SubscribeFruit: Don't Forget the Humble Apple
Depending on where you live, winter is either on its way in or out. Keeping up fruit consumption in winter can get tough.
A frequent complaint from clients in clinic, is they don't eat fruit in winter because it's boring and the "really healthy fruit" are expensive.
Berries, citrus and stone fruit have long hogged the media spotlight. These glamorous fruits are praised for their colour, antioxidant content and flavour. However, we seem to have forgotten, the humble apple is also a nutritional wonder. Along with a bit of vitamin C, apples are packed full of antioxidant phytochemicals - particularly if you eat the skin.
While consumers might be turning off apples, researchers have long been a little apple crazy, as highlighted by two recent studies:
- Research published in the journal Thorax has suggested eating apples when pregnant may protect your baby from asthma.
- While quercetin, an antioxidant found in apples, may protect against illness after intensive exercise or other activity (source) - although you would need to eat about 100 apples to get the right dose of quercetin.
It's all a good reminder that like clothes and music, "healthy foods" go through fads and fashions. When one food is trumpeted as the latest and greatest, remember there are always many, many others that are good for you as well.
Even apples have had their moment of diet-craze, however a healthy diet is all about balance and variety.
Food fashions and crazes can be interesting to follow, but don't let them turn you away from more modest foods, like the apple.
This was a guest post from nutritionist and herbalist Kathryn Elliott. Kathryn maintains a blog here.
Mmm, I love apples. Luckily thanks to the ridiculously wet summer we've had over in the UK there's a bumper harvest of them this year so the prices should be good too.
ReplyOh I love apples ,Eat an apple every day that increases
Replyboady immune.
The apple is the ultimate convenience food!
ReplyI only love apples in the fall (which it is right now where I am). I buy them as fresh and local as I can. I have five apples of three different types on my desk now.
The only apples I can stand other times of the year are granny smith.
ReplyI'm not big into organic foods and such, but I must say that I can definitely tell the difference between organic apples and the ... other ones we get. Also, organic apple juice and ... the other stuff I don't buy. Totally worth it!
ReplyDon't forget about fier whic can help keep you "regular."
ReplyApple seeds contain amygdalin, more commonly known as laetrile, which is basically a slow-release form of cyanide noted for its cytotoxic properties. Since it is a light-duty cytotoxin, amygdalin typically kills only the weakened cells found in our bodies, particularly those cells infected with viruses and mutations.
Amygdalin is used in some countries as a gentler chemotherapy, in the treatment of cancers, at a dose far exceeding that found in the seeds of an apple. Even a fistful of apple seeds would do no harm, let alone the few found in one or ten apples.
I myself eat the entire core of the apple, fiber and all. But, failing that, I would still eat the seeds. They likely have an immune-system assisting and anti-cancerous effect, by clearing out some sick cells. And apple seeds taste good too (nutty), unlike stone fruit kernels, which I also typically eat despite bitterness.
Nature's daily dose of chemo!
ReplyI seem to get into ruts with fruit and lately it's been apples, peaches, and bananas. It's apple pickin' season where I live, so I'll likely be on an apple kick for the next couple of months. Golden Delicious are my favorite!
ReplyIn my ever so humble opinion, apples are the most delicious fruit ever grown on this planet. I've been trying to hunt them out locally, and the farm where I've been buying them lately claims to grow an old cultivar of the Red Delicious that actually has taste! I admit to being suspicious, but I hope to find out. Mmm, skin, core, and all!
ReplySigh. That's the drawback of living in Southern California: except for the short Julian apple season, there's no good apples around here. But later on, we have killer oranges =D
ReplyWhat about apple cider vinegar? A friend swears that it can help to rid of sore muscles after exercising as it remove lactic acid from the body.
ReplyI just went apple picking with my daughter and it was lovely....in fact they taste soooo much better then the variety bought in the store...nothing beats a fresh apple right from the tree....yum....
