An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This all-season, fibre-loaded fruit, often celebrated as nature’s perfect snack, is not just a convenient fruit but a powerhouse of health benefits.
According to experts, eating two apples a day can significantly reduce the risk of fatty liver disease, protect against certain cancers, and help you detox your liver naturally.
Apples are packed with fibre, antioxidants, and essential nutrients-all of which make this tasty fruit a simple yet effective addition to boosting your liver health. Even though they may not be a miracle cure, doctors say two apples daily is a simple and long-term effective habit with far-reaching benefits.
How do apples help in liver detox?
Apples contribute to liver health in many ways. Apart from being a great source of fibre, especially pectin, which aids in detoxification by binding to toxins and helping to remove them from the body, they are also packed with antioxidants. These protect liver cells from damage caused by oxidative stress.
Additionally, apples also regulate cholesterol levels, reducing the workload on the liver.
Liver detox helps reduce the risk of fatty liver disease – an increasingly common health issue, particularly linked to high-fat diets, sedentary lifestyles, and metabolic disorders. Apples prevent and manage this condition because soluble fibre binds with cholesterol and fat, limiting their absorption in the digestive tract.
Additionally, the polyphenols provide an extra layer of defence for long-term liver health. A few studies say compounds in apples, like quercetin, have anti-inflammatory effects, which can be beneficial for the liver, particularly in conditions like fatty liver disease.
Other health benefits of eating apples
Apart from taking care of your liver, apples also offer a wide array of health benefits due to their rich nutrient profile. A few of the benefits are:
Weight loss
High fibre and solid water content make apples a filling fruit, which increases fullness more than consuming equal amounts of apple juice. This may happen because whole apples reduce gastric emptying, the rate at which your stomach empties.
Regulates heart health
Apples have been linked to a lower chance of heart disease and risk factors like high blood pressure. Doctors say the fruit offers polyphenols, linked to high intakes of flavonoids, with a lower chance of stroke.
Lower chance of diabetes
Eating apples also reduces your chances of type 2 diabetes due to a high amount of the polyphenol quercetin, which is highly beneficial. However, if you have diabetes, it’s important to make sure your blood sugar levels do not get too high.
Promote gut health
Apples are loaded with pectin – a type of fibre that acts as a prebiotic in your gut microbiome – and so, a healthy gut is often key to better health. While some dietary fibre cannot be digested, pectin reaches your colon intact, promoting the growth of good bacteria.
Protects cognitive health
Quercetin in apples protects your brain from damage caused by oxidative stress. Studies say quercetin has preventive properties against Alzheimer’s disease as well.