∗ The healthful image of apples probably finds its source in Greek myths, some of which have foundations as far back as the New Stone Age, in which apples are a token of knowledge and immortality. In one myth, Hercules achieves immortality by eating a sacred apple before submitting to his ritual slaughter. In other myths, apples are associated with the healing gods Apollo, Hercules and Dionysus.

∗ The custom of serving fresh fruit, particularly apples, at the end of a meal arose because of digestive qualities attributed to them by such early medical notables as Hippocrates and Galen, the latter a second-century Roman physician.

∗ The medieval physician´s bible, the Salerno medical school´s Prescription for Health, taught therapeutic applications of cooking apples for disturbances of the bowels, lungs and nervous system, to mention just a few.

∗ Apple juice was one of the earliest prescribed antidepressants.

∗ Apples´ curative powers were documented by self-proclaimed master surgeon John Gerarde in 1597. Apples were used as treatments for ailments from “a hot stomacke” and inflammations of all types, and as a beauty therapy.