Concept in Definition ABC

The apple is a fruit native to Central Asia and since ancient times it has been valued as a very healthy food. It has a sweet flavor and presents different varieties (the golden, the fuji and the red delicious are the best known). To the margin of its nutritional properties, has a meaning symbolic.

A fruit with nutritional properties and very beneficial for health

It has innumerable health benefits. It has abundant minerals and vitamins (it contains potassium, phosphorus, calcium, boron, iron and magnesium and vitamin A, B6, C, E and K). Some studies indicate that consumption of two apples a day can help maintain a heart healthy. Its relationship with the cardiovascular system is due to the fact that it contains pectin, a substance that reduces cholesterol levels in the blood.

It is considered to be useful in combating gallbladder problems. On the other hand, its consumption is recommended for people with gastric problems, flatulence, anemia or arthritis. When chewing the apple, saliva is produced and this circumstance benefits the oral cleaning.

This fruit contains antioxidants that neutralize free radicals that cause cancer tumors and is a powerful ally to improve the digestion or constipation.

According to some studies, its regular consumption helps keep the brain active and can also reduce the risk of breast, colon and liver cancer.

In the kitchen it is an ingredient with infinite possibilities

There are numerous recipes related to this fruit. It can be consumed with all kinds of combinations (such as flan, as part of a fruit salad, in sponge cakes, in puree, in sauce, in juice, etc.). However, apple pie is probably the most internationally known recipe (although its exact origin is not known, in some English cookbooks of the Middle Ages apple pie recipes are already available).

Its historical and cultural dimension

From a historical point of view this fruit is remembered as the fruit of sin. While in the book of Genesis it is not indicated that Adam ate the apple that Eve gave him (it speaks of the forbidden fruit), in the Renaissance painters used this fruit to reproduce biblical scenes on original sin with images.

In everyday language the expression "being a bad apple" is used to remind that a person with evil can corrupt others. References to this fruit abound in the Spanish proverb ("women and apples, there are many rotten ones that seem healthy" or "the rotten apple rots its neighbor").

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