There's a million ways why eating fruit makes you healthier, from boosting your immune system to teaching you sexual health - here are 22 of them.
For the fruit-fact-bats out there, there's a bundle of scientific research behind why eating this healthy superfood makes you live longer. So like the fibre in fruit, we've created this handy infographic to make the science that bit easier to digest (with the science below).
*BONUS: you'll find 3 bonus health benefits below...
1. Fruit Hydrates You
Just like us, fruit is made up of 80% water so it’s logical for us to eat food that contains as much water as we do. No other food in this planet matches that average of 80% water - apart from water that is.
So if you don't like drinking water, whether that's because you aren't a fan of the taste or you just find it boring, think of picking up a piece of fruit or two today instead.
After all, the more fruit you eat, the less water you'll need to drink.
2. Fruit Is 100% Bad-Cholesterol Free
Meet and dairy contain high amounts of bad-cholesterol whereas fruit is bad-cholesterol free.
What does cholesterol do to you?
In layman's terms, cholesterol binds to your blood cells and then sticks to your artery walls. This narrows the pipe, so to speak, within which blood has to pass through, although the volume of blood passing through the pipe remains constant.
This can lead to blockages, clots and even a heart attack if the blood can not all get through, resulting in your body's failure to fully oxygenate itself. Sounds scary huh?
This means if you're on the hunt for a healthy food source, you can't look any further than the humble Honeydew melon, no matter what the Milkybar Kid tries to tell you...
3. Fruit Activates Your Brain
Once you consume fruit, the natural sugars stimulate your brain to recall information quicker and easier than before the fruit boost.
Choline, the precursor to acetylcholine, is also found in fruits and that stimulates the memories in your brain function.
Try to ditch the Red Bull next time you're after heighten mental power.
4. Fruit Isn’t Expensive
People often cite their lack of fruit snaffling on the cost to their wallet. Next time you visit a shop, double check how much that pack of biscuits cost you compared to one apple.
Studies have even found eating "healthier" - with fresh produce including fruit and veg over processed mass produced ingredients - only costs an average of £1 extra per day.
Step away from the potato smiles...
5. Fruit Has Healing Properties
Pineapples, which contain the enzyme bromelain, has been show more potent than synthetic alternatives in killing cancer cells.
To get down and dirty with the medical journal article, click here.
6. Fruit Heals Open Wounds
Ascorbic acid provides the fuel to help heal any damaged cells in your body faster.
This has been a well known fact within scientific circles since 1956 but it's probably news to the rest of us.
To dig into the detail, the ascorbic acid is essential to create connecting tissues across a wound as callagen, which forms the framework around which new connecting tissues link together, can not function without an ascorbic acid supply.
It's a magnificent healing acid and, lucky for all of us, found in plentiful supply in fruit.
7. Fruit Fights Infection
Vitamin C helps to protect the cells in your body and keep them fighting fit to ward of any evil harmful bacteria or viruses.
By boosting your immune system with the vitamin C from fruits, you give your body that extra percentage chance of fighting back any virus-based environmental assault. That's because the stronger your immune system, the more antibodies you'll have in your body's arsenal to call upon.
8. Fruit Keeps You Regular
Fibre aids your digestion and helps nutrients pass through your intestines faster. The lack of roadblock keeps you from huffing and puffing later…
The British Nutrition Foundation actually recommends we boost our daily fibre intake from the national average of 18g to 30g. If we all eat more fruit, we'd give ourselves less cardiovascular disease and healthier guts.
9. Fruit Makes You Feel Good
Folate, also known as B9 or folic acid, helps to support serotonin (the happiness chemical) production. The more you eat the better you’ll feel.
That's because folate is needed for your metabolism to create serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Folate deficiency has also been found common in those with mood disorders. Apparently an apple will keep more than the doctor away...
10. Fruit – Ethically A-OK
None of it is murdered inhumanely, and even the fruitarian from the film Notting Hill is happy to eat fruit – what more can we say?
11. Fruit Is A Natural Food
Fruit needs to be eaten so it can spread its seed – it’s how nature works. So do a satsuma a solid and grab one now.
The process is known as endozoochory - isn't that fun to say? - and relies on animals eating fruit for fruit plants' seeds to spread.
12. Fruit Boosts The Immune System
The Vitamin A in fruit helps to boost your body’s defences by identifying pathogens and expelling them from your body.
It does this through retinol, the active form of Vitamin A, which activates the immune system. By waking it up, your body is able to identify pathogens faster and expel them from your system.
13. Fruit Stops You Feeling Tired
Vitamin B supports your metabolism, ensuring your process more energy from the foods you consume and reduces your fatigue levels and tiredness.
It does this by combining with the rest of your body's functions to ensure you're getting the most energy release out of the food you consume. Simple, but very effective.
14. Fruit Heals A Broken Heart
A literal broken heart can be caused by heart disease. Each portion of fruit you munch decreases that risk to you by a whopping 7%.
Since cardiovascular heart disease is the number 1 risk of heart failure which can bring a premature end to your life, that number should be statistically significant to you.
Oh and the better news is that to unlock that 7% reduced risk you don't have to eat a lorry load of fruit every day - or 14,302 portions if you prefer. You just have to eat more than 0. That's right, more than none. So the if you only manage 3 portions of fruit today because "thoughtful" Brendan brought in a tray of donuts, your risk will decrease by (3 x 7%) 21%. Not bad for cheat day.
15. Fruit Sates Your Hunger
As a food group, fruit is 2.43x more satisfying than a chocolate bar meaning you won’t be reaching for the bad stuff as quickly after eating the good stuff. A dieters dream.
16. Fruit Is Funny
There are numerous innuendos that can be had with fruit. Laughter triggers an endorphin rush which gives you that feel-good feeling. So more aubergine emojis please…
If you had scrolled down for the scientific back-up to this, just visit any classroom in the country and announce to the room "Gregory what a giant p...inapple you have". The proof will be in the laughter - as they say.
17. Fruit Teaches You Sexual Health
Hands up if you remember the awkward sex ed class where the teacher had to roll a prophylactic over a banana.
The good news is, that moment was so cringeworthy that it has, and never will be, forgotten. Now if only the Quadratic Formula from your maths lessons was that memorable...
18. Fruit For Muscles
A shot of potassium will maintain your blood pressure and enable your muscles to function fully.
That's because fruits contain potassium which helps to banish cramping in your muscles. Potassium is involved with conducting the electrical signals within muscles, informing them of when to contract, and when to relax. If these signals do not get through, your muscle fibres can't adjust which you experience through cramp.
The solution? Eat fruit rich in potassium such as bananas, coconuts, kiwis or passion fruit.
19. Fruit For Living Longer
33,000 people die from diet-related diseases each year in the UK alone. If everyone eats the recommended 5-a-day, this number would be halved. Don’t let us lose you early.
This number comes from the Dietron model from the University of Oxford, and calculated if we all ate our recommended fruit intake then that alone would save 15,000 premature deaths: 7,000 from coronary heart disease, 5,000 from cancer and more than 3,000 from strokes.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this piece please click the heart button below. If you learnt something new, or even cracked a chuckle, we'd love to know which facts were your favourite in the comments!
Stay hungry, stay foolish.