Wikipedia says that the original proverb recorded in print at the end of the 19th century was “eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” The more concise modern version is seen at the very end of the 19th century and just at the start of the 20th century.
But is there any truth in the proverb? Well, yes and no. It has been studied and the results published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, as you can probably guess. Using data from the 2007–2008 and 2009–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a 2015 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Internal Medicine found that after adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, there was no statistically significant difference between apple eaters and non-apple eaters as far as visits to the doctor goes. However, before any adjustments to results, “apple eaters were more likely, in the crude analysis, to keep the doctor (and prescription medications) away: 39.0 percent of apple eaters avoided physician visits vs. 33.9 percent of non–apple eaters.” The conclusion was that “evidence does not support that an apple a day keeps the doctor away; however, the small fraction of US adults who eat an apple a day do appear to use fewer prescription medications.”
For those that wish to eat better, eating apples is a great place to start!
Apples are low in fat and calories and contain roughly four grams of fiber which is 17 percent of the recommended daily value. Apples are also a good source of vitamin C.
When foods have fewer calories in a given weight of food, they are said to be less calorically dense. As you can see by the caloric density scale below, fruits and vegetables are at the lowest end of the caloric density scale, making them a highly desirable food to increase in your diet.
Caloric Density Scale
- Vegetables: 60-195 calories per pound
- Fruit: 140-420 calories per pound
- Potatoes, pasta, rice, corn, hot cereals: 320-630 calories per pound
- Beans, peas, lentils: 310-780 calories per pound
- Breads, bagels, muffins, dried fruit: 920-1,360 calories per pound
- Sugars; granulated sugar, honey, corn syrup, agave, maple syrup: 1,200 -1,800 calories per pound
- Dry cereals, chips, crackers: 1,480-3,200 calories per pound
- Nuts and seeds: 2,400-3,200 calories per pound
- Oil: 4,000 calories per pound
I was asked several times this week about a good diet to start with if one is trying to improve their eating habits.
Choosing a diet for weight loss and health can be confusing. The truth is that there are a number of diets that can be effective based on your level of commitment and what you are trying to achieve. Some diets are very easy to follow and can yield good results over time, but will not show results immediately. Other diets are difficult to follow, but show results quickly. No diet is right for everybody, and YOU need to decide what is right for you! The important thing is to determine what diet is realistic for you at this point in your life; choose a diet you can stick to! I like to think of all the diet choices as a “spectrum” of diets with a diet called the “DASH” diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) on the moderate or conservative side of the diet spectrum and the very plant-based whole foods diet on the extreme and more result-oriented side of the diet spectrum. The DASH diet is the most conservative diet that has been shown in well-done studies published in peer-reviewed journals to be at least moderately effective in lowering blood pressure, but as a side effect study, participants also lost small amounts of weight and lowered cholesterol a little. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)–a division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)–states that “The DASH diet has been well studied in many clinical trials and in most of them has been associated with lowering of blood pressure. Further, there is evidence to show that the DASH diet also lowers the risk of adverse cardiac events, stroke, type two diabetes and obesity.”
The DASH diet is a great place to start if you are new to the concept of watching what you eat. You are going to have to educate yourself just a little and follow some numbers. There are four calories in every gram of carbohydrate and protein and nine calories in every gram of fat.
- Carbohydrate 1gram = 4 calories
- Protein 1gram = 4 calories
- Fat 1gram = 9 calories
- Alcohol 1gram = 7 calories
For a 2,100 calorie diet, the DASH diet wants you to eat 27 percent of calories from fat (567 calories or 63 grams), six percent of calories from saturated fat (126 calories or 14 grams), 18 percent of calories from protein (378 calories or 95 grams), 55 percent of calories from carbohydrate (1,155 calories or 289 grams), 150 mg of cholesterol, 1,500-2,300 mg of sodium and 30 grams of fiber. Look at these daily numbers as a firm upper limit (meaning eat no more and less if possible) except the fiber, which is a firm lower limit (meaning eat no less and more if you can). The further you can reduce fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, the more weight you will lose and the more significant health benefits you will realize.
DASH Diet Parameters: For a 2,100-calorie diet
- 27 percent of calories from fat (567 calories or 63 grams)
- 6 percent of calories from saturated fat (126 calories or 14 grams)
- 18 percent of calories from protein (378 calories or 95 grams)
- 55 percent of calories from carbohydrate (1,155 calories or 289 grams)
- Limit cholesterol to 150 mg
- Limit sodium to 1,500-2,300 mg
- Get at least 30 grams of fiber every day
A typical serving guide for a patient following the DASH diet is as follows:
- Vegetables: about five servings per day
- Fruits: about five meals per day
- Carbohydrates: about seven servings per day
- Low-fat dairy products: about two servings per day
- Lean meat products: about two or fewer servings per day
If you are an average American, your diet probably looks the opposite. Average Americans are hard-pressed to get just one or two servings of vegetables and fruits a day and more likely to get four or five dairy and meat servings a day.
It’s easy to get weighed down in nutrition details and numbers, so keep it simple stupid! Reduce salt, fat and sugar and increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fiber. Without exception, every responsible diet includes these general principles as the backbone of the diet.
Although an apple a day may not keep the doctor away, it is an excellent start on your quest for five servings of fresh fruit and 30 grams of fiber a day!
Have a great week!
Here is the reference for today’s Healthy Eating Tip:
Davis, Matthew A.; Bynum, Julie P. W.; Sirovich, Brenda E. (May 1, 2015). “Association between apple consumption and physician visits.” Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. 2015.05.01. 175(5):777–83.