You know that saying, right? “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I was in the habit of eating an apple about four to five times a week. But then I got out of that habit. This week I had one in my salad and it was very satisfying. It took care of any sweet tooth I had. It was nice.
I forgot that apples might even help with allergy relief. I wrote about it in my Allergy Relief post. Now that I am thinking about it my allergies have been better and I have eaten an apple the last couple of days. Amazing sometimes how I don’t even realize how some foods are helping me. Apples contain quercetin which acts as an antihistamine. As I mention in that post quercetin is also an anti-inflmmatory. I can see how — if apples help with just these two things — they can help keep the doctor away.
The quercetin might also help regulate blood sugar. We all understand high blood sugar is not good, neither is low blood sugar so a simple food, such as an apple, which helps regulate it is awesome. One thing that a regulated blood sugar does is help keep you feeling full. Which alone could help with blood sugar regulation because then I am not eating things that are convenient and maybe not so healthy.
Apples have good fiber, not great fiber, but added to a healthy diet they can certainly give you a good percentage of our daily needed fiber.
With all the good stuff apples have in them they might be considered to help protect against cancer. The dietary fiber helps with the elimination of cancer causing chemicals in the colon, according to “Power Your Diet”. Apples contain antioxidants which have been associated with prevention of some cancers.
As with most fruits and vegetables, raw is better in that it preserves a better portion of the nutrients, but an apple can be eaten so many ways. There is raw plain, or raw with a dip. There is baked or sautéed. They can be added to things. Plus there are so many types. I like hard apples, so I like Galas and Fujis. I am not a fan of Delicious apples, they are too soft. Pippins are really hard, but very tart.
I don’t like cooked apples. I like them raw. What about you? What is your favorite apple? What is your favorite way to eat apples? If your favorite way to eat an apple is in an apple pie, that’s ok, you can admit that here. We won’t judge, I mean, apple pie is American after all.
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