Rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, apples have long been considered beneficial to a daily diet. Now, a new study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, has linked eating apples to having lower cholesterol levels.

Researchers followed a group of 160 post-menopausal women for an entire year, where half ate dried apples (equivalent to two apples) every day, the other half dried plums. Three months into the study, scientists found that the women eating the apples had lowered their total cholesterol by nine percent and LDL (bad cholesterol) by 16 percent. Six months in, their levels had dropped by yet another four and eight percent respectively. For the group eating plums, the reductions were there, but not as significant.

Lowering your cholesterol reduces the risk of heart disease, which is especially key for women, whose risk for heart disease increases as they enter middle age. So: keep up the good work, apples!