Apple a day does indeed keep the doctor away

The healthiest fruit you should be eating is one you probably already are: the apple.

Sure, headlines may tout the antioxidant levels of pomegranates and acai berries, but the classic apple is one of the best-researched fruits, with large-scale human studies proving that people who eat them fight off diseases that can cut lives short.

The Iowa Women's Health Study, which has been investigating the health habits of 34,000 women for nearly 20 years, named apples as one of only three foods -- along with pears and red wine -- that are most effective at reducing the risk of death from heart disease among postmenopausal women.

Other massive studies, some comprising more than 10,000 women, have found the fruit to lower risk of lung cancer and type 2 diabetes -- and even help women lose weight.

Apples are a major source of antioxidant flavonoids; eating one everyday provides the same antioxidant boost as a megadose -- 1,500 milligrams -- of vitamin C, according to a review published in Nutrition Journal. Apples also contain a healthy dose of soluble fiber that can help cut cholesterol.

In fact, one of the only things that could make an apple unhealthy is mixing it with sugar, flour, and butter and stuffing it into a mile-high pie. Instead, think beyond dessert and incorporate apples into your meals and snacks.