Secret of benefit of eating one apple a day Unveiled!
كشف سر فائدة تناول تفاحة واحدة يوميا!
How an apple a day can keep illness at bay
An apple a day really will keep the doctor – and a whole range of nasty diseases – away, according to the latest research. Scientists from Cambridge University who surveyed 30,000 people about their diet found that those who ate fruit were twice as likely to outlive those who don’t.
In fact, Cambridge professor Kay-Tee Khaw, insists just one small apple a day could make all the difference to your health. We investigate what is in apples that makes them so good for us.
SKIN
PECTIN: The skin of apples is especially rich in the soluble fibre pectin, which has been shown to help lower cholesterol levels. One medium eating apple provides up to 15 per cent of the daily recommendation for fibre.
In several studies, when levels of pectin from foods were increased in the diet, it led to a lowering of blood cholesterol.
Pectin also helps to stabilise blood-sugar levels: it becomes a sticky gel when it gets wet inside the stomach, and so slows the absorption of the natural sugar fructose that apples contains.
Rather than giving you a sugar rush like chocolate does, the sugar will be absorbed slowly into your bloodstream, helping to keep your blood-sugar levels stable.
PHYTONUTRIENTS: These help the body digest food and protect the fruit from ultraviolet light and damage from insects and bacteria by strengthening the skin of the apple.
FLESH
VITAMIN C: Up to 84 per cent of an apple’s composition is water, but it is also packed with a range of important nutrients. For instance, apples are a good source of vitamin C – an average-size eating apple weighing 112 grams provides 25 per cent of the recommended daily intake of the vitamin – although levels do vary considerably between varieties.
A Discovery apple, for example, contains more than five times as much vitamin C as a red dessert, because of growing techniques.
But since many apples have been kept in what is known as ‘controlled atmosphere storage’ to prolong their shelf-life, their vitamin C content may have deteriorated by the time you eat them.
Vitamin C is vital for the production of a protein needed to make collagen in the skin, bones, teeth and cartilage. Plus, it aids the absorption of iron from other foods.
VITAMIN E: Apples also contain a trace of vitamin E, which protects the body’s tissues by fighting off free radicals, which are partly responsible for our skin ageing.
MINERALS
BORON: The flesh of an apple contains the trace mineral boron, which helps keep energy levels high and also appears to curb calcium loss that can lead to the bonethinning disease osteoporosis.
POTASSIUM: This mineral is important for the healthy functioning of all cells, nerves and muscles. It works with sodium to control a healthy balance of electrolytes or body salts, which help regulate blood pressure and heartbeat.
SUGARS: It hasn’t all been good health news for the fruit. Apples may help keep blood-sugar levels stable, but research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that the typical apple has a sugar content of up to 15 per cent, a rise of almost 50 per cent in just over a decade.
This is because of producers cross-breeding apples to create sweeter-tasting varieties.
Apples are also highly acidic, says Jacinta Yeo, spokesperson for the British Dental Association.
‘Eating an apple has its downsides for teeth,’ she explains. ‘Ideally, you should rinse your mouth with water after eating fruit or drinking fruit juice, then allow 45 minutes before brushing so that your saliva has chance to
Saliva contains substances that help to neutralise the effects of acid in food and protect tooth enamel, and if you brush too soon after eating fruit, saliva levels might be too low to do this. As a result, enamel could be damaged.
FLAVONOIDS
These are plant pigments which are an important nutritional source for the body.
Studies have shown the flavonoid quercetin can help to prevent cancer-forming substances damaging the body by increasing the antioxidant activity of the blood.
Antioxidants protect against free radicals, chemicals formed in the body by exposure to illness and pollutants, that can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease.
Smokers are among those who get the greatest benefits from increasing apple consumption. Tobacco carcinogens are known to damage the bladder wall, causing cancerous growth. Quercetin seems to protect against this.
High consumption of quercetin can also lower the risk of heart disease, research has shown, by protecting against LDL ( lowdensity lipoprotein) cholesterol.
