The “Why The Fruit?” project provides a healthy alternative to candy dishes for the desks of partnering locations around UCSB. Fruit supplies the fiber, vitamins and minerals that are key for health and the maintenance of your body. Fruit also contains naturally low levels of fat and sodium in addition to vital nutrients such as potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate. Eating a diet enriched by fruit provides ample health benefits, such as reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. A healthy diet includes 1-2 cups of fruit per day, depending on your individual caloric needs.
Nutritional benefits of fruits provided by Health & Wellness
APPLE
- Serving size: 1 cup = one apple (2 ¼” diameter)
- Key Nutrients: Potassium, Vitamin C, antioxidants, pectin
- Apples have an 85% water content, which aids immediate and cellular-level thirst. The antioxidants in apples can help protect your body against cancer cells and your DNA from oxidation.
- Most nutrients are stored in the skin of the apple.
- Protective Health: Apples are a digestive and liver decongestant, reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, boost and fortify your immune system, and lower the risk of obesity, cancer and diabetes.
- Fun facts:
- Apples ripen up to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated
- In the 1700s, John Chapman “Johnny Appleseed” sold, gave away, and planted apples throughout the Midwest to help future generations of pioneers!
- If you’ve ever wondered why apples float, it’s because they’re 25% air! This gives us the ability to play games like bobbing for apples in a barrel of water.