What are the health benefits of eating apples?

Are apples really good for you?

There’s a reason the saying has been around for so long. Apples are full of vitamins C and E, plus soluble fibre like pectin that your gut microbes love! They turn it into short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which support a healthy gut environment, aid digestion and help strengthen the gut barrier.

What really fascinates me, though, is their mix of anti-inflammatory polyphenols. The peel is rich in anthocyanins that give it its colour, while the flesh contains chlorogenic acid and procyanidins.

In human studies, eating apples regularly is linked to:

• Cancer prevention, including a lower risk of lung, digestive tract and oesophageal cancers.
• Better cholesterol levels, mainly due to pectin fibres.
• A lower risk of type 2 diabetes, thanks to polyphenols that increase antioxidant defences and help lower inflammation.

How many apples should you eat each day?

There’s no magic number, but studies usually define regular apple eaters as having one medium apple a day.  But even an increase of one serving per week was associated with a 3% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes!

Are apples high in sugar?

I still hear people worry about the sugar in fruit, but whole fruit works very differently from added or free sugars. Here's why:

1. The natural sugars in whole fruits are wrapped up in an incredible food matrix of fibre, water and nutrients that slow down how your body absorbs them. It’s a completely different experience from apple juice, which your body takes in much faster.
2. That’s also what makes them so much more satisfying. You’ll usually feel happy after one or two pieces, unlike processed snacks with added sugar like biscuits or granola bars that keep you reaching for more.
3. And sweetness isn’t just about sugar! Apples have fruity aroma compounds (like esters and farnesene) that lift their sweetness, which is why some varieties taste sweeter even with less sugar.

So keep enjoying whole fruit! For most people, it’s not the sugar in apples or berries that’s the problem. It’s the added sugar that sneaks into everything else.

How I like to enjoy them

They’re great as a snack with a bit of nut butter or yoghurt, but I also love finding different ways to use them.

1. In salads, chopped or grated and tossed with greens, toasted nuts and a simple vinaigrette.
2. In a quick slaw, cut into matchsticks and mixed with grated carrot or cabbage and a spoon of mayo or yoghurt.
3. In soups and stews, like the French 'Poulet à la Normande'.

They’re one of those fruits that work in so many ways and somehow always make food taste a little more comforting.