Stewed apples in Ayurveda can be particularly helpful for gut health. With their high fiber content, antioxidants, and ability to gently detox the liver, apples are a simple but secretly super fruit. Apples come in a variety of shapes, colors, and flavors and provide a range of nutrients that can benefit many different aspects of a person’s health.
Apples are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, all of which benefit health. They also provide an array of antioxidants. These substances help neutralize free radicals. Along with its ability to help the body get back into balance, stewed apples in Ayurveda can also help naturally balance blood sugar, boost digestion and curb cravings (1).
Both cooked and raw apples are healthy, but stewed apples can be particularly helpful for gut health. Stewed apples in Ayurveda have an extra benefit: gut-healing pectin. This special form of fiber is released during the stewing process, and new evidence suggests that it may help to repair and maintain the intestinal mucosa lining (2).
Even though pectin is present in raw apples too, its effect is more pronounced when the apples are cooked. You know you’ve released a gut-healing level of pectin when stewed apples develop a gel-like sheen.
See more benefits in the video below and continue reading:
Benefits of Stewed Apples in Ayurveda
1. Gentle Digestion Boost
Balancing your digestive Agni is a key principle in ayurvedic medicine. That’s why Ayurveda recommends a number of general practices for better digestion. Stewed apples help to gently wake up your digestive fiber and start the process. The fiber in the stewed apples aids your digestion to cleanse your system and eliminates impurities (3).
2. Improves Immune System
There is a theory of immunity in Ayurveda called the beej-bhumi theory, which means “seed and land.”. Your body is comparable to the land, and infection or “bugs” are like seeds. If your body is filled with toxins, infections can find the body as fertile ground for spreading, just as land that is fertile will sprout many seeds.
Stewed apples contain quercetin, a type of plant pigment flavonoid that helps boost your immune system and reduce inflammation (4). And with its fiber content stewed apples strengthen the digestive system. Assisting the body to eliminate toxins and improve your immune system.
3. Improves Elimination
The truth is that, for all of us, our bowel habits and stools can teach us a great deal about what our bodies need in order to return to balance. Ayurveda views elimination as an important indicator of overall health because healthy elimination generally points to strong agni (digestive fire), which is one of the cornerstones of well-being and longevity.
Stewed apples contain a specific type of soluble fiber called pectin, which is known for its laxative effect (5).
4. Curbs Appetite
Stewed apples do a great job of filling your stomach, as they have a high water content and can keep you feeling full with their ample amounts of fiber. Stewed apples also contain pectin which can help prevent blood sugar spikes that leave you running for the kitchen.
5. Improves Skin
Stewed apples are also an excellent source of vitamin C, an important water-soluble vitamin that aids growth, development, and tissue repair. This can help improve your skin’s appearance. Like flavonoids, vitamin C is a type of antioxidant, meaning that it reduces damage from free radicals and diminishes atrophy and dysfunction caused by aging (6).
Vitamin C also may reduce your likelihood of developing chronic conditions and diseases, such as arthritis, heart disease and some forms of cancer.
Stewed Apples Ayurveda Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole fresh, sweet apple, cored and peeled
- 1 tsp ghee or coconut oil
- Warming spices like cloves, cinnamon, cardamon, ginger.
- ¼ cup of purified water
Directions
- Dice apple into small pieces.
- In a pot warm the oil or ghee
- Add 1 tsp each of the warm spices and allow to simmer for a minute
- Add apple, and water and cover the pot.
- Cover and simmer for 5 mins or until tender taking care not to let it dry out – add a splash of water if necessary.
- Cool slightly, and enjoy.
It is recommended to eat stewed apples 1 hour before breakfast to help ease your digestion process and start the day. This is excellent to balance vata dosha as it is important to eat foods that are warming.