International Eat an Apple Day: A Tribute to the Healthiest Fruit

International Eat an Apple Day is celebrated on September 21 this year. This date was selected in sync with apple harvesting around the globe. The day comes as a reminder for all of us to have an apple in any form, whether in the form of juice, pie or jam. The core objective behind celebrating this day is to encourage farmers to cultivate more apples and promote pomiculture (cultivation of fruits) in the world.

History Behind the International Eat an Apple Day

The widely known phrase, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, was given by Wales in 1866 in a publication after which it got popular around the world. Apples are originally from central Asia and was featured in many Greek and Arabian mythology, showcasing its importance and health benefits across the continents. This day is celebrated to cheer small scale farmers and vendors to grow and sell apples. This day is widely celebrated in the western countries.

5 Splendid Health Benefits of An Apple

• Fight Diseases – Apples lowers the chance of developing cancer-causing-cells, heart diseases, type 2 diabetes and respiratory problems. This rich in fiber fruit balances the bowel system and improves mental health in a human body. Not just gut health but it also helps to stable a person’s weight and fights obesity.

• Keeps You Hydrated – It is very essential for a person to keep themselves hydrated and healthy and 84-86 percent of an apple’s content is made up of water, and it is filled with vitamins and minerals.

• Balances Your Calorie-Count – A medium size apple contains around 50-80 calorie with many other nutrients and it is fat-free, sodium-free and cholesterol- free. For those who prefer to eat light and healthy can have this fruit any time.

• Immune-Booster – it contains a good amount of Vitamin C, which is a powerful natural antioxidant that helps to boost your body’s immunity and attacks the infectious agents and free radicals. Vitamin C also helps to heal the cut and wounds and keeps the gum and teeth healthy.

• Protect Your Brain – Apple contains a phytonutrient called Quercetin which protects our brain cells from oxidative stress and damage. It maintains a proper functioning of brain.

Nutritional Values of Apple

This fruit is filled with many nutritional values and health benefits. Here is the nutrition of a raw, unpeeled, medium- sized apple (182 grams) –

Global Scenario of Apple Production

Majorly this disease-fighting fruit is cultivated in 95 countries in the world and out of them China stands on the top of this list with more than half of the total world production of apple across the globe. China solely produces approx 44.5 million metric tons of apples in every crop year. The European union stands on the second place after China with a yearly production of approx 12.68 million metric tons. The United States is also one of the largest apple producers. The top ten apple-producing states in the United States are Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Virginia, North Carolina, Oregon, Ohio, and Idaho. According to a source, there are around 7,500 different varieties of apples present in the world, out of which 2,500 varieties are grown in United States. The top varieties of apple are Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Braeburn and others.

Indian Scenario of Apple Production

Jammu & Kashmir is the largest producer of apples in India with a total share of approx 75 percent in the total apple production of the country. The climatic condition of this region with a cool summer and a snowy winter is favorable for this fruit. Himachal Pradesh also produces a good quantity of apples for the country because of its ideal environmental conditions. Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are some of the other apple-producing states. By emphasizing the practices of sustainable agriculture together with the effort to improve the quality control process, these states still manages to achieve superiority in growing apple trees.