10 reasons to eat an apple a day

The old adage 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' may be a silly rhyme you heard as a kid, but you might be surprised to learn of apples' serious health benefits.Your mom didn't use the term powerfood but she knew about apples. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" was the first nutritional advice myself and many children heard from their moms. For this reason we call them "the first powerfood."

Health benefits:

1. Apples are filled with soluble fiber (5 grams). This fiber has been shown to reduce intestinal disorders, including diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and possibly some types of cancer. It helps control insulin levels by releasing sugar slowly into the bloodstream. It cleanses and detoxifies, which helps eliminate heavy metals, such as lead and mercury.
2. Apple pectin helps reduce cholesterol levels by lowering insulin secretion.
3. In two studies researchers found that eating five apples a week lowered the risk for respiratory diseases like asthma.
4. According to Chinese Medicine: Apples strengthen the heart, quench thirst, lubricate the lungs, decrease mucous and increase body fluids.
5. Apple cider vinegar can help prevent the formation of kidney stones.
6. Studies indicate that eating apples daily can reduce skin diseases.
7. According to a Brazilian study, eating an apple before a meal helped women lose 33 percent more weight than those who didn't.
8. An apple has only 50-80 calories and has no fat or sodium.
9. Apples are packed with vitamins C, A, and flavonoids and with smaller amounts of phosphorus, iron and calcium.
10. Apples provide a source of potassium which may promote heart health.
11. So there you have it ... lots of good reasons why it is good for you to eat an apple a day! I like apples so much that when I started living by myself I substituted those sugar laden cereals with an apple.

Interesting apple facts:

• There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples. When I lived in England I tasted many different and delicious apples that I never see in Canada.
• The apple tree is a member of the rose family.
• When you eat an apple you are consuming a lot of air; 25 percent of their volume is air!
• Apples have 5 percent protein.
• Apple trees can live to be 100 years old!
• The largest apple weighed three pounds.
• In ancient Greece when a man proposed to a woman he would toss her an apple and if she decided to catch it, it meant she accepted.
• The original proverb about eating an apple a day, which came about in 1866, was: "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread."
• It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.

To get the most from eating powerfood apples:

• Eat apples with skin to get the nutrients; many of the nutrients are in the skin or just under the skin (most of the vitamin C and vitamin A are in the skin).
• Apples have been found to be the most heavily pesticide-contaminated produce products according to The Environmental Working Group. The most common pesticides found on apples are Permethrin and DDT. Non organic apples are often waxed which is not digestible. Try to buy organic apples or if you cannot, wash them thoroughly before use preferably with a fruit and vegetable wash or peel them.