The health benefits of apples are significant and who doesn’t love the taste of a freshly picked apple or a warm apple pie in the fall? Aside from being a memorable childhood rhyme, it is based on the fact that apples have great health benefits and an interesting history to go with it.
Facts about Apples
The apple originated in Asia.
Today there are over 7,500 varieties of apples
Johnny Appleseed was an American folk hero who made it his life’s work to spread the taste and beauty of apples across the nation. He taught people to grow their own apple trees and how to tend to their apple orchards.
65 apples per year are eaten by the average person.
25% of an apple’s volume is air, therefore it can float.
It is believed that apples predate other types of fruit trees that were being grown and harvested to provide food.
The skin of an apple contains pectin. Pectin can help remove toxic substances from the system by supplying galacturonic acid. This is used to help prevent protein matter in the intestine from spoiling.
China produces the most apples in the world.
The Romans were the first to take the earliest version of apples, which were small and didn’t taste very good, and turned them into something similar to what we eat today with cross-pollination.
Studies have shown children with asthma that drink apple juice daily suffered less wheezing than those with asthma that don’t drink apple juice regularly.
The largest apple ever picked weighed 3 pounds and 2 ounces.
Apples contain Vitamin A, Calcium and Iron all at about 1% of your daily recommended intake. Vitamin C can be found in a medium apple at 10% of your daily intake.
The fear of apples is known as Malusdomesticaphobia. The name comes from the scientific name for apples which is Malus domestica.
Most apples are still picked by hand.
There is evidence found by archeologists that suggest apples were being eaten as far back as 6500 B.C.
The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.
Freshly made apple juice will turn brown as soon as it has contact with the air because of oxidation.
Apples are members of the rose family.
Apples are also useful in the management of diabetes. Galacturonic acid, found in apples, lowers the body’s need for insulin.
Apple trees can live to be 100 years old.
Apples account for around 50% of international deciduous fruit tree production.
To prevent fresh apple juice from turning brown add a few squeezes of either lime or lemon.
