VALUE OF APPLES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 131, 19 June 1937, Page 19

VALUE OF APPLES

Creates Resistance To Disease FOUNTAIN OF UFE The following article is extracted fx'Qiu; a publieation eatitled ' ' Canadian Grown Apples,/' which publieation waa lssued by the Fruit Braneh of the Department of Agriculture, Canada. ' 4 The apple, mpre than any other food - with which we are aequainted, possesses in the highest degree therapeutie advantages . . . . It is undoubtedly this th'at justiiies the high place it oecupies in f olk lore and that it ahould ocoupy in our estimation. ' ' There you have the secret of the apple 's ancient popularity, but you do not have to aecept it merely as a legend. Dr. Ira A. Manville, Direetor of the Nutritional Laboratory or the University of Oregon Medical Sehool, ha's put those legends to clinical test. 4 4 Science at last has supplied the reason why the apple has been esteemed through the ages for its healthfui properties, ' ' he told the International Apple Association recently. Naturally,. assoQiation .members hold the 'apple ih. high estoem a'nd they were ready to believe well of their favourite fruit. But the savant ignored tke oft-repeated sentimental appeals ana repxted cold taets proved by seientista geeking o®ly Ihe truth. He presented statistics relating to children 's diseases. 4The suecess attendiug the nse of raW apple pu,lp or of apple poxvder in milk formulate in the treatment of infantile intest'inal diseases is nothing short of marveb lous," He xecited that the death rate among children* led oh cow's milk is far higker than that of children fed on mother's milk. To improve the lifegiving qualities of cow's milk medicai men have fortified it with apple phlp. "A careful suuun^ry of all tke case histories repox-ted, shows that 1021 children have been trated for , various intestinal disorders with ' ra,w apple pulp. Of these, 1QQ5 showpd complete recovery, while 16 failed to respond," he sadd, i This wouid seem to be so clearly co.i' clusive that there is no argument. But Dr. Manville throws more iight; on the tests: 4 4 This is reinai'kable when it is considered that many of the individuala receiving this type of therapy were not placed on this treatment exeept as a last resort. " In other words, ' when other thing's failed, Old Doe Apple caine through with flying eolours 4 4 The use of apple powder is meeting with equal success, " according to Manville. 4 4 Apple in tho lalter form is espeeially desirable since it exists in a form c'apable of • being Stored so .ae to be available the year around and represents a produet of uniform and known potency. ' ' When this faet beeomes gonerally known it may be expected the family medicine cabinet never will be Without a package of powdered apple, to guard against the calamity of not being able to obtain fresh apples and apple pulp. 4 4 When the therapeutie valne of the apple is more generally recognised — and this is simply a matter of education — it will be used phophylactically as mnch or more than any therapeutie use to which it may be put," Dr. Manville says. ' 4I do not hesitate to say that to children in the large cities and to those living in areas where it is conxmon for the temperatures to reach high levels and hold these levels for long periods of tiine, such xnethods of prophylaxis of therapeutie treatment will prove to be one of the greatest blessings of recent times. "The curative factors found in the apple need not be limited to children exclusively. Evidence is aceumulatiug co the eft'ect that adults Sufferiug from such conditions as ulcerative colitis may be cured by the use of apple pomace or apple powder." Dr. Manville explains "the only sugar whiclx the body is capable of using is glucose. If other sugars are fed, they niust firat be converted to giucose before they can be used. This process of conversion (internal) requires time. This element of time is an important factor in conditioning the degree to which a certain amount of sugar may be utilised by the body . . . ior this reason the Germans have classiiied fruits and vegetables according to their ability to Supply sugar and at the same timo not increase the coneentration of the sugar in the blood' to Such a degree that the excess would be eliminated in the urine. . . Apples, beets, peaches and nuts were found to have the highest valne; pears, bananas, oranges and grapes were intermediate, while low values wero assigued to apricots, currants, and iigs." Apptes are a source of vitamina A and C, altJiough the- vitamin potency varles with dilferent vnrieties. Manville says: 4It is Ihe common belief that oranges are a good scfurce of vitamin A, yefe Shermau assigns to tuem'a valne of only 20 nnits (per otxuce). There are several varieties of apples that exeeed this value by more than 50 per cent." ,4I believe that the great increase in inc.ideuce of respiratofy infeetion« which occur in the first three months of the year can be explained to a very iai-ge extent to the depletion of vitamin A rosserves- — results that are built ap during the spring and stxmmer bv eat:ng those foods which make their appearnnce during these seasons," Manville says. 4If an amount of diphtheria toxin wliich in itself is capable of killing a guinea pig is aduunistered along w'ith a few inxlligfams of crystalme vitamin C, no fatalitv rosults. The admixtnre of vitamin G with several fefbal doses of diphtheria toxin convcrts tlie latter into a harmless produet. ' '