"Let Food be Your Medicine" By Geraldine Harrison-Foote, UNEP Nutrition Educator

Have you ever heard the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" Well, you may wonder what that expression really means. This old saying is important since apples have medicinal values that are beneficial to our bodies. The significance of eating apples may help to prevent you from getting sick, relieve certain conditions, or perhaps prevent the need for a medical doctor. Eating apples or other foods does not mean you should not seek the aid of your physician. Instead it just means that certain foods have important health benefits.

The art of eating foods for its medicinal value dates back more than 5,000 years. Food and herbs were eaten because of their natural use in healing, relieving, or preventing certain health or medical conditions. Several references have been made in the Bible and in Greek and Chinese cultures to document the medicinal properties of food. In fact the use of prescribed pharmaceuticals has been favored in recent years over food and herbs. However, lately the focus has shifted to the "healing power" of foods.

Before exploring the benefits of apples in regard to health and wellness, a few terms should be defined first. Dr. Stephen DeFelice, founder of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine, coined the term "nutraceuticals" a decade ago as "any substance that may be considered a food or part of a food and provides medicinal or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease." A nutrient rich food is referred to as a "nutraceutical" when it contains ingredients like soy, garlic, or a specific item like omega 3 fatty acids that can be found in seafood like salmon or shrimp. Next, the Institute of Medicine in Washington has defined a functional food as "those foods that encompass potentially healthful products including any modified food or ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains." Examples of this include foods and beverages that are fortified with nutraceuticals, vitamins, minerals, or herbs, such as cereals or juices. Lastly, the terms "phytochemical" and "phytonutrient" are used interchangeably to define foods that contain health producing compounds that originate from plants. Some examples of these compounds include anti-oxidants, phytosterols, carotenoids, limonoids, and terpenes.

The apple has a long, rich history throughout the course of civilization. One important event we can recite is the biblical story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit. You guessed it---the apple! According to Mitch Lynd, the author of the article "Great Moments in Apple History," fruit such as apples are nature's only pleasure laden natural food. Lynd goes on to say that since the beginning of time the apple has been associated with health, love, beauty, comfort, luck, pleasure, fertility, sexuality, temptation, wisdom, sensuality, and virility. The apple is one of the oldest fruits in the world and we still enjoy eating different apple varieties and apple products today.

The primary medicinal uses of apples are derived from apple acids, such as malic and tartaric acids. These substances are easily digested in the body and have been credited with assisting in the digestion of other foods. The apple is naturally sweet due to the fruit sugars (fructose) or simple sugars, which makes it easy to digest. Since apples are easily digested, the simple sugars or carbohydrates can in turn provide the body with energy.

Stomach acids can be reduced by drinking unsweetened apple juice. The stomach acids are changed into carbonates that are neutral or alkaline and are known to help settle a sour stomach. The fiber in apples helps to eliminate body waste, lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of cancer. Apples have also been credited with medicinal benefits by acting as an anti-viral and a mild antibacterial agent.

As a result of learning the medicinal benefits of apples we can now understand the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," just a little better. Surprisingly, other foods, such as beans, blueberries, chili peppers to collard greens, figs to fish oils, garlic, nuts, onions, raspberries to spinach, watermelons, and numerous others, provide medicinal or healing benefits to the body. To learn more about these and other foods, please visit the Natural Always website at www.naturalways.com/medValFd.htm.

References

American Dietetic Association. (April 12, 2005). Functional foods: What are they? Retrieved March 31, 2006.

Gardner, Tiffany. (July 6, 2004). A "new" slant on eating: An Introduction to the world of "medicinal" foods. Retrieved March 27, 2006.

Grieve, M. (1995-2006). Apple. Botanical.com. Retrieved March 27, 2006.

Lynd, Mitch. (September 27, 2005). Great moments in apple history. Retrieved March 27, 2006.

MedicineNet.com. (July 9, 2002). Nutraceuticals, functional foods, phytochemicals Health protecting foods. Retrieved March 27, 2006.

Natural Ways to Health. (March 17, 2006). Medicinal benefits of whole foods. Retrieved March 27, 2006.

---

If you do not have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat and wish to view the PDF publication on this site, click here to download: