Monday Post

The total affected patients from Covid 19 are increasing  day by day, with total affected cases crossing 9000 mark and with active cases almost touching 8000, and total casualties  over 300 now. It seems that we are still long way before we can say the virus has been arrested. Till now worst affected country is USA, with almost 550,000 affected patients and more than 21,000 deaths. In USA the most affected state have been New York, US administration has declared all the 50 states in USA as danger zone. India, which had declared timely locked down has been spared the worst affect till date, but what holds in near future is difficult to predict. It looks imminent that lockdown in India will be definitely extended with states like Punjab, Odisha, Maharashtra and Delhi have already declared the lockdown till 30^th April 2020, even before that announcement by PM, which is expected any time now.

So with no news other than corona, I am returning to my other topic regarding health. You must have heard an old proverb ‘ An apple a day keeps doctor away’. So today I am going to write about this wonder fruit called Apple. Perhaps our forefathers knew about this fruit, that’s why this proverb came into being. Apple can provide all round health benefits and it does taste also very good. Here is the list of the things that eating apple could give to us.

Nutrition :

A medium size apple can serve our nutritional needs of the day, as it comes with enough carbs, calories, Vitamins, potassium, manganese, copper and even fibre to meet the needs of an individual. Apples also come with compound called Polyphenol, which is nothing but a naturally occurring plant based micronutrient. These compounds act as antioxidants and are said to provide some health benefits to us. It is best to eat apples with the skin, rather than to peel, to get maximum nutrition. However it has been discovered now that vendors apply Wax polish to apples to give them shiny and fresh look. So to make apples are good to eat, it is advisable to dip them in warm water for a few minutes, and then again washed with running water to ensure that they are wax and dirt free. Peeling them is also safe, but then you end up losing all the nutrients which are present in the skin.

Good for heart :

They are very good for heart  as apples help in lowering the cholesterol because they contain soluble fibres. One of the polyphenols contained in the apple known as flavonoid epicatechin which helps in reducing blood pressure. Flavonoid  has been proven to reduce the risk of stroke.

Lowers risk of diabetes:

Eating an apple daily has  also been found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. It is believed that this benefit is derived from the apple, because of the polyphenols present in it. They are said to prevent relevant tissue damage in the pancreas that leads to insulin issue, which leads to diabetes.

Prevention of cancer :

Studies have proved that eating apples can prevent cancer in people and reduce the risk of  contracting cancer. This is due to the natural properties of it’s few compounds that help in fighting inflammation causing agents. Apples contain antioxidants that help in this cause.

Prebiotics :

If you eat apples, there is no need for you to consume any other prebiotics to aid your digestion or manage your gut health. Apples contain pectin, a dietary, that also acts like a prebiotic in the gut and helps it to remain healthy. These aids the fibre digestion and that is the reason why eating apples can also help with weight loss and prevent obesity.

Lower risk of asthama :

As mentioned earlier apples contain anti inflammatory substances  as well as antioxidants, and these qualities help it fight oxidative damage in the lungs. It has also been proved that eating apples does indeed lower the risk of asthama. The flavonoids are also helping in the allergic reactions that are causing asthama.

Bone health :

A big issue with aging is the bone health, apples can even help you with this. Apples help you to maintain the bone density, as this has been found in few studies, this could also be linked to anti oxidant and anti inflammatory properties of compound in the apple.

Apart from above, studies are going on to conclusively figure out if apples can prevent diseases like  Alzheimer. Some evidence has been found to suggest that it helps stop mental decline, however, this needs further investigations.

So for all the reasons cited above, the apple has been proven to be a super or wonder fruit. So it is advisable to eat an apple a day to ensure that a lot of body’s health and nutrients needs are met.

Waiting for your feed backs/comments/views.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

13^th Apr 2020.