“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Long before the food pyramid, dieticians, and the balanced diet, parents and teachers repeated this rhyme to convince children to eat their fruit.
But the healing properties of apples are more than just folklore and catchy rhymes. Apples are a truly powerful weapon in the fight against disease.
Apples are loaded with pectin, a fiber that is added to many other fruits, such as grapes, peaches, and raspberries, to make jams and jellies. Apples have such an abundant supply of pectin that apple jam can be made without adding additional quantities.
The high amounts of pectin in apples contribute to the fruit’s ability to lower a person’s artery clogging LDL cholesterol. Keeping your LDL cholesterol to a minimum is one key to warding off heart disease.
Keep in mind that most of the pectin is in the skin of the apple, so peeling it causes the apple to lose some of it healthful benefits.
The apple does more than just fight heart disease. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels, making it an ideal snack for diabetics. The apple’s high fiber content makes you feel fuller faster, which is a great benefit for dieters. It also aids in the digestive process.
If you are not able to brush your teeth after lunch, eat an apple instead. Eating a raw apple will massage your gums and help clean your teeth. It’s not a substitute for a toothbrush and floss, but it’s good in a pinch.
In the supermarket, most of the apples you’ll find have already been waxed. This is done to make them shiny and more enticing to consumers. But in reality, all waxing does is trap in any dirt on the apple beneath the wax. You can find unwaxed apples in whole food markets, organic food aisles in the supermarket, and fruit stands.
Of course, the best place to find a fresh and tasty apple is on an apple tree. If you live anywhere near an apple orchard, consider taking a trip. It’s great exercise walking through the trees, and there’s nothing better than biting into a nice juicy apple that you just picked yourself.
If you tire of eating plain raw apples, try experimenting to find new ways to add them to your diet. Slice them up and add a little peanut butter for an afternoon snack. For dessert, how about the old American standard of apple pie?