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The George Mateljan Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation with no commercial interests, is a new force for change to help make a healthier you and a healthier world.

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Apples Apples

The warm scent and flavor of baking apples is a sure sign that fall is just around the corner. In the Northern Hemisphere apples are in season from late summer to early winter. However, many varieties are available year round because they have been either kept in cold storage or imported from the Southern Hemisphere.

Apples are crisp, white-fleshed fruits with red, yellow or green skin. They range in taste from moderately sweet and refreshing to pleasantly tart depending on the variety. The apple is a member of the rose family, with a compartmentalized core that classifies it as a pome fruit.

Food Chart
This chart graphically details the %DV that a serving of Apples provides for each of the nutrients of which it is a good, very good, or excellent source according to our Food Rating System. Additional information about the amount of these nutrients provided by Apples can be found in the Food Rating System Chart. A link that takes you to the In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Apples, featuring information over 80 nutrients, can be found under the Food Rating System Chart.

Health Benefits

Apples are such commonly-consumed fruits that it's easy to overlook their amazing and unique health benefits. Apples combine certain nutrients in a way that sets them apart from all other fruits and makes them a food of choice for achieving several health goals. Here's what apples can do for you when it comes to your health:

Unique Support for Heart Health

When it comes to heart health, all of us need to keep blood circulating around through our bodies (1,776 gallons get pumped by our hearts every day!), and it's very important for substances in our blood and the walls of our blood vessels to stay healthy and protected from damage. Antioxidants are one key to heart health, because they help protect our cardiovascular system from oxygen-related damage. (With respect to blood flow, oxygen damage is a risk that "comes with the territory," since the transport of oxygen throughout our body is one of the bloodstream's responsibilities). Apples contain a long list of phytonutrients that function as antioxidants and support our heart health in this way. Included in this list are quercetin, catechin, phloridzin and chlorogenic acid. To take full advantage of the antioxidants in apples, it's important to include the skins. Since the skins are also most exposed to the outside world, we always recommend the purchase of organically-grown apples to minimize the apple skin's exposure to unwanted pesticide sprays and other potential contaminants.

Antioxidants aren't the only reason to include apples in a heart-supportive diet, however. You'll get about 4 grams of dietary fiber in a medium-sized, 5-ounce apple, or about 15% of the Daily Value (DV) for fiber. Included in this total amount is both insoluble fiber (like cellulose) and soluble fiber (like pectin). Studies have shown that both types of fiber can help keep your LDL cholesterol levels under control, and if you have LDL cholesterol levels that are too high, can help lower them. In some studies, as little as two ounces of apple per day (less than ½ of a medium-sized apple) have been found to be helpful. That amount means that you would only need to eat one medium-sized apple three days per week to fit into this same heart benefits category.

Along with antioxidants and fiber, flavonoids are a third reason to bring apples into a heart-supportive diet. You'll get impressive amounts of flavonoids in the skins and pulp of apples - and these flavonoids have plenty of tricks up their sleeve for helping protect your heart health. Many flavonoids provide antioxidant protection; some help prevent excessive and unwanted inflammation; others help prevent too much clumping together of blood platelets; and still others help regulate blood pressure and overproduction of fat in your liver cells. Flavonoids have repeatedly been shown to help lower risk of heart disease, and also to improve problems with heart disease once it has occurred.

One piece of evidence that helps confirm all of the above health benefits is evidence involving apple juice. In several studies, "cloudy" apple juice that contains apple pulp found in whole apples is clearly better at supporting your cardiovascular system than "clear" apple juice that does not contain this pulp. Since so much of the fiber and antioxidant and flavonoid content is contained in the pulp, this finding makes sense, and underscores the importance of the whole, natural food form. Are whole, intact apples still a better choice than apple juice - even "cloudy" apple juice that contains apple pulp? Yes, whole fresh apples are going to support your heart health in a way that no other form of apple can.

Cancer Protection

While not as strong or extensive as the research on heart health, apples have jumped out among fruits in some studies involving cancer risk. Reduced risk of lung cancer in women, for example, has been associated with daily consumption of apples, and apples were the only specific fruit that showed this beneficial association with lung cancer. From a fairly large collection of laboratory studies and studies on animals, there is good reason to believe that apples may be helpful in reducing risk of colon cancer and breast cancer as well, even though it will take a series of human studies to see if these benefits hold true for people and under what circumstances.

Protection Against Asthma and Lung Support

Unlike grapefruit, grapefruit juice, citrus fruits as a group, or fruits in general, apples have shown up in several studies as a significant way to lower asthma risk. In fact, apples have stood out amongst other fruits when it comes to general support of lung function and lung health. Flavonoids unique to apple - including phloridzin - are thought to play a potentially key role in the special ability of apples to support lung health.

