An apple a day may not really keep the doctor away

The phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” might not be true any longer as apples cannot really do that, however, it can help using fewer prescription medications.

The study compared daily apple eaters those who consumed at least 1 small apple per day or 149 grams of raw apple with non-apple eaters. Of the 8,399 survey participants who completed a dietary recall questionnaire, 753 (9 percent) were apple eaters and 7,646 (91 percent) were non-apple eaters.

The study found that apple eaters had higher educational attainment, were more likely to be from a racial or ethnic minority, and were less likely to smoke and the authors measured “keeping the doctor away” as no more than one self-reported visit to a physician during the past year.

The study suggested that the promotion of apple consumption may have limited benefit in reducing national health care spending and in the age of evidence-based assertions, however, there may be merit to saying ‘An apple a day keeps the pharmacist away’.