LeMoine 1

Sophia LeMoine

Mr.Smith

Junior ELA

6 November 2023

Apples

Most people have heard the very popular phrase ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’

and even though you may need to do a bit more than just eat an apple, they certainly do help.

While apples are not the proven best fruit ever with their seeds containing cyanide which is lethal

to humans in certain doses and sometimes being treated with pesticides that are harmful when

ingested, they are very popular and have many health benefits including the prevention of certain

kinds of cancer and other nutritional values, they are also a major staple of fall tradition.

Since apples are so high in antioxidants, fiber, and water they have a myriad of health

benefits for humans. “The fiber in apples not only promotes satiety but also helps mitigate blood

sugar spikes” (vasquez) making them very good for people with diabetes as apples help to

manage blood sugar in diabetics. This is due to the fiber content in the apple the body can't

absorb the sugars and they won't result in a spike. In addition too apples being able to help

manage blood sugar in people with diabetes, they can help prevent or lower a person's risk for

developing type two diabetes and in turn help reduce cardiovascular issues, as people with

diabetes are more likely to suffer from heart attacks or stroke according to the CDC. Another

health benefit from apples is their high fiber content which has been linked with reducing the risk

of heart disease. According to Healthline, apples “offer polyphenols [plant compounds]. Some of

these may help lower blood pressure” (Healthline) with their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory

effects. Polyphenols are plant compounds found in apples and their effectiveness depends on a
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person's ability to absorb them into their bloodstream. Lowering blood pressure helps reduce the

risk of heart disease by decreasing the strain on arteries and allow for more blood flow and

oxygen to a person's heart.

Apples are one of the most popular fruits, especially in the fall, and are so versatile when

it comes to ways they can be prepared and different types that are grown they can be included in

a diet in a variety of ways such as just eating them raw (or raw with cinnamon or peanut butter

on them), baking them into apple pie, or as apple sauce. The variety of just different types of

apples alone is incredible with “more than 7,500 different types of apples in existence around the

world, and more than 100 types grown in the U.S” (Good) not even mentioning the different

ways they can be consumed. With such a wide variety of different kinds of apples in the United

States and the world they are already widely abundant and likely everyone will be able to find

one they like with so many options. Even if you don't like eating apples raw though, with so

many different kinds of apples come different ways to prepare them, and certain types of apples

are better cooked into pie or made into juice or cider and aren't as good on their own while others

are not as good for baking as they don't hold their shape so well.

Along with apple picking as a popular fall activity “Besides pumpkins, apples are the

surest fall staple, and make up a good majority of this season's comfort food” (Arenella),

especially around Thanksgiving when apple crisp apple pie and apple cider are eaten. Apples are

an important part of fall due to the tradition of apple picking and being part of popular

Thanksgiving desserts like apple pie or crisp. Apples are one of the most popular and versatile

fruits and almost everyone will be able to find a type of apple or apple product that they like.

Despite apples having so many health benefits and being such an important part of fall

traditions they can be treated with pesticides that are harmful to humans and their seeds contain
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cyanide which is lethal to humans, and“most conventionally grown apples are drenched in

diphenylamine, an antioxidant chemical treatment used to prevent the skin of apples in cold

storage from developing brown or black patches” (Environmental working group). While

ingesting this pesticide has negative results it can be avoided by buying organic apples. For

people who can't afford to buy organic apples every time they go grocery shopping, this can be

avoided by washing and peeling the skin of the apple off before eating it as well. In addition to

pesticides on apples, apple seeds that contain cyanide can easily be accidentally eaten whether

you accidentally put some into a pie or a crisp or you take a bite out of an apple and accidentally

eat a seed. These seeds “contain a plant compound called amygdalin, which can have a toxic

effect. Amygdalin is a part of the seeds’ chemical defenses. It is harmless when a seed is intact,

but when a seed is chewed or otherwise damaged, the amygdalin degrades into hydrogen

cyanide” (Apple seeds). While this compound when eaten can be harmful, to get any reaction

you would have to eat a very high amount of seeds, around 100 or even much more, to actually

develop cyanide poisoning.

