Apples are one of the fruits that are most plentiful in the fall; eat them to prevent chronic illness and to help you shed some pounds. Although they are ubiquitous and simple to take for granted, apples may really help prevent illness, according to studies.
However, many individuals are unaware of some red flag problems with apples. The fruit is frequently listed by the Environmental Working Group as having the highest levels of toxic chemicals in products, and certain types are genetically engineered.
Here is a comprehensive list of the numerous advantages of apples, along with some warnings regarding potential problems associated with the use of contemporary agricultural techniques in their production.
Source of Phytochemicals in Abundance
Vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and phytochemicals, which are plant molecules that are not nutrients but have a number of health advantages, are all abundant in apples. Although thousands of phytochemicals found in food have been discovered, many more remain unidentified.
One of the main types of phytochemicals included in apples are flavonoids, potent antioxidants that support the body's defenses against free radicals, which can harm and age the body. Flavonoid consumption was linked to decreased overall mortality in a Finnish study of almost 10,000 participants. Apple flavonoids in the diet had the highest correlation with lowered mortality.
Lower Risk of Cancer, Obesity, and Other Conditions
Apples are satiating because they contain a lot of water and dietary fiber. In comparison to other forms of carbohydrates like grains and beans, they have fewer calories and carbs. For these reasons, eating apples may aid in maintaining a healthy weight.
Studies on overweight people in both humans and animals have indicated that eating apples in various forms can help them lose weight, and some studies imply that the polyphenols in apples may have anti-obesity properties.
Apples have also been demonstrated to lower the chance of developing chronic illnesses like cancer, asthma, and cardiovascular disease.
Because of their phytochemical composition and antioxidant capacity, apples may maintain lung function and aid in the prevention of inflammatory and allergic lung illnesses, such as asthma.
Additional Health Gains
According to a current study, women who ate one apple daily had a 28% reduced incidence of Type 2 diabetes than those who did not.
The study from 2011 suggested apples may have positive benefits on outcomes relating to Alzheimer's disease, aging-related cognitive decline, and bone health.
The same study came to the conclusion that the information on apple products and the decrease in illness risk is "provocative and diverse." Apples have the potential to be effective in the prevention of a number of chronic illnesses in humans, according to the phytochemical and nutritional profiles that together make up apples.
Watch out for pesticides
Despite the fact that research has shown apples to be healthy, nonorganic apples are often treated with several synthetic chemical pesticides, which may negate some of their advantages or introduce new health hazards.
The Environmental Working Group has been updating its "Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce" every year since 2004 and has created a "dirty dozen" list of the produce items with the highest pesticide residue levels. Because they include an average of 4.4 pesticide residues, including several at high amounts, apples typically rank close to the top of the list. In 2022, apples were once more included in the "dirty dozen" list.
Diphenylamine was detected in 80% of the fresh apples tested by Department of Agriculture experts in 2016. Beginning in 2014, the controversial chemical diphenylamine was prohibited from being used in imported apples from Europe.
However, worries about pesticides go much beyond diphenylamine. There are 109 pesticides used on apples, according to a database of pesticides used on various crops in the US published by Beyond Pesticides. 94 pesticides, including the troublesome herbicide glyphosate, have been linked to long-term health issues (like cancer); 92 are poisonous to wildlife; 44 are thought to be toxic to insect pollinators, including honeybees; 39 are acutely toxic, posing a risk to farmworkers; and 25 contaminate streams and groundwater.
There is no way to determine which pesticides are used on any specific conventional apple on the shelf at your supermarket, even if not all of the pesticides on the list are applied to apples. The best strategies to protect yourself are to purchase organic products or to inquire about the pesticides used by local farms.
Genetically Engineered
The emergence of genetically modified (GM) apples created only for aesthetic purposes is another recent problem. Rarely are they specifically identified as GM.
The Okanagan Specialty Fruits company created the Arctic apple, which has been genetically altered to delay turning brown when chopped or damaged. According to The Non-GMO Project, this modification makes use of a relatively recent genetic engineering technique called RNA interference, which prevents the fruit's natural production of an enzyme that causes browning (i.e., polyphenol oxidase) by silencing the genes that express it. This significantly lowers the amount of the enzyme present in the apple.
The apples' packaging has the word Arctic, a logo, and a square QR code. They are intended to be marketed as grab-and-go, pre-cut slices or cubes.
According to the Center for Food Safety, the USDA's environmental assessment of the new variety was insufficient, and before these apples were permitted on the American market, a proper characterization of the polyphenol oxidase genes, their functions, and the effects of silencing them in the apple tree as a whole wasn't carried out. The center stated that these genes have been linked to pathogen resistance in other plants and that they might enhance a plant's sensitivity to disease and pests, perhaps leading to higher usage of pesticides on GM apples.
According to polls by the Pew Research Center, almost half of American citizens are concerned about the potential health implications of eating foods that have been genetically modified, and a 2018 survey found that nearly half of Americans avoid GM foods at least slightly.
Additionally, there are other ways to prevent apples from browning when they are sliced, such as by spritzing the slices with a little lemon juice or another type of vitamin C. This makes the non-browning cosmetic effect superfluous.
Try Opal apples, a variety created utilizing natural breeding methods, if you wish to buy apples that don't readily brown when chopped. They have a flavor akin to Honeycrisp apples and are a warm golden yellow hue.
Buying organic apples is a crucial step in avoiding both pesticides and GM food sources.
How to benefit the most from eating an apple
Apples are a potent, nutrient-rich meal that fights illness. Eat them whole, including the skin, which has the highest concentrations of their most protective elements, to get the most health advantages from them with the fewest hazards, and choose organic types.