Health Benefits Practical Tip: Don't assume that apples are somehow less special than more exotic, and less widely-consumed fruits. They aren't! Apples combine fiber and flavonoids and antioxidant nutrients in a way that is unique and unmatched by other fruits. While you won't need an apple a day to keep health problems away, it looks like you will need about three medium-sized apples per week to get some of their key health benefits.

Description

Apples are a crisp, white-fleshed fruit with a red, yellow or green skin. The apple is actually a member of the rose family, which may seem strange until we remember that roses make rose hips, which are fruits similar to the apple.

Apples have a moderately sweet, refreshing flavor and a tartness that is present to greater or lesser degree depending on the variety. For example, Golden and Red Delicious apples are mild and sweet, while Pippins and Granny Smith apples are notably brisk and tart. Tart apples, which best retain their texture during cooking, are often preferred for cooked desserts like apple pie, while Delicious apples and other sweeter varieties like Braeburn and Fuji apples are usually eaten raw.

History

The apple tree, which originally came from Eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, has spread to most temperate regions of the world. Over the centuries, many hybrids and cultivars have been developed, giving us the 7,000 varieties in the market today.

Apples have long been associated with the biblical story of Adam and Eve, although there is actually no mention that, in fact, the fruit in question was actually an apple. In Norse mythology, apples were given a more positive persona: a magic apple was said to keep people young forever. Apples' most recent appearance in history occurred in the 1800s in the U.S., when Johnny Appleseed-a real person named John Chapman, despite the mythological quality of his tale-walked barefoot across an area of 100,000 square miles, planting apple trees that provided food and a livelihood for generations of settlers.

How to Select and Store

Look for firm fruits with rich coloring. Yellow and green apples with a slight blush are best. Your preference for a sweeter or more tart fruit and whether you plan to enjoy your apples raw or cooked will guide your choice of variety. Just remember that Red and Golden Delicious are among the sweetest apples. Braeburn and Fuji apples are slightly tart, and Gravenstein, Pippin and Granny Smith apples are the most tart, but retain their texture best during cooking.

In the northern hemisphere, apple season begins at the end of summer and lasts until early winter. Apples available at other times have been in cold storage or are imported from the southern hemisphere.

Whole apples are a much better nutritional choice than apple juice. Not only are whole apples richer in dietary fiber, but the current processes of juicing seem to drastically reduce the polyphenolic phytonutrient concentrations originally found in the whole fruit.

Apple phytonutrient content is not greatly affected by storage. After 100 days, the amount of phenolic compounds in the skin begins to decrease slightly, but even after 200 hundred days in cold storage, the total amount of these compounds remains similar to the level at the time of harvest.

However, processing apples into juice greatly lowers their phytonutrient content. Apple juice obtained from Jonagold apples by pulping and straight pressing had only 10 percent of the antioxidant activity of fresh apples, while juice obtained after pulp enzyming had only 3 percent of fresh apples' antioxidant activity.

When selecting apple juice, chose cloudy rather than clear juices:

Researchers evaluated the polyphenolic content of clear and cloudy apple juices from Idared and Champion varieties. Cloudy juices, particularly those prepared from apples of the Champion variety, had a much higher content of procyanidins (a type of flavonoid) than clear juices.

Cloudy juice from Champion apples contained 1,044 milligrams of polyphenols per liter, while clear juice made from Idared apples contained only 250 milligrams per liter. When the juices' ability to neutralize free radicals was evaluated, cloudy Champion apple juice neutralized 93% of the radicals after 3 minutes, compared to only 24% for the clear Idared juice.

Choose fully ripened fruit for the most antioxidants:

Research conducted at the University of Innsbruck in Austria suggests that as fruits fully ripen, almost to the point of spoilage, their antioxidant levels actually increase.

Key to the process is the change in color that occurs as fruits ripen, a similar process to that seen in the fall when leaves turn from green to red to yellow to brown- a color change caused by the breakdown and disappearance of chlorophyll, which gives leaves and fruits their green color.

Until now, no one really knew what happened to chlorophyll during this process, but lead researcher, Bernard Kräutler, and his team, working together with botanists over the past several years, has identified the first decomposition products in leaves: colorless, polar NCCs (nonfluorescing chlorophyll catabolytes), that contain four pyrrole rings - like chlorophyll and heme.

After examining apples and pears, the scientists discovered that NCCs replace the chlorophyll not only in the leaves of fruit trees, but in their very ripe fruits, especially in the peel and flesh immediately below it.

