The famous adage, coined by Benjamin Franklin, has done good for the apple industry. And science has long backed the health benefits of apple consumption. Aside from the nutrient rich profile (vitamins, minerals, fiber), apples help reduce inflammation and play a positive role in metabolism of fats in the body.
A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics shows that eating two apples a day has additional health benefits. A group of 160 post menopausal women were studied for an entire year. Half ate dried apples every day, the other dried plums. The amount of dried apples was equivalent to 2 apples.
What scientists saw was that as early as 3 months into the study, total blood cholesterol levels started to decline by 9% and 16% for LDL (bad cholesterol). After another 3 months, there was a further reduction of 4% and 8% respectively.
The plums did not provide the same benefit.
Why is cholesterol reduction important? Because it reduces the risk of heart disease, countering the increase in risk women experience as they enter middle age. Apples seemed to do a good job here.
Are apples the only way to decrease your cholesterol? Of course not. And plums are healthy too. But it’s always good to get more positive data points on whole foods.
So, what’s your favorite apple varietal?
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