Eating an apple a day means consuming 100m bacteria that can help you stay healthy, scientists have revealed.
But Austrian researchers have found that if you leave the core and seeds, the number of microbes you will consume drops to 10m.
“Putting together the averages for each apple component, we estimate a typical 240g apple contains roughly 100m bacteria,” said Professor Gabriele Berg of Graz University of Technology.
“The bacteria, fungi and viruses in our food transiently colonise our gut. Cooking kills most of these, so raw fruit and veg are particularly important sources of gut microbes.”
Many of these microbes are important in maintaining a healthy gut environment, or microbiome, Berg added.
The microbiome contains around 100 trillion bacteria and other microbes and the more varied its composition, the better it is for our health.
The study found that organic apples have a more balanced bacterial community, making them healthier than conventional alternatives.
“Freshly harvested, organically-managed apples harbour a significantly more diverse, more even and distinct bacterial community, compared to conventional ones,” said Berg.
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