ReplyI pretty much eat an apple every day. I find it to be easiest fruit to transport and prep (i.e., no cutting involved, no container necessary, just wash and go), so I take one to work for my snack most days. When I go on a road trip or to the shopping mall, there's usually an apple in my purse. I love that there are so many yummy varieties to choose from. Currently, I'm anxiously waiting for the crop of honeycrisps to arrive at my farmer's market. Luckily, where I live (in Southern Ontario, Canada) apples are everywhere at this time of year! I have fond memories of my family's tradition of going out apple picking every fall. Given this post, I think I should quit my day job and write ads for apples...
ReplyOf course, now they're trying to sell us the "grapple", which is "flavored" with grape juice to make it more palatable to all the kids and sugar addicts out there.
ReplyI eat two apples every day...I LOVE THEM!!! They keep well, they are pretty cheap, and they are very convenient. I usually get Braeburns or Cortlands, but sometimes I'll get Granny Smiths or Fujis. The only time I don't like apples is when they get all mealy and soft. But yeah, they're awesome! Just be sure to keep them in the fridge, not on the counter and they'll last a month easily.
ReplyYou definitely have to eat apples in season. Floury-tasting, out of season, apples are such a let down. I have a pink lady apple sitting on my desk at the moment - it's my morning snack.
ReplyTaking it a step further, try getting them local, as we do up here in washington state.. It makes all the difference..
ReplyQuito - Have you even been to Oak Glen? Check out this site: http://www.oakglen.net/
When we lived in CA, we used to go there every October and get apples - they are so fresh, you can keep 'em for a couple months in the refridgerator. We used to go in Oct because Mom liked the Arkansas Blacks and that's when they were ready. You can sign up for newsletters that will tell you when to come for different apples.
Also, I love that seasons change and that the produce changes with it. Keeps me from getting bored. I like the Tangelos this time of year as well as pomegranates which make fun finger food to sit and "pick" at while watching TV at nite.
Peaches and Cherries just wouldn't be near as good if you could get 'em all the time, don't you think?
ReplyQuito - Have you even been to Oak Glen? You can look it up on Yahoo and check out the orchards. It's up into the mountains a little way from the Banning/Beaumont area.
When we lived in CA, we used to go there every October and get apples - they are so fresh, you can keep 'em for a couple months in the refridgerator. We used to go in Oct because Mom liked the Arkansas Blacks and that's when they were ready. You can sign up for newsletters that will tell you when to come for different apples.
Also, I love that seasons change and that the produce changes with it. Keeps me from getting bored. I like the Tangelos this time of year as well as pomegranates which make fun finger food to sit and "pick" at while watching TV at nite.
Peaches and Cherries just wouldn't be near as good if you could get 'em all the time, don't you think?
ReplyAn apple a day keeps the doctor away. Such a simple truth, yet so deep!
ReplyHey, you can get good apples outside of Washington State. Wisconsin has great apples...MacIntosh, Cortlands, Jonagolds, Granny Smith, and Rome apples all do very well here. Every fall, our family goes to a local orchard and we load up on apples, apple cider, apple blossom honey, and apple pies. They're delicious!!
ReplyHi Amy - my cousin lives in Beaumont - sounds like it's time to plan a trip to visit her! Thanks for the pointer!
Spectra, I think that the midwest has some of the best apples. I'd kill for a Winesap.
ReplyQuito - You can get Winesaps in Oak Glen - looks like, according to the site, they are available in October, so you haven't missed your window.
Hope you get a chance to go check it out and enjoy.
ReplyHaha, I'm trying to shove as many kiwis and peaches and mangos down my throat as possible to prepare for a long and boring winter of...apples!
I like apples. I like apples. I like apples. Haha :D
ReplyI thank God my uncle has a apple orchard as getting apples is not the problem. I know how expensive apples are and I am sorry but it is all the factories fault as the prices are bad. Apples are so healthy and filled with tons of fiber for healthy eating and weight loss.
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