"When chlorophyll is released from its protein complexes in the decomposition process, it has a phototoxic effect: when irradiated with light, it absorbs energy and can transfer it to other substances. For example, it can transform oxygen into a highly reactive, destructive form," report the researchers. However, NCCs have just the opposite effect. Extremely powerful antioxidants, they play an important protective role for the plant, and when consumed as part of the human diet, NCCs deliver the same potent antioxidant protection within our bodies. . Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2007 Nov 19;46(45):8699-8702. Get the most antioxidant protection by selecting the ripest fruit at your grocery store.

How to Enjoy

In addition to being eaten raw, apples are a wonderful addition to a variety of recipes from salads to baked goods. For some of our favorite recipes, click Recipes.

Tips for preparing apples:

Rinse apples under clear running water like you would any fruit. If organic, don't peel unless the recipe you have chosen requires peeled apples.

To prevent browning when slicing apples for a recipe, simply put the slices in a bowl of cold water to which a spoonful of lemon juice has been added.

For use in future recipes, sliced apples freeze well in plastic bags or containers.

A few quick serving ideas:

Add diced apples to fruit or green salads.

Braise a chopped apple with red cabbage.

Looking for an alternative to sweet desserts? Sliced apples (either alone or with other fruits) and cheese are a European favorite.

Try our wonderful Apple Tart in the recipe file.

Individual Concerns

Apples and Pesticide Residues

Virtually all municipal drinking water in the United States contains pesticide residues, and with the exception of organic foods, so do the majority of foods in the U.S. food supply. Even though pesticides are present in food at very small trace levels, their negative impact on health is well documented. The liver's ability to process other toxins, the cells' ability to produce energy, and the nerves' ability to send messages can all be compromised by pesticide exposure. According to the Environmental Working Group's 2009 report "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides," apples are among the 12 foods on which pesticide residues have been most frequently found. Therefore, individuals wanting to avoid pesticide-associated health risks may want to avoid consumption of apples unless they are grown organically.

If you do purchase non-organic apples, you may want to ask your grocer about the kind of wax used to protect the apple's surface during storage or shipping. Carnauba wax (from the carnauba palm tree), beeswax, and shellac (from the lac beetle) are preferable to petroleum-based waxes, which contain solvent residues or wood resins.

Nutritional Profile

Apples are a good source of dietary fiber and vitamin C.

Most of the apple's fiber is contained in its skin, as is the majority of its quercitin. Unfortunately, in conventionally grown apples, the apple skin is also the part most likely to contain pesticide residues and may have toxic residues if covered in petroleum-based waxes. Since peeling results in the loss of apples' flavonoids and most of its valuable fiber, choose organically grown apples whenever possible.

Types of Apples and Phytonutrients

Researchers have found differences in total phenolic and flavonoid content among different apple varieties. Of the four common varieties used for applesauce (Rome Beauty, Idared, Cortland, and Golden Delicious), Rome Beauty had the highest total phenolic content. Out of 10 varieties commonly consumed in the U.S., Fuji apples had the highest total phenolic and total flavonoid compounds, but Red Delicious apples were also quite high. These apple varieties also tended to have higher antioxidant activity.

The take home message: store apples in the refrigerator and enjoy a sweet, crunchy, whole apple at least 2-3 times each week.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Apples.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile

In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our ratings chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Apples is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart

In order to better help you identify foods that feature a high concentration of nutrients for the calories they contain, we created a Food Rating System. This system allows us to highlight the foods that are especially rich in particular nutrients. The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good, or good source (below the chart you will find a table that explains these qualifications). If a nutrient is not listed in the chart, it does not necessarily mean that the food doesn't contain it. It simply means that the nutrient is not provided in a sufficient amount or concentration to meet our rating criteria. (To view this food's in-depth nutritional profile that includes values for dozens of nutrients - not just the ones rated as excellent, very good, or good - please use the link below the chart.) To read this chart accurately, you'll need to glance up in the top left corner where you will find the name of the food and the serving size we used to calculate the food's nutrient composition. This serving size will tell you how much of the food you need to eat to obtain the amount of nutrients found in the chart. Now, returning to the chart itself, you can look next to the nutrient name in order to find the nutrient amount it offers, the percent Daily Value (DV%) that this amount represents, the nutrient density that we calculated for this food and nutrient, and the rating we established in our rating system. For most of our nutrient ratings, we adopted the government standards for food labeling that are found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling." Read more background information and details of our rating system.

Apples
1.00 each
138.00 grams
81.42 calories
NutrientAmountDV
(%)		Nutrient
Density		World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
dietary fiber3.73 g14.93.3good
vitamin C7.87 mg13.12.9good
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating		Rule
excellentDV>=75%ORDensity>=7.6ANDDV>=10%
very goodDV>=50%ORDensity>=3.4ANDDV>=5%
goodDV>=25%ORDensity>=1.5ANDDV>=2.5%

In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Apples

References

More of the World's Healthiest Foods (& Spices)!