7 Ways Apples Can Keep You Healthy

3. Heart Disease

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember which food is good for any part of your body. The next time you pick an apple, check it carefully. It’s a bit like a heart – this should help you remember that apples are good for your heart. Magnesium and potassium in apples help regulate blood pressure and keep your heartbeat steady, and it is the flavonoid quercetin, a natural antioxidant, that protects artery walls from damage and keeps blood flowing smoothly. In fact, adding foods rich in flavonoids such as apples to your diet has been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of heart disease. I find evidence for this in a study in Japanese women who ate foods rich in quercetin. The women were less likely to have coronary heart disease compared to the other women and had lower levels of total cholesterol and bad cholesterol.