own shape, color, and texture.
Apples can be sweet or sour, and their taste changes depending on the variety you eat.
Apple Types
There are many varieties, including:
• Red Delicious
• McIntosh
• Crispin
• Gala
• Granny Smith
• Fuji
• Honeycrisp
Apple Health Benefits
Apples can do a lot for you, thanks to plant chemicals called flavonoids. And they have pectin, a fiber that breaks down in your gut. If you take off the apple’s skin before eating it, you won’t get as much of the fiber or flavonoids.
Phytochemicals
Nutritionists and other scientists get excited about apples because of their phytochemical content. Phytochemicals are substances found in plants that may be good for human health. They go by many different names, such as phytonutrients, polyphenols, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and flavonoids. You shouldn’t peel your apples, as most of the phytochemicals are in the skin.
Fiber
Fiber helps slow down digestion, which makes you feel full for longer and can prevent overeating. Foods high in fiber can also help manage symptoms of acid reflux and reduce its effects. The fiber in apples can be beneficial for both diarrhea and constipation.
Blood vessel and heart damage protection
Some studies show that plant chemicals and the fiber of an apple peel protect against blood vessel and heart damage. They also can help lower your cholesterol, and they might protect your cells’ DNA from something called oxidative damage, which is one of the things that can lead to cancer.
Antioxidants
Research shows the antioxidants in apples can slow the growth of cancer cells. And they can protect the cells in your pancreas, which can lower your chances of type 2 diabetes.
Other health benefits
Scientists also give apples credit for helping:
• Your lung strength
• Your heart
• With asthma
• Bone health
• Weight loss
• Your brain (easing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and age-related memory loss)
• Your immune system
• Your gut health
You don’t need to be concerned about the sugar in apples. Although they have carbs that affect your blood sugar, these carbs are different from other sugars that strip away fiber that’s good for you.
10 Impressive Health Benefits of Apples
This nutritious fruit offers multiple health benefits. Apples may lower your chance of developing cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Research says apples may also help you lose weight while improving your gut and brain health.
From sweet red varieties, like Red Delicious, Fuji, or Gala, to tangy green ones, like Granny Smith — my favorite with lime juice and a little salt when I want a savory snack — there is an apple for everyone.
They’re commonly used in recipes like pies, cookies, muffins, jam, salads, oatmeal, or smoothies. They also make a great snack or wedged and smeared with nut butter.
In addition to their culinary versatility and numerous colors and flavors, apples are an exceptionally healthy fruit with many research-backed benefits.
Here are eight impressive health benefits of apples.
What are the 10 benefits of apples?
- Nutritious
Apples are considered nutrient-dense fruits, meaning they provide a lot of nutrients per serving.
The current Dietary Guidelines for AmericansTrusted Source recommend 2 cups of fruit daily for a 2,000-calorie diet, emphasizing whole fruits like apples.
One medium 7-ounce (oz) or 200 grams (g) apple offers the following nutrients:
• Calories: 104
• Carbs: 28 g
• Fiber: 5 g
• Vitamin C: 10% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Copper: 6% of the DV
• Potassium: 5% of the DV
• Vitamin K: 4% of the DV
The same serving also provides 2–5%Trusted Source of the DV for vitamins E, B1, and B6.
Apples are also a rich source of polyphenols, an important group of antioxidants. While nutrition labels don’t list these plant compounds, they’re likely responsibleTrusted Source for many of apples’ health benefits.
To get the most out of apples, leave the skin on, as it contains half of the fiber and most of the polyphenols. - May support weight loss
Apples are high in fiber and water, which makes them filling.
In one studyTrusted Source, eating whole apples increased fullness more than consuming equal amounts of apple juice. This may happen because whole apples reduce gastric emptying — the rate at which your stomach empties.
ResearchTrusted Source also suggests apple intake may significantly reduce Body Mass Index (BMI), a weight-related risk factor for heart disease.
Interestingly, apple polyphenols may also haveTrusted Source anti-obesity effects. - Could be good for your heart
Apples have been linked to a lower chance of heart disease. Research has found that eating 100-150 g/d of whole apples is associated with a lower chanceTrusted Source of heart disease and risk factors such as high blood pressure.
One reason may be that they contain soluble fiber. This fiber is also associatedTrusted Source with a lower chance of heart disease.
Another reason may be that they offer polyphenols. Some of these may help lowerTrusted Source blood pressure. StudiesTrusted Source have also linked high intakes of flavonoids with a lower chance of stroke.
Another study has also linked eating apples to a reduced chance Trusted Source of stroke. - Linked to a lower chance of diabetes
Eating apples may also reduce your chance of type 2 diabetes.
A compilation of studies found that eating apples and pears was associated with an 18%Trusted Source reduction in type 2 diabetes risk. Just one serving per week may reduce the risk by 3%.
The high amount of the polyphenol quercetin in apples could explain Trusted Source this beneficial effect. - May promote gut health
Apples contain pectin, a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic in your gut microbiome, and a healthy gut is often key Trusted Source to better health.
Since dietary fiber cannot be digested, pectin reaches your colon intact, promoting the growth of good bacteria. It especially improves the ratio of Bacteriodetes to Firmicutes, the two main types of bacteria in your gut.
New research suggests that, by beneficially altering your gut microbiota, apples may help protect Trusted Source against chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. - May help prevent cancer
Antioxidants in apples may offerTrusted Source beneficial effects against certain types of cancers, including lung, breast, and digestive tract cancers.
ResearchTrusted Source suggests these effects may be attributed to apple polyphenols keeping cancerous cells from multiplying.
Moreover, one studyTrusted Source in women reported that higher apple intakes were linked to a lower chance of cancer death.
However, further human research is needed to better understand the possible link between apples and cancer prevention — for example, to identify adequate amounts and eating timing. - Could help fight asthma
Antioxidant-rich apples may helpTrusted Source reduce airway inflammation related to allergic asthma.
Apple skin is rich in the antioxidant quercetin, which can help regulateTrusted Source your immune system and reduce inflammation. Theoretically, this could make apples effective against late phases of bronchial asthma responses.
Supporting this, test-tube and animal studies suggestTrusted Source quercetin may be suitable for allergic inflammatory diseases like asthma and sinusitis.
Still, more human research is needed on the topic. - May help protect your brain
Quercetin in apples may protectTrusted Source your brain from damage caused by oxidative stress.
A meta-analysis of 14 animal studiesTrusted Source suggests quercetin may have some preventive properties against Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Still, the researchers questioned some of the study methodologies and believed more research is needed to conclude.
Remember that most research focuses on a specific compound instead of whole apples. Therefore, further research is still needed, specifically on the effects of apples, before any conclusions can be drawn. - May improve mental health
Eating more vegetables and fruit like apples may help your mental health, according to one 2024 systematic review Trusted Source.
That said, the study found this benefit kicks in if you eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily, consistent with the recommendations of the American Dietary Guidelines Trusted Source for daily fruit and vegetable intake.
In addition, a 2024 British study Trusted Source found that adolescents who consume fewer vegetables and fruit in their diet tend to have poorer mental health.
- May help with digestive diseases
Research Trusted Source suggests that eating fruit like apples may help reduce the chance of getting gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Multiple studies have also suggested that eating apples can help your food digest better, which may be helpful with constipation. But the extent of the effect may depend on the type of apple you’re eating.
