It's one of the most recognizable expressions around: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." But besides the fact that it rhymes, which makes it fun to say and easy to recall, does it really have any value? Could the common apple honestly help a person to maintain perfect health? "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread." Nearly 150 years later, variations of this adage are still quoted. It's unlikely that the saying would have maintained such popularity if there wasn't some truth to it, right
If all fruits are nutritional powerhouses, why are apples the only one to be included in the folklore? At the time the adage emerged, apples were easy to grow (and still are). Once harvested, they could remain in storage for nearly a year. Recent studies have shown that, unlike many fruits and vegetables, the nutritional benefits of apples remain relatively stable as long as 200 days after harvest [source: Boyer and Liu].
An apple a day can reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and many types of cancer. But would you be able to avoid the doctor entirely just by eating a bunch of the forbidden fruit? Not likely. Various studies show health benefits when participants eat an apple between three and five times a week, but all ailments cannot be cured by diet alone.
While an apple a day will go a long way toward keeping the doctor away, most nutritionists recommend a varied diet. In addition to apples, fill your shopping cart with citrus fruits, tropical treats like mangos, and a variety of berries, which pack a nutritional punch. Eating several servings of a varied selection of fruits each day is truly the best way to keep the doctor away.
A like this folklore, I've also heard that vegetables and milk help people grow, and that carrots help your eyesight. I always considered that there were health benefits when having all types of fruit (and mostly in the right season), but my favorite fruits never seemed to be included. It would be interesting to look up all the different health benefits from fruit, and maybe start fresh on my health track.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds similar to an article we read in nutrition. While there are many nutritional values in an apple, it is more a representation of the healthy benefits of all fruits and veggies. Today many people think a veggie pill will have the same effects of an actual piece of fruit. Perhaps this saying should be passed around more often to keep us away from the Big O, for example, and force us to instead pick up a piece of fruit.
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