We just returned from an Apple Hill visit with bags of “local” organic apples. I found a new snacking favorite – the Arkansas Black treat!
Them Apples 😊 got me thinking and blogging about the health and wellness benefits of these symbolic and tasty fruits.
Sure, you might have an occasional “bad apple”, 
or tried to make sense of “Apples and Oranges”, but…
You likely remember from your yesterdays, a rhyme like this:
“Eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.”
As a wellness coach, I resonate with both that rhyme and this JAMA research finding:
“The small fraction of US adults who eat an apple a day do appear to use fewer prescription medications.”
Woot! As you may have read in KABOOMER, I advocate natural alternatives to POLYPHARMACY [which is taking of two or more medicines over time] when possible.
I hope that you might be as alarmed as I am, IF AARP studies are valid which suggests that most Medicare-aged folks are polypharmacy users.
“over 80 percent take at least two prescription drugs and over 50 percent take four or more.
African American and low-income individuals tend to take more medications.”
How ‘Bout them Apples?
I contend that even a few percent higher Avoidance of Service makes an out-sized difference in Medicare bills, as suggested by this JAMA graph:
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Credit: JAMA Intern Med. 2015 May 1; 175(5): 777–783.
- Who doesn’t want to keep a doctor away- unless you’re romantically linked to one?
- Who doesn’t want to skip a trip to the pharmacy for prescription medications?
One might wonder why only 1 in 10 Americans eat apples. I am sure that the American Apple Association does!
I know that the AARP health lobby does too!
My own wonderment is founded on the bounteous Health Benefits of Apples as shared here:
It is sad yet true that higher “GI” variants like Applesauce and Apple juice have higher usage among Americans.
- Can we spell Insulin insensitivities? Or Diabetes?
Sure, Adam and Eve had a little issue over one garden’s forbidden fruit.
Credit: Giphy
And Sleeping Beauty fell victim (temporarily) to that evil Witch’s forbidden fruit.
And, if you ate way too many apple cores with their seeds, you might consume too much cyanide.
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Let’s shift over to the much more interesting and modern plusses of An Apple a Day:
A medium-sized apple of almost any variety is:
- Low calorie
- Fairly cheap (~$2.00 per pound)
- Low glycemic index (GI),
- Good source for healthy soluble fiber,
- Wonderful source of micro-nutrients and phytonutrients/antioxidants like Vitamin C /polyphenols, and
- 75 percent of your 2-cup minimum daily requirement for fruit.
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Ergo, depending on the individual – an apple eater “may” be very good for one’s:
√ Weight Loss
√ Heart Health and Bone Density (Antioxidants and polyphenol effects)
√ Insulin Sensitivity
√ Lower blood pressure – possibly negating the prescription for statins
- Apples vs. Statins?
√ Prebiotic effects for Gut Health (don’t forget time-tested merits of organic Apple Cider Vinegar)
√ Reduced Stroke Risk
√ Lowered Risk for some Cancers
√ Lowered risks for age-related mental decline.
What if rodent results correlated to human results? “Researchers who fed elderly rats whole apples found that a marker of the rats’ memory was restored to the level of younger rats.”
Fall for This!
Autumn is a fine season for crisp, whole fruit apple consumption.
That is a shout-out to the MINORITY of Adults who chase brain and body immortality (and/or love) with apples yet without serpents or witches present.
As a safety closer, even organic apples may have collected pesticides on their skin. As Apple Skins have a goodly percentage of the apple’s fiber and phytonutrients,
=> Please soak your apples in a baking soda-water mix, as just rubbing, or washing ‘em in water doesn’t dispatch those pesticides.
Credit: Giphy
Be well, and munch away!
Koach Dave
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