Apple

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Fiber in fortified foods²

  Apple pomace adds fiber and antioxidants to foods, but in plant products taste testers disliked the darker color.

• Open question

  Urine marker for fruit³

  Scientists found a substance called phloretin in urine after eating apples, but they still need more proof it works.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar and uric acid⁵

  In overweight people, apple polyphenols lowered fasting blood sugar and uric acid and improved blood vessel function.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar after meals⁶

  Eating apple before rice lowered the blood sugar rise in women, and apple's sugars may partly explain it.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar after eating⁸

  In people, dried apple led to lower blood sugar and insulin levels than muffins did.

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  Antioxidant levels in fruit¹¹

  Apple powders contain antioxidants, and chlorogenic acid and procyanidin C1 drive most of that activity.

• Benefit

  Low mood from sugary diets¹²

  In animal studies, apple polyphenols eased depression-like behavior caused by a high-sugar diet.

• Open question

  How much the body absorbs¹³

  In lab studies, apple polyphenols were released during mouth digestion, but how much the body absorbs is still not known.

• Benefit

  Liver cancer cell growth¹⁴

  Apple peels stopped liver cancer cells from growing better than the flesh did.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Gut bacteria health¹⁰

  In studies of apple products, prebiotics may help preserve compounds and texture and support probiotic bacteria.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Toxin from damaged fruit⁹

  A mold that grows on damaged apples makes patulin, a toxin often found in apple juice and cider.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Mouth allergy to raw fruit⁷

  Some people allergic to birch pollen get itchy mouths from raw apple, and some apple types set this off more than others.

How it’s made and used

• Fruit intake tracking⁴

  In people, a urine marker called phloretin showed whether they ate one or two apples or four, up to 12 hours later.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.