Quercetin also helps keep collagen, the elastic component in human skin, healthy and firm, thus aiding glowing skin.
PHYTONUTRIENTS
MALIC AND TARTARIC ACIDS: These can neutralise the acid byproducts of indigestion and help your body digest rich foods. Thus, apple sauce is traditionally served with a heavy roast pork dinner.
ELLAGIC ACID: This is another phytonutrient which appears to help neutralise modern pollutants such as cigarette smoke.
APPLE PIPS
Apple pips are bitter tasting, but won’t do you any harm. However, they offer little nutritional benefit other than some fibre.
WHAT YOU GET FROM AN APPLE A DAY
Fuji
5mg of vitamin C per 100g
13 grams of sugar
1.6 grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 1/5
Red Dessert
3mg of vitamin C per 100g
13 grams of sugar
1.6 grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 1/5
Golden Delicious
4mg of vitamin C per 100g
10.8 grams of sugar
1.7 grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 2/5
Granny Smith
4 mg of vitamin C per 100g
13 grams of sugar
1.8 grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 2/5
Braeburn
9mg of vitamin C per 100g
13 grams of sugar
1.8 grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 3/5
Worcester
5mg of vitamin C per 100g
11 grams of sugar
2grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 3/5
Cox’s Orange Pippin
9mg of vitamin C per 100g
11.4 grams of sugar
2 grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 4/5
Discovery
16 mg of vitamin C per 100g
11 grams of sugar
2 grams of fibre
Healthy rating: 5/5
source: dailymail.co.uk
تُعرف فاكهة التفاح بفوائدها الصحية الرائعة، حيث يزعم بعض الخبراء أنها تغنينا عن زيارة الطبيب في كثير من الأحيان (أو هكذا تقول الأمثال).
والآن، يقول علماء أن فائدة التفاح تكمن في تنوع البكتيريا التي تنقلها إلى أمعاء الإنسان، حيث تحتوي التفاحة الواحدة على نحو 100 مليون بكتيريا.
وتختلف البكتيريا في المعدة والأمعاء، المعروفة باسم الميكروبيوم، بين مختلف البشر، حيث ارتبطت ارتباطا وثيقا بالصحة العامة والأمراض المختلفة.
ويعد امتلاك مجموعة واسعة من البكتيريا علامة على صحة جيدة، ويمكن أن تكون تلك الموجودة في “لحم” التفاحة بمثابة دفعة مفيدة.
وقام باحثو جامعة Graz للتكنولوجيا في النمسا، بفحص البكتيريا الموجودة في التفاح، الذي تم شراؤه من متجر، وفي التفاح العضوي الطازج. وفحصوا “اللحم” والبذور والقشرة واللب مع تحليل البكتيريا.
وقال البروفيسور غابرييل بيرغ: “عند تجميع متوسطات كل مكون من مكونات التفاح، فإننا نقدر أن تفاحة نموذجية (240 غراما) تحوي نحو 100 مليون بكتيريا”.
ويُعتقد أن زهاء 90 مليونا من البكتيريا هذه موجودة في البذور، ما يعني أننا نحصل على 10 ملايين فقط من البكتيريا الموجودة في تفاحة واحدة.
ووجدت الدراسة أن التفاح العضوي احتوى أنواعا مختلفة من البكتيريا، ما يشير إلى أنه أكثر صحة. وتحتوي العناصر العضوية على كميات أعلى من مجموعات محددة من البكتيريا المعروفة بأنها صحية للبشر، مثل probiotic Lactobacilli.
ووجدت دراسات سابقة أن ميكروبيوم الأمعاء مرتبط بصحة الأعضاء الحيوية، بما في ذلك القلب والدماغ.
ويُعتقد أن تناول مجموعة واسعة من الأطعمة، بما في ذلك الكثير من الفواكه والخضروات، أفضل طريقة لزيادة تنوع البكتيريا والفطريات والميكروبات الأخرى في الأمعاء.
ونُشرت الدراسة في مجلة Frontiers in Microbiology.
المصدر: ديلي ميل
