‘An Apple A Day’

Really Though?

Yesterday I picked up a box of apples.

It was for an annual school fundraiser that partners with Davison Orchard Farms, in Vernon B.C., which sells apples and other local food items.

We love the Okanagan Blend box.

With plum season just finishing and apple harvest here already/still, the kitchen is again busy with making crumbles, pies and sauce.

Luke, our youngest, is a very picky fresh apple eater. He only eats the most crunchy and sweet ones and refuses anything otherwise so he was thrilled when the box came in as Davison Orchards really does have the best apples around. I don’t blame him I guess. A soggy soft apple is never particularly enjoyable.

Luke loves apples and probably eats at least one a day. That got me thinking about the old proverb, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’.

Is there any weight to that?

We know that oral story, idioms and proverbs, though sometimes dismissed as nothing, do have historical meaning and were birthed from some sort of true relation to whatever was/ is being said.

“[The saying was] coined in 1913 [or 1866 depending on your source] but was based on the original form with a different rhyme, some 149 years ago in Wales: “Eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread,” went the proverb in Pembrokeshire.”-medicalnewstoday.com

Though there is not much data as to whether or not an apple a day on its own has any positive effects on our health, apples certainly are good to incorporate into your diet.

They offer a reduction in tooth decay, can prevent gallstones, are high in fibre, can help with IBS and can help prevent hemorrhoids (well that might just be the ticket right there for some? ;).

Here’s a more comprehensive breakdown of ways apples can help your health: https://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/nutrition/health-benefits-apples/

And as a total side not, this is an interesting little article on the history of apples in North America (leave it to Ripleys to find the good stuff): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/an-apple-a-day/

Enjoy your apple today!

-Becky