Apples are high-fibre fruits, and rich in flavonoids, which makes them a budget-friendly way to combat the onset and growth of cancer, which claims the lives of 1,300 Indians each day. More than half these cases are undetected because there is both, an acute shortage of adequate technology and a lack of awareness about the disease.
Paraphrasing the adage which says, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, the Washington Apple Commission has given a few reasons, which suggest that the fruit is very effective in keeping cancer away as well.
An entire apple, including the peel, is beneficial for reducing the risk of breast, colon and liver cancers, according to Cornell University reports. The greater the number of apples consumed, the greater the reduction in the incidence of tumours. This was among the findings of their research.
It has been estimated that almost one-third of cancers are related to the food we eat, according to studies at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Thus, if one maintains a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables with antioxidants, the body will be free from damaging radicals.
In recent times, India has had a risky relationship with junk food, with the fast food revolution influencing a major chunk of people’s weekly diets. It has also led to people forsaking healthy alternatives and choosing cheeseburgers to fruit salad. Fast food usually has a lot of carcinogenic elements increasing cancer growth.
Smoke breaks are also still common in India, especially among the young working population who do not like to sit on their office desks for the whole day. It is very natural to soothe one’s restlessness by choosing to indulge in a cigarette. However, if one tries to choose a healthier alternative that reduces the risk of cancer and produces healthy nutrients like flavonoids, apples are our best bet.
White-fleshed fruits like apples are known to create a stronger immune system and help to enormously decrease the risk of strokes and the growth of cancer tissue.
One of the most important benefits that an apple provides is the fibre it provides in helping to facilitate our usual metabolism. Fruits like apples are essential in reducing the risk of bowel cancers and reduces cancer cell proliferation.
In a research experiment in Europe, a group of people with and without cancer were surveyed about diet and lifestyle. Cancer-free individuals tended to eat more apples than those without cancer. They also recorded that an anti-cancer effect was seen on an individual who had an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle with low consumption of fruits and vegetables, but consumed an apple a day.
Daily diets often revolve around the unhealthy options, unless carefully chosen to incorporate healthy alternatives. That is because junk food, cigarettes or other carcinogenic foods are very easily available in India. However, apples are a budget-friendly option and are available the whole year round in the Indian market, either indigenous or imported.
You can try an incorporate an apple salad in your mid-office snack or just get an apple juice before you leave for work. This protective fruit, which has been part of popular culture as an elixir of life for centuries, is also rich in anti-cancerous nutrients like polyphenols, which can stunt cancer growth and even affect its onset.
