The saying as we know it was coined in 1913 but was actually born from a rhyme as far back as 1866 in Wales which went a bit like this: “Eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread”.
You can be sure that someone somewhere has delved into the research behind this to try and prove or disprove the old adage. We can confirm that there is no hard evidence that eating an apple will actually keep the Dr away. If there was, we are sure apples would be our currency! What the research does suggest though is that people who eat fruit every day were statistically healthier individuals in general meaning fewer visits to the doctor.
We do still want to celebrate the humble apple however as it is a super healthy part of a balanced diet. Apples provide fibre, vitamin C, potassium and vitamin K. A medium apple provides 2–4% of the RDI for manganese, copper, and the vitamins A, E, B1, B2, and B6.
With vitamins A and C, apples do provide some powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, immune-supporting properties which can help the body fight infection. Due to the fibre present, mostly in the skin, apples have also been linked to a healthy heart by helping to lower cholesterol.
So when talking about immunity, the apple certainly does help provide us with what we need but perhaps cannot be solely responsible for keeping the doctor at bay. What is more likely is that the phrase was developed because children throughout the ages still need a little help to eat their greens.
