Apples and Health:
One a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, More Than One May Be Even Better.
     Cholesterol-lowering drugs have become big business for the pharmaceutical industry. But ads touting the products usually add a disclaimer-taking the drugs achieves good results "when combined with a low-fat diet."
     So the low-fat diet appears to be an essential part of the therapy.  Here's another way to lower cholesterol, and it's much tastier and less expensive than drugs: Eat more apples.
     According to numerous research studies, a diet containing lots of apples does indeed reduce blood cholesterol levels, thanks to constituents within the fruit. And the more apples you eat, the easier it will be to adopt that essential low-fat diet because those tasty apples will likely crowd out some high-fat foods.      So apples should be part of a winning strategy in the battle against high cholesterol.
     The cholesterol issue presents only one benefit of boosting apple consumption. It's not news that apples are an all-around health food. The old adage that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" goes back to the misty days of antiquity. Now science is confirming what our forebears realized ages ago. But science is also suggesting that if one apple per day is good, more than one a day may be even better.
Apples are well supplied with a wide array of components identified as contributors to improved health and longevity.

Pectins and More

     Pectins are soluble fibers present in most fruits and vegetables. Studies as far back as the 1960s noted that pectin-rich diets result in a lowering of blood cholesterol levels. Apples contain .78 grams of pectin per 100 grams of edible fruit. That amount ranks them #4 in pectin content among 11 common fruits and tied for #8 among 24 common fruits and vegetables.

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