An apple a day keeps the doctor away - wikipedia An apple a day keeps the doctor away It is commonly believed that apple consumption has health benefits. `` An apple a day keeps the doctor away '' is a common English - language proverb of Welsh origin. It espouses the folk - wisdom that apple consumption ( or consumption of fruits and vegetables in general ) has identifiable health benefits. Origin First recorded in the 1860s, the proverb originated in Wales, and was particularly prevalent in Pembrokshire. The first English version of the saying was `` Eat an apple on going to bed, and you 'll keep the doctor from earning his bread. '' The current phrasing ( `` An apple a day keeps the doctor away '' ) was first used in print in 1922. Scientific evaluation A red apple with a heart - shaped bite. A 2011 study found that consumption of apples and pears might prevent strokes. A 2012 study found that apple consumption significantly lowered bad cholesterol levels in middle - aged adults. In 2013, the BMJ published a study as part of its humorous Christmas issue comparing the effects of prescribing everyone in the UK over age 50 either an apple or a statin a day. The study concluded that both interventions would be similarly effective. A 2015 study looked directly at the relationship between apple consumption and physician visits and found no evidence that the proverb was true. The study did, however, find that people who ate an apple a day did use fewer prescription medications. However, a 2011 study found that adding one ' Golden Delicious ' apple to the daily diet of a small group of overweight men led to higher levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. The higher sugar and low - phenolic content of ' Golden Delicious ' apples was blamed for the results. References ^ Jump up to : Ely, Margaret ( 24 September 2013 ). `` History behind ' An apple a day ' ''. Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` An apple a day keeps the doctor away ''. Jump up ^ Briggs, A.D.M. ; Mizdrak, A. ; Scarborough, P. ( 17 December 2013 ). `` A statin a day keeps the doctor away : comparative proverb assessment modelling study ''. BMJ. 347 ( dec17 2 ) : f7267 -- f7267. doi : 10.1136 / bmj. f7267. Lay summary. Jump up ^ Davis, Matthew A. ; Bynum, Julie P.W. ; Sirovich, Brenda E. ( 1 May 2015 ). `` Association Between Apple Consumption and Physician Visits ''. JAMA Internal Medicine. 175 ( 5 ) : 777. doi : 10.1001 / jamainternmed. 2014.5466. Lay summary. Jump up ^ James, Wong ( 4 October 2015 ). `` Gardens : the truth about apples ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2016. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=An_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away&oldid=805434402 '' Categories : English proverbs Apples Nutrition Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch 日本 語 தமிழ் 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 October 2017, at 11 : 02. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where does an apple a day keeps the doctor away come from
Answer: the proverb originated in Wales, and was particularly prevalent in Pembrokshire