In my household apples are a winter staple. Gone are all the soft fruits of spring and summer, leaving us with apples and mikan and little else! There is a wealth of information out there about the benefits of citrus fruit but not so much on the benefits of the poor old apple. We came across a very interesting article though which lists the results of current research into the various health benefits of apples. The three main points are their high levels of phytonutrients which function as antioxidants and protect the heart, their high levels of dietary fiber and their high levels of flavonoids. Most of these nutrients are to be found in the skin and pulp of an apple. Sadly is also the place where pesticides tend to collect and wax on the skin should also be avoided if possible which is why we recommend organic apples. Fresh organic fruit is not easy to find in Japan and it is always very expensive so as an alternative we stock organic apple juice. True, it isn’t as good as the whole fruit but it is a great deal better for you than regular supermarket juice and the reason for this is it’s cloudy. Since so much of the fiber, antioxidant and flavonoid content is held in the pulp of the fruit, it makes sense that including this in the juice will increase the nutritional benefits of the juice. The article mentioned above gives more information on research which supports this claim. And if you’ve ever wondered which apples go into Eden’s amazing apple juice here are just a few: viewing from left, Cortland, Empire, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, McIntosh and Red Delicious.