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Food, weight problems and apples

By: Daniel Miller


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Apples possess a strange tendency to reappear in the history of mankind, marking numerous events of quite significant importance. These were involved with things like the mischief of Adam and Eve, the prelude to the Trojan War as well as the finding of gravity by Sir Isaac Newton. Within our times, there is a less romantic, but just as noble role -- a nutritional one. They help us to lessen weight and keep hunger under control.

Since the 12th millennium apples were thought to be therapeutic to a particular disturbances of the gastrointestinal system. In the beginning of the previous century, the famous phrase "An apple per day keeps the doctor away" was coined; while in the beginning of this one a far more advanced version thereof made an appearance, with the discovery of high amounts of anti-oxidants within the fruit. Apples are healthy, alright.

Interestingly enough, there's another service apples can perform for all of us: they assist reduce weight and diminish the general appetite. An apple diet offers many variations (including other ingredients ranging from carrots to coffee), however the simplest version of it contains eating a good juicy apple just 15 minutes before any meal, thus normally 3 times each day.

This diet has attained quite some popularity within the Western countries, and this seems quite understandable. Apples are a perfect healthy snack, as they quite simply are compact, portable and don't require any cooking. They are presented in a variety of sorts, are fairly cheap due to the ability to grow in moderate climate conditions, and are also easily processed to a number of forms, including juice, puree and cider. Finally, the average apple contains just about 80 calories with out fat or cholesterol whatsoever. What exactly is not to like?

Aside from all this attractiveness, can we really find any scientific proof that the apple diet works concerning reducing your weight and diminishing our sense of hunger? It appears as if the apple does have its magic benefits in fact, as a few recent studies suggest. Research workers of Pennsylvania State University have followed 58 adults for months, watching the effects of the apple consumption. A number of them were to use apple juice, some raw apples yet others had apple puree, all ahead of their regular meal. The studies confirmed, that consuming one apple before lunch reduces your total energy intake by more than 150 calories, when compared with people who steered away from the fruit, making thus quite a substantial difference. Furthermore, higher ratings of fullness and reduced ratings of hunger were reported. You will need to note here, that eating that extra apple does not add more calories to your lunch, since the subsequent intake of food becomes smaller due to lessened sense of hunger. A fascinating strategy, considering another finding with the study that even apple juice has similar effects, although somewhat smaller.

An additional study, performed in Brazil, has arrived at similar findings, although originating from a slightly distinct perspective. It was not about keeping track of the calories this time, which, as you know, might be easily recuperated by having an extra cookie while there is no apple around to save you. In this instance, the researchers measured the actual weight of the women which participated in the learning. Not surprisingly, people who ate their pre-meal apples in a timely fashion, lost 2.7 pounds (1.22 kg) on average. This might not appear to be a substantial result for any three months period, but there is a lot more than meets the eye. Beside the weight decrease, some additional characteristics such as cholesterol level and blood sugar were better in the group of apple eaters.

Considering that eating an extra apple before your meal is really not a restriction, but rather a diversification of your daily diet, the research mentioned above produce a compelling argument to try to to apply this tactic for your diet. You never know, maybe you too will be able to rediscover its historical magic, even if only in the size of your waist. And one last thing: if you ever become bored of apples, have an occasional pear. We will not inform.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Daniel Miller lives in the UK and is a nutritionist and a consultant in natural health. He is a very healthy 60 year old and lives by the sea with his wife and very big dog.

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