Nutrition For Honeycrisp Apples

Originally produced by the University of Minnesota's apple breeding program in the 1960s, the Honeycrisp apple has a sweet flavor and crunchy texture befitting its name. This apple cultivar's harvest season runs from September through October. However, the fruit has an excellent storage life, so you may be able to find it in your supermarket through the winter, according to the University of Minnesota's Department of Horticultural Science. Along with its sweet flavor, the Honeycrisp offers fiber, vitamin C and potassium.

Description

The juicy, aromatic Honeycrisp is classified as a dessert apple, but this cultivar makes a nutritious treat at any time of day. The apple's skin is pure red or mottled red over a yellow background, with hints of green around the stem, and its flesh is firm and coarse. The University of Minnesota bred this winter-hardy apple as a cross between the Macoun and Honeygold cultivars. The Honeycrisp is protected under the U.S. Plant Patent Act, and only licensed growers may produce this cultivar.

Nutritional Data

A raw, medium apple with skin has 95 calories, less than 0.5 g of fat, 25 g of carbohydrates and 4 g of fiber, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Apples are a good source of vitamin C, offering 8 mg per medium apple. This apple also contributes to your daily requirements of potassium and B vitamins. A raw, medium apple has no cholesterol and only 2 mg of sodium.

Sugar and Fiber

Most of the carbohydrate content in apples consists of sugars -- 19 g of sugar out of 25 g of carbohydrates -- and most of its sugar consists of fructose. Fructose as an added sweetener has been linked to obesity and heart disease, but in fruit, fructose serves as a marker for foods that are nutritionally rich, notes Dr. George A. Bray in an article published in the October 2007 issue of "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." Although apples are high in fructose, they are also rich in soluble fiber, a form of fiber that helps keep your blood sugar stable by delaying the digestion of carbohydrates.

Health Benefits

One medium apple provides 11 percent of the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of 75 mg of vitamin C per day for women, and 9 percent of the RDA of 90 mg per day for men. Vitamin C is an antioxidant nutrient that protects your body against the cellular damage caused by toxins, enhances immunity and promotes the health of your bones and connective tissues. Apples also provide potassium, which plays vital roles in healthy muscle and cardiac function. The soluble fiber in apples promotes healthy digestion and may lower the amount of low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol, in your bloodstream, MayoClinic.com states.

Suggestions

High-fiber foods such as apples provide nutritious volume with few calories, which makes them an excellent snack choice if you're trying to lose weight, MayoClinic.com advises. Thinly sliced Honeycrisp apples blended with strawberries, grapes and yogurt make a delicious, nutrient-rich breakfast. Eating at least one apple each day can help you meet your daily requirement of vitamin C while satisfying your sweet tooth.