Health Benefits
Note: While I believe most of these are true, you should
always check with your doctor before using anything you find on the internet
that swears its true. I have a lot of knowledge of plants and uses, but each
person is different and each plant is different. An herb that might be helpful
to one may be detrimental to another. A lot of natural foods cannot be consumned
if you are on certain drugs. For example: If you take a statin drug and you eat
grapefruit, it makes the drug not work as well.
Easy on the digestion, apples contain malic and tartaric acids that inhibit
fermentation in the intestines. Their high fiber content adds bulk that aids the
digestive process, making elimination natural and comfortable. Apples contain
pectin, a soluble fiber that encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria in the
digestive tract.
Apples contain flavonoids, antioxidants that improve immune function and prevent
heart disease and some cancers.
Green apples act as a liver and gall bladder cleanser and may aid in softening
gallstones.
Because of their high water content, apples are cooling and moistening and aid
in reducing fever. Simply grate them and serve them to feverish patients.
Steamed apples sweetened with honey are beneficial for a dry cough and may help
to remove mucous from the lungs.
Hippocrates (circa 400 BCE), the Greek physician considered the father of
medicine, was a proponent of nutritional healing. His favorite remedies were
apples, dates, and barley mush.
Today medical practitioners are beginning to recognize that the apple's abundant
quantity of pectin is an aid in reducing high cholesterol as well as blood
sugar, a wonder food for people with coronary artery disease and diabetes.
If these aren't enough reasons to "eat an apple a day," there's more. Eating raw
apples gives the gums a healthy massage and cleans the teeth. This popular fruit
is said to have properties that are a muscle tonic, diuretic, laxative,
antidiarrheal, antirheumatic, and stomachic.
Nutritional Benefits
Unpeeled apples provide their most plentiful nutrients just under the skin.
Apples are a good source of potassium, folic acid, and vitamin C.
A medium apple, approximately 5 ounces, has only 81 calories and a whopping 3.7
grams of fiber from pectin, a soluble fiber. A medium apple supplies 159 mg of
potassium, 3.9 mcg of folic acid, 7.9 mg of vitamin C, and 9.6 mg of calcium.
Additionally, there are trace amounts of B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc