An apple a day really does keep the doctor away

by Shayna Glick, Posted Apr 11th 2008 @ 9:00AM

Did you ever hear the old adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" I know I heard it a lot from my mom. I believed it, of course, but in a general "fruit is good for you" kind of way. There's new research that reconfirms the aphorism in no uncertain terms.

Dr. Victor Fulgoni took a look at all the data collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which surveyed the eating habits of adults between 1994 and 2004. He found that adults who eat an apple or some kind of apple product every day have a 27% lower risk of having metabolic syndrome, which is a group of "health problems that are linked to numerous chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease."

The article goes on to say that adults who eat apples tend to have smaller waistlines. It also says that adults who eat apples every day tend to have healthier eating habits anyway. I was curious to know how much of the lower risk of metabolic syndrome had to do directly with eating apples, and how much has to do with simply eating a well balanced diet.

Source

Filed Under: Health & Medical, Ingredients
Tags: apples, fruit, metabolic syndrome, MetabolicSyndrome