Apples for Weight Loss: The Evidence-Based Benefits

Apples for Weight Loss: The Evidence-Based Benefits

Apples are often thought of as the quintessential healthy food and with good reason – they have very little fat and sugar, high fiber content, and plenty of essential vitamins and minerals. But do apples really promote weight loss? The answer might surprise you! Read on to learn how apples can be part of your healthy weight loss diet...

Why Apples are Good For You

Apples are one of nature’s gifts. Apples are good, healthy food. This gift is nothing short of an all-inclusive package of major phytonutrients such as tannins, flavonoids, anthocyanins and other polyphenols. Additionally, apples are a great source of fiber and antioxidants that help fight free radicals in our body that cause premature aging and certain diseases (i.e., cancer).

Why We Eat Too Many Calories

In order to lose weight, you have to expend more calories than you take in. It’s a simple matter of energy in and energy out, which we express mathematically as (total energy expenditure) – (total energy intake). An easy way to make your food intake less caloric is simply to eat fewer calories. When dieting down, apples are a great source of low-calorie carbohydrates.

Ways to Use the Power of an Apple

Many diets recommend that you eat more apples; even if you’re not worried about your weight, they’re a nutrient powerhouse that can help keep your immune system strong and ward off disease. Here are three benefits of apples to make them part of your healthy diet: Apples contain antioxidants like quercetin, which helps prevent oxidative stress and inflammation, two things associated with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and aging.

Increase Fiber Intake

High-fiber foods are known to boost satiety, which can lead to lower calorie intake throughout your day. A study published in The Journal of Nutrition revealed that a high-fiber diet helped participants increase their satiety and lose weight faster compared to a low-fiber diet. Fiber can also help keep you full, so you won’t get as hungry as easily between meals. Include fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet to keep hunger at bay.

Switch To Whole Grains

An apple a day won’t just keep the doctor away, it can also help you manage your weight. Apples are high in fiber, which aids digestion and stabilizes blood sugar—and therefore your energy levels. Whole grains like brown rice contain carbohydrates that break down slowly to help you feel full longer. Bonus: They also come with important nutrients like magnesium and vitamin B6.

Eat an Apple Before Each Meal

Apples are naturally full of fiber, which fills you up and lowers blood cholesterol. They’re also a good source of pectin—the same type of soluble fiber found in oat bran and beans—which has been shown to help lower cholesterol levels. Eat an apple before each meal to curb your appetite, then slowly eat smaller portions during your meals as they fill you up.

Add an Apple to Your Snack List

A study in Appetite found that snacking on an apple or a high-fiber cereal bar reduced subsequent calorie intake by about 40 percent. This means that if you add an apple to your afternoon snack, you might consume 200 fewer calories at dinner. Fiber is effective for weight loss because it helps fill us up and suppress our appetites, without triggering insulin release (which would make us gain weight). Read more about how fiber can help with weight loss.

Drink Apple Juice in Place of Soda

Swap out your regular soda intake with an apple juice. Research has shown that regularly drinking apple juice can lead to reductions in body weight, BMI, and body fat percentage. Why? Apples have special types of phytonutrients called flavonoids (particularly quercetin) that have been linked to anti-obesity effects—apparently by blocking some of the fat we eat from being absorbed by our bodies.

Eat an Apple as a Treat Before Bedtime

When you wake up in a couple of hours, your stomach will be empty, so it’s best to eat something before you go to bed. An apple works because it’s high in fiber and water content, which keeps you feeling full longer. Also keep in mind that when eating an apple your body is getting both soluble and insoluble fiber—which helps regulate blood sugar levels and keeps your gut healthy. Apples also have pectin (another soluble fiber), which acts as a hunger suppressant.