It’s apple season so let’s eat apples! The decades old saying ‘’an apple a day will keep the doctor away’’ is actually somewhat true. Apples are a delicious and healthy treat and obviously in favor with over seven thousand and five hundred varieties to choose from. Some records suggest there may be as many as thirty thousand varieties with 4.9 million tons grown in America alone in 2021. Red delicious has been a decades old popular variety in the western world but new varieties have been modified such as the now famous honey crisp and seems to have made their way to the front of the shopping cart. Genetic modification of plants is not new, it has been around since 1940. So the slow destruction of our once safe food system actually started almost a century ago. The cons of this growing process is that altering food in this unnatural manner may cause allergic reactions and increase antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is usually caused by foods that are raised or grown using excessive amounts of, yes, antibiotics! When new data suggests GMO crops are safe, just who is it that suggests this new data? Is it the apple growers or is it the universities that do ‘’paid research’’ for the apple growers? I would be inclined to just eat what mother nature puts here naturally, just for us!
Some people think apples are overrated and will just make them full when eaten. They certainly are not overrated and becoming full of healthy fiber and nutrition on a daily basis is actually a good thing. Apples are a great source of vitamins A, C, B-6 and potassium and serotonin. These natural nutrients can help with metabolizing insulin, healthier skin, better sleep, weight loss and preventing cancer and heart disease through great gut health, just from eating delicious apples. Apples don’t need to be boring either. Try eating an apple with fresh dates, it certainly adds to the great nutrition and tastes just like caramel without the processed inflammatory sugar. This and other delicious combinations will help you add more healthy apples into your diet.
The bulk of an apple’s nutrients (like many fruits) are found in the skin so be sure to find non-sprayed organic fruit for your family, and don’t peel. Where do you find such apples, you might say? That’s easier than you might think, especially during apple season. First of all, get out of the monster mega stores and look for your closest farmers market. I purchase mine there and even pick from the farmers trees myself. Apple orchards dot the landscape around the country. The privately owned small farm is what you’re looking for. Don’t be embarrassed to ask the farmer questions, ask if they spray chemicals and what they fertilize with. Even ask them what they water with. Unchlorinated water such as well and/or spring water is great for growing the best apples, like mother nature intended. If the farmer evades your questions faster than it takes a rotten apple to fall to the ground, tell them to have a nice day and move along. You won’t hurt their feelings but you might hurt your family’s health if you don’t ask. It’s ‘’your family’s’’ health we’re talking about here, not there’s.
The average American consumes an average of 25 apples per year. That’s less than 1 apple every 2 weeks. That’s equivalent to eating a salad twice monthly and thinking you’re healthy. There’s no better time than apple season (now) to load the family in the car and head out to a local apple farm and/or farmers market. It might just be one of the best gifts you’ll ever give your family, do it now and tell them I sent you!
Stay Healthy America
~John~