Apples are one serious staple in the All-American fruit category!  And we have all heard the phrase “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!”  Just recently, researchers at Dartmouth published their findings from a study that looked specifically at this issue … does eating an apple a day have any effect on the number of doctor’s visits?

The study included over 8,000 adults who completed food and health questionnaires. The “apple eaters” ate at least 1 small apple daily,  Here are the results:

• 9% of the participants ate “an apple a day”
  ● the number of doctor’s visits was about the same for both groups
  ●   the number of overnight hospital stays was about the same for both groups
• the number of prescription medications used was lower in the “apple” group
  Here is the Study Conclusion: “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.”

OK, so we finally have a scientific answer to this burning health topic!  An apple a day doesn’t keep the doctor away.   Now, maybe we will see the research study that looks at whether “An organic apple a day keeps the doctor away!”  No, I’m serious about this.  Both fellow Oatie, Aisleagh, and I wrote about “why organic apples” last fall.  Aisleagh’s post opens with this sentence …. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away is a familiar refrain to us North Americans, but what happens if the apples are covered in potentially harmful chemicals”?  Her post is fantastic!  My post “Speaking of apples – organic really matters”  goes into a lot of other detail, including the fact that non-organic apples rank #1 on the Environment Working Group’s Dirty Dozen !

If non-organic apples rank #1 in pesticide residue, do we think the health benefits of apples might be better if the apples were organic?  Right, that is an easy question to answer.  Apples are a deliciously healthy fruit choice.  Fellow Oatie, Chelsea wrote a wonderful blog about apples.  So, from here on out, I’m changing what I say to “An organic apple a day keeps the doctor away!”