The famous saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away should be a bit modified ... there are two apples to eat to ensure more health. At least based on a very recent scientific research, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by an English and Italian team (Koutsos et al, Am J Clin Nutr, 2020), which has observed that two apples per day protect the heart and the whole cardiovascular system in general.
The researchers recruited 40 people, healthy and with moderate hypercholesterolemia. Study participants were divided into two groups. The first group was asked to eat two Renetta Canada apples every day. To the second was given a juice that for what concerns sugars and energy supply corresponded to the two apples consumed by the first group. After 2 months the researchers assessed the indicators related to the health of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, fasting glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides but also the parameters that describe the endothelial function, namely, the function relating to the endothelium, which is the lining of the blood vessels, and the indicators of inflammation. These values ??were compared with the values ??detected before starting the study. What emerged was that the group that had eaten two apples during the period under consideration had lower values, compared to the control group, of LDL cholesterol, or bad cholesterol, and triglycerides. Not only that, apple intake has led to small, but significant, improvements in vasodilatation and reduced inflammation levels.
What has been observed is due to the fiber content, in particular pectin, and polyphenols contained in apples. In short, here is a healthy habit with an undeniable advantage, it is simple to adopt in our everyday life. And when the lifestyle can be improved with small tricks or changes, which do not radically modify it, then it is even easier that these tips can be put into practice!
