An apple a day keeps the doctor away
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a common English-language proverb of Welsh origin. The proverb stems from the benefits of eating caraway seeds and the apple was a way to eat the seeds.[1]. There is no scientific evidence that eating an apple a day has any significant health effects.
Origin
First recorded in the 1860s, the proverb originated in Wales, and was particularly prevalent in Pembrokeshire.[2] The original wording of the saying was "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread."[3] The current phrasing, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", began usage at the end of the 19th century.[4][5][6]
The background for the proverb was that at bedtime it was served either a fried apple filled with caraway seeds or a fresh apple with caraway seeds stuck in the apple.[1] Caraway was considered healthy and the apple was a way to eat as much caraway as possible.[1]
Scientific evaluation
A 2015 study found no evidence that the proverb was true: adult consumers of one small apple per day had the same number of physician visits as those who did not eat apples. The study also found that people who ate an apple a day used fewer prescription medications.[7] Other than for a moderate amount of carbohydrates as fructose and dietary fiber, an average-size apple supplies few calories and has a low content of micronutrients.
References
- ^ a b c Annemarta Borgen (1973). "Innenlandske ville kryddurter: Karve". Urtehagen på Knatten (in Norwegian). Gyldendal. pp. 37–38. ISBN 8205060118.
Opprinnelsen til ordspråket om at "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" er at ved sengetid ble det før servert enten et stekt eple fylt med karve eller et friskt gjennomstukket med karve. Eplet var der for at folk skulle få mest mulig karve i seg.
- ^ Phillips, J. P. (1866). "A Pembrokeshire proverb". Notes Queries. 127 (s3-IX): 153.
- ^ Hazlitt, W. C. (1907). English proverbs and proverbial phrases. London, Reeves, and Turner. p. 136.
- ^ Ely, Margaret (24 September 2013). "History behind 'An apple a day'". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ "The Pomological Show: Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register". George Bayley. 26 November 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ "The Country Gentleman". Vol. LXXVIII, no. 50. 13 December 1913. pp. Cover, 7, 37. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
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(help) - ^ Davis, Matthew A.; Bynum, Julie P. W.; Sirovich, Brenda E. (1 May 2015). "Association between apple consumption and physician visits". JAMA Internal Medicine. 175 (5): 777. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.5466. PMC 4420713. PMID 25822137.