I have been working in the metabolic disease area for over 16 years!
A number of epidemiological studies (studies that look at large populations) show that people who eat apples have lower levels of diabetes.
There are massive benefits, apples are a great source of functional fibre, meaning that they are digested slowly, which helps to keep people's glucose levels stable. Also the fibre content makes you feel full and the chewing action needed to eat apples sends signals to the brain telling it that you are full. Obviously this is great as obesity and diabetes often go hand in hand. Also diabetes has a devastating impact on the body so the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in apples help repair the body.
What i love about apples the most is what you are not eating while you are having apples! Apples are a snack food. One of the most common snack foods in our society is a muffin. One apple has around 355 Kj while the average muffin has around 1490 Kj (and a truck load of bad fat). If rather than having a muffin a day, you replaced it with an apple you would reduce your Kj intake by 400,000Kj that equals 11kg of fat each year!!!!!!!!!!
If every Australian had an apple for afternoon tea each day imagine the dent in the obesity problem we would make.
The new apple the "Jazz" - i am soooo addicted to them. Although it could be because my parents made me listen to "Show Tunes" when i was growing up!
Every afternoon I have an apple cut up with a sprinkle of cereal and a scoop of yoghurt. It stops my 3pm slump!!
Norton St Grocer in Leichhardt - you gotta love an Italian grocer. They have amazing produce and they do it with a smile.
In all seriousness, I feel a really strong community duty around helping improve the health of Australian's, as our state of health has a cascading impact on relationships, productivity, and the health system. If i was kept away i would consider it a job well done. The only down side is that my dream of having a boat may have to be down sized to a dingy!
Rather than snacking on crap food like cakes, biscuits, museli bars, or muffins, tuck into an apple instead. Oh and do at least 30 mins of exercise every day!
It is vital, you look at any population that lives a long period of time and has low levels of disease. What do they have in common? Their diet is high in plant based foods such as fruit and vegetables.
I have 2 a day, one at breakfast and one at afternoon tea.
Also I fly a lot for my job, I love that Qantas have apples on the drinks cart. I never miss an opportunity to stock up.
My kids going to private school, so while you may live longer, just think about how dumb and uncultured my kids will be!
