A New Years Resolution with a Crunch

Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stay with Two Apples a Day! Research Reveals Simple Solution to “Get Healthy” Pledges: Eat More Apples Sticking to your health-related New Year’s resolutions is hard, but eating more apples a day can make it easier, according to mounting research on the health benefits people realize when eating at least two apples a day. For example:

•  Resolving to lose weight in 2015? Studies have found overweight women who ate three apples a day lost more weight than those who didn’t.
•  Committing to cutting your cholesterol count this year? A Florida State University study reports eating two apples a day for six months can reduce artery-blocking LDL by 23 percent.

We all know the adage, “An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away,” but why stop at one when studies show eating multiple apples daily can help you be even fitter? As we set our New Year’s resolutions for a healthier 2015, we suggest “Eating Two Apples a Day” be at the top of your list as the easiest, tastiest way to reach and maintain your New Year’s goals. Plus, unlike the often-expensive fitness gadgets, diet books and club memberships we purchase to keep fit in the New Year, apples are always affordable, portable, easy to find and fun to mix into any nutritious meal. Looking for more inspiration to eat more apples in 2015? Here are more ways eating apples can help you meet your New Year’s Goals:

• Resolving to keep muscles healthy? Studies find ursolic acid found in apple skin may prevent muscle wasting.
• Wanting to get that beach body by springtime? People who eat apples have trimmer waistlines (and lower blood pressure).
• Building a better immune system? Research from University of Illinois suggests soluble fiber, like pectin from apples, may strengthen the immune system.
•  Working toward better bone health? A study from American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests older women who eat plenty of fruits (including apples) may have a lower chance of bone fractures.
•  Keeping the cardiologist away? Ohio State University reports eating one apple a day for four weeks lowered blood levels of oxidized LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, by 40 percent.

  Want to keep up with the latest on apples’ health and taste benefits throughout the year? Follow USApple’s blog: http://www.usappleblog.org/ for more healthy tips to a great New Year!