An apple a day keeps the doctor away

Because South African orchards receive twice the amount of sun as those in Europe, South African Golden Delicious are exceptionally sweet. This sweetness comes from natural fruit sugars, making these apples a healthier choice.

South African Golden Delicious are packed with a variety of nutritional superstars that help to promote well-being and prevent illness. As well as containing fibre, apples are full of flavonoids like quercetin and epicatechin – naturally occurring phytochemicals (plant chemicals) that research shows protect us from many health problems.
In fact, scientific studies have shown that eating apples can reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes, cancer, asthma, other lung problems and type 2 diabetes. Plus, when eaten as part of a healthy diet, apples can help keep our digestive system in good working order and may even help us lose weight.

A is for antioxidants
It’s the flavonoids in apples that are thought to offer many of these health benefits. These act as powerful antioxidants and work their magic by ‘mopping up’ an excess of free radicals – molecules that can damage cells, increasing the risk of diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Many of these antioxidants are found in the skin of apples so to get the most health benefits it’s best to avoid peeling them. This makes South African Golden Delicious a particularly good choice as their skin is thinner than some other apple varieties, so you’re less likely to want to peel away the goodness.

When it comes to staying healthy, an apple a day keeps the doctor away by…

Helping you love your heart
Several large studies have shown that eating apples can help to keep the heart healthy. In addition, it has been shown that eating just two apples a day can reduce the damage caused by ‘bad’ or LDL cholesterol in healthy men and women. This helps to prevent the arteries from ‘furring’ up, which in turn lowers the risk of heart disease.

Apples are also packed with a soluble fibre called pectin, good intakes of which have been linked to lowering LDL cholesterol.

Protecting against cancer
In recent years, there’s been growing evidence that apples can help reduce the risk of cancer, especially lung cancer.

Laboratory research has also revealed apples may help protect against cancers of the colon, liver, breast and prostrate.

Meanwhile, apples contain insoluble fibre, which may also have a role in preventing certain cancers. This type of fibre has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancerous cells, especially in the bowel, possibly because it softens the stools and helps them to pass out of the body quickly.

Keeping lungs healthy
As well as protecting against lung cancer, several studies have revealed that apples can actually improve lung health.

Protecting against asthma
Eating apples may even help to protect against asthma. An Australian study involving 1,600 adults found that eating apples was linked to a decreased risk of asthma.

Boosting digestion
Health experts recommend we all eat more fibre-rich foods for good health and South African Golden Delicious apples can make an important contribution to this. Fibre keeps the digestive system working properly and helps to soften the stools, preventing constipation, diverticular disease and haemorrhoids (piles). It also promotes the growth of ‘friendly’ bacteria in the large intestine.