What can an apple tell us about nutrition? Lots. Apples are an amazing source of so many good things that nutritionally benefit us. (We are just using apples as an example. The same could be said for oranges, kale, radishes, etc.) Have a look at this list of goodies in every apple. One medium apple with skin contains:
Protein 0.47 grams, Calories 95, and Dietary Fiber 4.4 grams.
Minerals: Potassium 195 mg, Calcium 11 mg, Phosphorus 20 mg, Magnesium 9 mg, Manganese 0.064 mg, Iron 0.22 mg, Sodium 2 mg, Copper 0.049 mg, Zinc 0.07 mg, also contains a trace amount of other minerals.
Vitamins: Vitamin A 98 IU, Vitamin B1 (thiamine) 0.031 mg, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 0.047 mg, Niacin 0.166
mg, Folate 5 mcg, Pantothenic Acid 0.111 mg, Vitamin B6 0.075 mg, Vitamin C 8.4 mg, Vitamin E 0.33 mg, Vitamin K 4 mcg, and contains some other vitamins in small amounts.
That reads more like a list from a multivitamin, except the apple didn’t have any added preservatives, food coloring or sugar.
What is even more amazing, is that our bodies are uniquely created to eat, process and put to good use all of the apple’s ingredients. Let’s take a look at the Vitamin C in an apple. Our list says that an apple has 8.4 mg of Vitamin C. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Vitamin C is 200 mg. Hmmm… The apple appears to have 25 times less Vitamin C than the RDA. Many people would contend that 200 mg is just enough Vitamin C to ward off scurvy and so they push for higher amounts, upwards of 1500 to 2000 mg per day.
It would appear that when we reduce the apple to its core (pun intended), one would have to eat a lot of apples to get to the recommended RDA. However, some research done at Cornell University on apples and Vitamin C discovered that 1) apples did have about 8.4 mg of Vitamin C, but 2) that the apple produced 1500 mg of Vitamin C-like benefits when eaten. This is incredible! Our bodies are able to magnify the 8.4 mg of Vitamin C and deliver 178 times more benefit. And that is only one nutrient. What about potassium or manganese or iron?
The same body that breathes on its own, circulates blood on its own, and heals cuts on its own, is probably more than capable to mix and match any combination of nutrients based on what the body needs at that moment.
One could start to imagine, that if our food supply was grown on healthy organically managed soils, that weren’t abused by chemical fertilization, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, how much healthier our food supply would be. If our nation’s soil was rich in nutrients and the foods we eat were grown in that that type of soil, Americans would be among the healthiest people in the world.
Fortunately, in America, we still have the freedom to choose life-giving foods, rich in nutrients that will nourish us and sustain us. So the next time you think your body needs an immune booster, just reach for two apples and let your body decide how it wants to best use all the nutrients.
