Apples and pears are top five fruits you should eat

Registered Dietician, Amy Gorin, M.S., writes on Food Network’s Healthy Eats that apples and pears are in the top five things we should eat.

In her article, she quotes another Registered Dietician who says that apples are “The ultimate ‘fast food,’ apples of all colours are the perfect grab-and-go snack,” says Ginger Hultin, RD, a Seattle-based spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Providing fibre and vitamin C, apples also have unique antioxidants — including quercetin, which has been shown to help protect against free radical damage in the body.”

Pears are as important, “perfectly portable, pears are a sweet and juicy way to get your fibre on the go,” says Marise Moore. One medium pear provides about 6 grams of satiating and cholesterol-helping fibre, according to USDA’s FoodData Central, making it an excellent source. And eating white-fleshed fruits like pears may be connected with a lower risk of stroke, per research in Stroke. Moore suggests slicing pears into a salad with nuts or grilling them for a caramelised dessert. You can also make wine-poached pears, gorgonzola-pear toasts or a lentil salad.”

Although we love our apples and pears, the other items listed in her top 5 get our votes too.

Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, the grower-owned company and the largest exporter of South African apples and pears, is happy to share this good news. Tru-Cape’s Quality Assurance Manager Henk Griessel says to remember to store your apples and pears in the fridge but to ripen a pear a day or two on the counter before you eat it.