Apples

Juicy Trivia

Apples have a sweet but not overpowering flavour, making them a great base for almost all fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies. They are very versatile and one of the few fruits that combine with just about every other fruit and vegetable.

Apples are botanically known as 'pome fruits,' meaning fleshy fruits. The word Pome is french and derives from the word pomme which means apple.

Approximately 25% of an apple is air which is why it floats in water! Not only that but they are also approximately 75% water so a great hydrator.

Jason Says...

I would always recommend Golden Delicious, Royal Gala or Pink Lady as they taste beautiful and don't produce a dark juice like Cox apples can. I personally never use Granny Smith or Cox for juicing as they create a very sharp and quite bitter juice. However, it's all down to personal taste so if you like something with a bit more bite then go for it! Never store bruised apples in with good quality, remember the saying 'one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.'

Juice or Smoothie?

Both: but predominantly juice. They can be blended to add thickness and fibre to a smoothie; there is no need to peel them, but always remove the core (which of course you don't have to do when juicing, just pop into the shoot, peel, core and all!) Apples, pineapple and carrot really are your best friends when it comes to making vegetables juice taste divine.

Juicy Benefits

Apples are high in a substance called pectin, a soluble fibre that forms a gel-like substance in the intestine. This gel can improve the intestinal muscles ability to push waste through the gastrointestinal tract by acting like a broom, sweeping through the intestine. Pectin also binds to toxins, helping to eliminate them from the gut. Similarly it can also bind to cholesterol, removing it from the body, which may aid in reducing high cholesterol levels. Apples contain ellagic, chlorogenic and caffeic acid which has reported anti-cancer action in the body. Ellagic acid's prime action is to protect against damage to chromosomes and block the cancer causing actions of many pollutants (especially cigarette smoke). It also helps to break down excessive cholesterol in the liver. Fresh apples and fresh apple juice contain 100 - 130 mg per 1000g of this valuable compound compared with pasteurised juices that hardly contain any. Uncooked, freshly extracted juices are nutritionally far superior to the cooked, shop bought varieties.

Research

The old saying is, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away". The NEW saying is 'an apple juice a day keeps the doctor away'. Studies have shown that apple juice has many positive health benefits. The National Heart and Lung Institute research, published in the European Respiratory Journal, found that children who drank apple juice at least once a day were half as likely to suffer from wheezing as those drinking it less than once a month. Interestingly the study also concluded that eating fresh apples themselves had no apparent benefits. This study illustrated how, at times, the juice contained within the fibres of fruits and vegetable, can have even greater health properties than the whole fruit. There have been other studies carried out showing that eating apples helps lower LDL (so called 'bad cholesterol) levels.

Vitamins, Minerals and Extras

Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, Folate and E.
Calcium, Chlorine, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulphur, Iron, Chromium,
Malic Acid, Pectin, Ellagic, Chlorogenic and caffeic acid, Phloridzin and Quercetin.
These are just some of the ones that have been recognised, there are undoubtedly many more secrets yet to be discovered.

References

Pinnock, Dale, 2011, Medical Cookery, Right Way, London.
Jensen, Bernard.Dr, 2000, Juicing Therapy, Keats Publishing, Illinois.
www.enwikipedia.org
www.juicebenefits.net
www.healthalternatives2000.com/

Disclaimer

Please be aware that we are not Doctors, so it is important BEFORE making any changes that you consult with your GP or Medical Practitioner. The suggestions above are not meant as an alternative to any current medical treatment so please DO NOT stop taking any medications you are on. They are also not an endorsement of their effectiveness, nor a recommendation that they should be followed but instead, provided for informational purposes. None of the information on the Natural Juice Therapy site is intended or implied to treat, cure or prevent any condition or disease.

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