| The saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" may be a colossal understatement. This is one member of the rose family that you don't want to leave out of your diet. |  |
What Does Modern Science Tells Us About Apples?
What's In Them?
The Daily Value of micro-nutrients in one medium apple: Vitamin C 14%, Potassium 5%, Vitamin B6 5%, Magnesium 2%. 1% of the following: Vitamin A, Calcium, Iron, Protein. Apples also contain 17% of our daily value of fiber, and many other important compounds and antioxidants for which we have no established daily value, but which are clearly important to health, such as quercetin and other flavonoids and polyphenols, many of them with proven positive health effects.
Anti-Cancer
One component of apples was shown to be protective of damage to the skin from solar UV radiation, and potentially protective against skin cancer.
It appears that apples are also protective against several other cancers, including lung, breast, blood, colon, liver, and melanoma. One compound they contain, quercetin, has been show to inhibit cancer growth, and is considered a good candidate for anti-cancer therapy.
Anti-Asthma and Alzheimer's
Consuming whole apples and apple products appears to be associated with a lower risk of asthma, and protects against neuron cell damage in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Apples Contain Pectin (A powerful anti-cancer agent and bowel cleanser)
Pectin is a kind of gelatinous starch that binds and removes toxic material from the digestive tract. It is anticancer on contact and has been shown to inhibit colon cancer. Pectin also binds with cholesterol in the gut and helps lower LDL cholesterol by 7-10% after 4 weeks of consumption. And, in older women LDL was lowered by 23% after one year of daily intake of whole or dried apple.
Fibromyalgia Relief?
Apples contain Malic Acid and Magnesium, which when taken together for 2 months is beneficial for Fribromyalgia patients. More studies are needed however, to determine the degree of help and what lasting benefits their may be.
Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes
The antioxidant flavonoids in apples decrease damage to cell membrane fats. This damage is one of the primary factors behind coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. Therefore, the flavonoids in apples may turn out to be a good preventative treatment for cardiovascular diseases.
And, the polyphenols in apples help us digest carbohydrates, regulate insulin, regulate fat metabolism and storage, and control diabetes.
Sex Life
Apples improved the sexual quality of life in healthy young women. Two factors were judged in this study, including the ability to self-lubricate, which was significantly increased in the women who ate apples, even after all other variables had been accounted for.
What Does Traditional Chinese Medicine Say About Apples?
From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, apples nourish and cool the lungs, heart, and liver. Color is key here. The white of the apple works on the lungs, therefore, all apples, regardless of skin color, are good for cooling, nourishing and moistening the lungs. Red-skinned apples have a stronger effect on the heart, and green, sour apples target the liver. This coincides nicely with western findings on apples and asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular health, LDL cholesterol, and liver cancer. Because they are cool, for those with a cold constitutional type, apples may be cooked or dried so that they take on a warmer nature.
My Thoughts and Recommendations:
I believe that Apples positively impact all five elements in the body, and all the corresponding organs. Besides working on the Metal (lungs), Fire (heart), and Wood (liver), apples also aid the digestive organs (Earth), and nervous system and brain (Water). It is my further belief that apples can harmonize the five elements; my rational for this is that they often come in all five colors (red, green, white, black (seeds), and yellow), and if an apple is sliced down the middle, one finds a pentagram, or five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, which is the ancient Asian symbol of interaction and harmony between the five elements.
Eat apples regularly, but eat organic. Apples are a member of the "Dirty Dozen", a list of foods that harbors high levels of pesticides if raised with conventional farming methods. I recommend eating one a day for optimal health. For those with high cholesterol, or who have diets high in toxins or heavy metals, and for those with gall stones I recommend three apples a day. Any color apple will be helpful to the lungs, red apples will better target the heart, and green apples will better target the liver (from the TCM perspective), but honestly, any apple you eat will do.
May All Beings Be Happy and Healthy,
Craig Swogger, L.Ac.
Offering Acupuncture in Santa Monica and Los Angeles
I believe that Apples positively impact all five elements in the body, and all the corresponding organs. Besides working on the Metal (lungs), Fire (heart), and Wood (liver), apples also aid the digestive organs (Earth), and nervous system and brain (Water). It is my further belief that apples can harmonize the five elements; my rational for this is that they often come in all five colors (red, green, white, black (seeds), and yellow), and if an apple is sliced down the middle, one finds a pentagram, or five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, which is the ancient Asian symbol of interaction and harmony between the five elements.
Eat apples regularly, but eat organic. Apples are a member of the "Dirty Dozen", a list of foods that harbors high levels of pesticides if raised with conventional farming methods. I recommend eating one a day for optimal health. For those with high cholesterol, or who have diets high in toxins or heavy metals, and for those with gall stones I recommend three apples a day. Any color apple will be helpful to the lungs, red apples will better target the heart, and green apples will better target the liver (from the TCM perspective), but honestly, any apple you eat will do.
May All Beings Be Happy and Healthy,
Craig Swogger, L.Ac.
Offering Acupuncture in Santa Monica and Los Angeles
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