ARTICLE - "Apples: Health Benefits and Other Uses"

Apples: Health Benefits and Other Uses

  Article from The old Farmer's Almanac website  

click HERE 

Below is an excerpt from the article.  To read the article in its entirety, click on the link above or at the end of the excerpt.

It’s apple season again! Here are some of the numerous health benefits of apples, as well as some of their other interesting uses!

At our farm, we don’t grow tree fruit, but we do buy and enjoy a lot of local apples from late September through the winter months.

In seasons when the Baldwins or Northern Spy apples are abundant, I generally buy a bushel to stash in the root cellar, alongside the homegrown cabbages and carrots. (They store best in a cold, humid environment.)

We eat apples fresh, baked (stuffed with walnuts, drizzled with honey and a little cinnamon), in sauce(s), in poultry stuffings, cut up and sautéed as a side dish, and in pies and pandowdies. 

Some households also make their own cider (including hard cider, the drink of choice of our Colonial ancestors), cider vinegar, pectin, and “leather.” 

Find some of our favorite apple recipes here!

Health Benefits of Apples

Science is providing new relevance to the old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” A study published in 2013 in the British Medical Journal comparing cardiovascular mortality rates between people taking the statin drugs and those eating an apple a day concludes, “We find that [the] 150-year-old proverb is able to match modern medicine and is likely to have fewer side effects.” 

A growing body of research suggests that eating apples and apple products may help prevent cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s, asthma, allergies, diabetes, some cancers, and osteoporosis, as well as help with weight management. So eat up! 

Apples contain unique combinations of phytocompounds, which apple trees produces to help combat environmental stresses such as diseases and ultraviolet radiation. When we eat apples, some of these anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds may help protect our own organs and tissues.

What else can apples do?

Click HERE to read the rest of the article.