Why eat Unsweetened Apple Sauce?
No need to worry about calories.
Unsweetened Apple Sauce is naturally low in calories.
A ½ cup (144gm) serving of unsweetened apple sauce has just over 50 calories.
That’s less than one chocolate biscuit.
(Cookies to my American friends)
Does unsweetened apple sauce contain sugar?
You bet it does.
Though not all sugars are created equal.
The sugars in fruit are known as fructose, which is a naturally occurring sugar.
When fructose is consumed as a whole fruit, in this case apple sauce, it has very little effect on blood sugar levels.
The fibre present also slows down the digestion and absorption of sugars into the blood stream.
No Fat!
Apples might be described as big, fat and juicy!
But there is no fat in unsweetened apple sauce.
That same ½ cup of apple sauce has about 2 grams of fibre or about 8% of your daily recommended fibre intake
This fibre will not only make you feel fuller longer you will actually be fuller longer.
How does unsweetened apple sauce do this you ask?
The fibre, pectin in particular, in apple sauce takes longer to digest so takes longer to leave your stomach!
Simple!
Lower your cholesterol
As part of a healthy diet unsweetened apple sauce can help to lower your cholesterol.
A recent study shows that regular consumption of apple sauce that contains the peel, (like ours does) can lower cholesterol by as much as 13%.
The study does say that you would need to eat up to three medium apples per day.
On average one jar of our apple sauce contains about three medium apples!
Unsweetened apple sauce is rich in antioxidants
What are antioxidants you ask?
Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in your body.
Free radicals are compounds that can cause harm if their levels become too high in your body.
They’re linked to multiple illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Apple sauce provides high amounts of beneficial phytochemicals, including catechin, chlorogenic acid, phloridzin and quercetin, that act as antioxidants to prevent cell damage.
Anti Cancer
Unsweetened apple sauce can also help to prevent cancer.
There is strong evidence that a diet rich in fibre and antioxidants can help to prevent bowel, lung and breast cancer.
Reduce risk of heart disease
The risk of heart disease can also be reduced by the regular consumption of unsweetened apple sauce.
In a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition eating two apples per day has shown to reduce cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease.
Good brain health
Having unsweetened apple sauce in your diet can also help to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (AD/ADRD).
Researchers at the American Journal of Nutrition found that people who eat higher amounts of flavonoid rich foods like apples and berries were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
The study further found that those that consumed the most flavonoid rich foods had a 48% lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.
Not bad for the humble apple sauce!
Is it apeeling?
Mis-spelled on purpose!
The most important consideration in choosing your unsweetened apple sauce is to determine if the peel is left on.
The peel contains about half the fibre of an apple and 4 to 15 times the amount of beneficial phytochemicals than the flesh alone.
So, make sure you choose an apple sauce that was made with the peel included.
