An apple a day keeps the doctor away

English sayings

11 0 Published by Denisa at 31/08/2018

This proverb is actually of Welsh origin and although the key message was the same, in the past it sounded a little bit different "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread".

Although it refers to apples, we can deduce that it really refers to a healthy diet in general, to eating fruit and vegetables in order to stay healthy and visit the doctor less. Because, just like other proverbs say "It’s better to prevent than to lament", or "Prevention is better than cure".

What you might not expect is that many studies have actually been conducted to try to determine if eating apples in particular can really have a positive impact on our health. And although the short answer is that indeed, they can, it is on the condition that we buy apples that are very natural, organic and that we also eat the peel. On the other hand, it has also been proven that for people with specific health issues, eating apples, especially the very sweet kinds, wasn’t as beneficial as they are still a source of sugar. But for the rest of us, surely an apple is not only healthy but highly preferable to any candy or dessert.

In Spanish, the translated version of this proverb is: Una manzana al día, de médico te ahorraría. There are many other sayings about diet, nutrition and health: