Apple Tree: Boost Your Health

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The all-popular fruit of the apple tree by itself is a true cornucopia of medicinal virtues and has been known for ages. Among these virtues, the digestive properties have been noted by the medical school of Salerno, which, from the 10th to the 13th centuries, wrote in Italy the following saying, quoted by Messegue: Post pirum da potum, post pomum vade cacatum (After pears, urine; after apples, feces).

Ernst Schneider healed diverse severe cases of dysentery during the Second World War with an apple diet lacking any other treatment. This allowed Dr. Schneider to discover the extraordinary healing properties of the fantastic fruit of the apple tree, which is entirely medicinal. Apples are a medicinal food par excellence.

Apple Tree Scientific Facts

1. French: Pommier.
2. Spanish: Manzano.
3. Environment: The apple tree is native to western Asia and has spread worldwide, both cultivated and wild (Malus silvestris Miller). It prefers cold climates and northern continental regions.
4. Description: The apple tree is a member of the Rosaceae family and is medium in size, with white flowers and fleshy fruits, of which more than one thousand varieties are known.
5. Parts of the plant used medicinally: The fruits, the bark, and the flowers.

Healing Properties and Indications

Apples contain 12 to 15 percent of sugars (dextrose, levulose, and saccharose), less than 0.5 percent of proteins and fats; minerals (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and traces of sodium), vitamins A, B1, C, and niacin; malic, citric, and salicylic acids; tannin, with astringent properties; pectin, a hydrocarbon substance with absorbent and antidiarrheic properties, and high amounts of enzymes. The apple tree and its fruit has the following properties:

1. Antidiarrheic. Apples can absorb bacterial toxins produced in the intestine, drying and reducing the inflammation of its mucosa. Apples are helpful for any form of mild or severe diarrhea caused by colitis, whether dysentery (bleeding and mucus in feces). They render relevant results for enterocolitis caused by eating spoiled food (food poisoning), frequently produced by a microorganism called salmonella. They are highly recommended for children’s gastroenteritis.
2. Laxative. Curiously, apples also regulate the flora and peristaltic movements of the intestine. This effect gives apples seemingly contradictory properties (antidiarrheic and laxative). When taken on an empty stomach in the morning, apples render relevant results for chronic or habitual constipation.
3. Diuretic and depurative. Due to their ability to absorb intestinal toxins, apples give good results for chronic skin eczema, sometimes caused by auto-immune system depression. Moreover, apples promote eliminating uric acid, urea, and other metabolic waste, thus recommended for people with arthritis, rheumatism, gout, and kidney stones.
        Due to their low sodium content, apples (as well as rice) are recommended to be included in the diet of people suffering from high blood pressure. With this, good results will be achieved in decreasing arterial pressure and reducing edema caused by liquid retention.
4. Hypolipemic. Apple pectin absorbs bile salts from the intestine, thus reducing one of our body’s raw materials to produce cholesterol. However, to achieve any result, long periods of treatment (more than three months) and eating two or three apples daily, in addition to following other dietary measures against cholesterol, are required.
5. It is a refreshing and stabilizing agent of the nervous system. Perhaps this action is due to its phosphorus content. It is recommended for excitation, nervousness, stress, and mental fatigue. The effects rendered are gentle and slow but secure and steady.

The apple tree’s fruit is an excellent medicinal food for all chronic ailments, such as digestive and respiratory ailments, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, hepatopathy (liver afflictions), kidney disorders, obesity, cardiopathy (heart afflictions), and high blood pressure. It is also recommended that the aging process be delayed.

Apple tree bark has invigorating febrifuge and astringent properties. It has been used as a substitute substance for quinine. It is used for infectious diseases, as a febrifuge, invigorating substance, and in recovery stages.

Apple tree flowers and leaves are diuretics. They are recommended for kidney stones, nephritis ( kidney inflammation), and arterial hypertension.

Apple Treatments

Apple treatment: To reinforce its benefits from all indications, we recommend taking one or two kg of apples as your only food for three to five days. They can be eaten grated, cooked, or baked without sugar. This treatment must be repeated two to four times a year.

Kempner diet: Consume only apples and rice, preferably together for a whole month. This diet is excellent for hypertension, excess cholesterol, obesity, and kidney affection.

How to use the Apple Tree

1. Raw apples (grated) are also roasted or boiled. From half to one kg daily. Unless they come from organic cultivations, it is better to peel them, thus not being treated with insecticides or other chemical products.
2. Juice. A glass of juice daily at breakfast ensures good physical results. It can be mixed with lemon or carrot juice to achieve a better revitalizing effect.
3. Decoction. Two sliced apples boiled in one liter of water for half an hour. Sweetened if desired, the resulting liquid is recommended for weakened ill people before starting any solid diet.
4. Bark decoction, prepared with 50-100 g of apple tree bark per liter of water. Drink from three to five cups daily as an invigorating, febrifuge, and astringent.
5. Decoction of leaves and flowers with 50 g per liter of water. Drink four to five cups daily as a diuretic.

DISCLAIMER: All content on this website is presented solely for educational and informational objectives. Do not rely on the information provided as a replacement for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical expert. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have any preexisting medical concerns, talk to your doctor before using any herbal or natural medicines.

REFERENCES

1. George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. “Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants.” George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Ed. Francesc X. Gelabert. vols. 2 San Fernando de Henares: Editorial Safeliz, 2000. 513, 514. Print.
2. SDA FoodData Central: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ 
3. WebMD: Apples: Nutrition & Health Benefits https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/benefits-apples
4. Study on Quercetin and Neuroprotection: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808415/