Since processed foods were introduced in the early 1900s and replaced many of the fiber-rich natural foods in the United States, the American diet has been become seriously fiber-deficient. The average U.S. resident takes in only about 14 g of fiber from food each day, but daily requirements range from 12 g a day for a 2-year-old to 38 g daily for men between the ages of 21 and 50. Grains, vegetables and fruits, including apples, are good sources of soluble and insoluble fiber.
Fiber Basics
After you chew and swallow bites of apple, the partially digested food passes through your stomach and into your intestines. The sugar, vitamins and minerals from the fruit are absorbed through your intestinal walls and into your bloodstream. The soluble and insoluble fiber, however, remain inside your intestines. Soluble fiber combines with bile acids, or digestive enzymes, to create a gel that's passed out of your body in your stools. Insoluble fiber from the apple doesn't dissolve, but instead provides bulk and softness to your stools.
Fiber Content
The Harvard School of Public Health identifies apples as one of the best sources of dietary soluble fiber. A medium unpeeled apple contains 1 g of soluble fiber and 4.4 g of total fiber. For maximum benefit, eat apples in their natural state. If you remove the fiber-rich skin, you lose more than half of the total fiber, leaving you with only 2.1 g.
Benefits
As soluble fiber combines with bile acids, it triggers a cascade of events that improve your heart health. Your liver, identifying the need for more bile acids, pulls some cholesterol from its supplies and manufactures bile acids. When liver stores of cholesterol drop, the liver pulls LDL, or bad cholesterol, from your bloodstream to replenish the supply. That effect leaves less LDL cholesterol to accumulate on the inner walls of your arteries, and lowers your chances of developing coronary artery disease, heart attack or stroke.
Adding Soluble Fiber
Apples go well with many other foods that are high in soluble fiber. Add chopped apples, skin and all, to your morning oatmeal or a bowl of cooked barley. Mix a fruit salad with apples, strawberries, oranges and grapefruit. Pack a handful of nuts or seeds along with an apple for a heart-healthy snack.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease: Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis
- Colorado State University Extension: Dietary Fiber
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Fiber Facts
- Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet
- Harvard School of Public Health: Fiber: Start Roughing It!
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