Apples are also very good for you health-wise, with proven benefits to heart health,

blood sugar and even preventing certain cancers. Despite the risk of ingesting trace amounts of

cyanide or pesticides, you will never accidentally eat a harmful amount of cyanide from apple

seeds and pesticides can be avoided by spending a little more money on organic apples or simply

removing the skin, so the health benefits far outweigh the possible deficits.
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Works Cited

“EWG's 2023 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce | Apples.” EWG,

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/apples.php. Accessed 9 November 2023.

Good, Brian. “Apple Facts and History | Scrumptious Bites.” Cheryl's Cookies,

https://www.cheryls.com/blog/apple-facts/. Accessed 9 November 2023.

koutsos, et al. “Apples and Cardiovascular Health—Is the Gut Microbiota a Core

Consideration?” NCBI, 26 May 2015,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4488768/. Accessed 9 November 2023.

Richter, Amy, and Deborah Weatherspoon. “10 Impressive Health Benefits of Apples.”

Healthline, 27 June 2023,

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-apples#10-benefits. Accessed

9 November 2023.

Stevenson, Jennifer. “Why the Campus Farmers Market is Great for Appalachian and the High

Country.” Spoon University, 28 April 2017,

https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/farmers'-market-campus. Accessed 9 November

2023.

Vasquez, Isabel. “Are Apples Good for Diabetes? What a Dietitian Says.” EatingWell, 6 June

2023, https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8050345/apples-and-diabetes/. Accessed 9

November 2023.
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H Argument Essay Rubric

Skill Not Yet Foundational Proficient Advanced

Identifies a basic claim Appears in first Thesis establishes a

Thesis paragraph complex claim

Thesis establishes a Establishes

topic and a claim counter-argument in
claim

Topic sentences Topic sentences have Topic sentences have

Claims/Reasons contain basic claims clear and distinct clear and distinct
claims that relate to claims that relate to
the thesis the thesis and make
nuanced points that
consider alternate
perspectives or
counterarguments

Uses some brief Uses multiple pieces Uses a variety of

Evidence examples, or one of evidence (personal evidence (see
example, to support experience, anecdotes, previous column) that
each claim; may all be survey, research etc.) supports each claim;
personal experience to support each claim different types of
evidence in each body
paragraph

Use of reliable outside

sources

Brief explanation of Explains how Provides strong

Analysis how evidence evidence supports explanations of how
supports topic topic sentence/claim evidence supports
sentence of individual of individual topic sentence and the
paragraphs paragraphs and the thesis while also
thesis considering
counterarguments
Includes at least 2
concessions in body Seamlessly mentions
paragraphs concession, and offers
response/rebuttal

Counter- Makes some mention Structure Well-structured and

Argument of opposing argument counter-argument effective
which: counter-argument
Mentions the which:
opposing argument, Establishes an aspect
some mention of how of the opposing
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opposing argument argument, clearly and

may be disproven logically disproves the
argument
Some elements missing Heading is correctly No errors in MLA
MLA Format or some errors in MLA formatted format
format
Pages are numbered

In-text citations are

correctly formatted (if
sources are used)

Works Cited format:

hanging indent,
double-spaced,
alphabetized, starts on
a new page (if sources
are used)

Works Cited: each

source entry is in
correct MLA format (if
sources are used)
Shows evidence of Quotes are correctly Quotes are correctly
Conventions basic proofreading integrated most of the integrated
time (if sources are
used) Shows evidence of
careful proofreading
Follows essay
organization (claims in Includes fluid
topic sentence; transitions between
evidence; analysis; ideas
concluding sentences)
Eliminates wordiness
Shows evidence of
proofreading

Utilizes mostly simple Some varied sentence Consistently varied

Fluency sentence structures structures sentence structures

Some use of advanced Advanced use of

vocabulary vocabulary; including
use of active verbs