It’s Apple Season- The Many Benefits of Apples!

Go ahead and take a bite of a crisp, ready-to-eat apple. It’s the most common way people eat apples. Canned, baked, and purred into applesauce are popular ways to enjoy apples, too. In the United States, people eat a lot of apples. In fact, the average adult eats 46 pounds of apples a year. And that’s great, because apples are loaded with vitamins and nutrients that can improve your health. Apples can help:

1. Lower Cholesterol

Want to protect your heart? Eat more apples. Apples are a good source of dietary fiber proven to help control “bad” cholesterol, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The fiber in apples helps prevent your body from absorbing LDL cholesterol that can block your arteries and lead to a heart attack or stroke.

2. Support Weight Management

If you need to lose weight or want to maintain a healthy weight, eating apples can help. When you’re hungry for a snack skip the candy bar (200-plus calories) and have an apple (95 calories). Apples are not only lower in calories than snack foods like candy, chips, and fast food, they also help control hunger and improve metabolism, according to a University of Iowa study.

3. Prevent Colds

It’s no secret that getting the flu vaccine and proper hand washing are good ways to avoid catching a cold or the flu. Strengthening your immune system by eating healthy can help too. Apples are a good source of vitamin C your body needs to keep your immune system healthy.

4. Protect Against Cancer

Modern medicine has made it possible to treat many forms of cancer. But it’s still the second leading cause of death in the United States, second only to heart disease. It makes sense to do everything you can to avoid cancer. And one of those things is eating a healthy diet. Several studies have found that chemicals in apples contain compounds that may help prevent colon, liver, and breast cancers.

5. Improve Brain Function

Want to give your brain a boost? Eat more apples. New research suggests that apples contain nutrients that help improve the health of nerve cells in the brain that may help lower the risk for age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.

Add More Apples to Your Diet

If you want to add more apples to your diet, it’s easy. At this time of year, you’ll kind all kinds of varieties available at the grocery store, farmers markets, and road side stands. At MagicKitche.com, we’ve also found some tasty, healthy and creative ways to use apples in our Dutch Apple Pie, Apple & Sage Stuffing, and Chicken & Apple Curry with Jasmine Rice & Broccoli.