Here's How Green Apples Can Help With Your Morning Sickness, According To Science

Whether it's agitated by the smell of dinner in the crockpot or it's just your normal morning routine, morning sickness can be one of the most uncomfortable ailments you can face. It can take a normal, healthy person from happy to miserable in a matter of seconds. For some reason, one thing that seems to help quell morning sickness is sour, tart, or tangy foods. Many people keep lemons handy, but now that apples are in season, you may want to try a new tart fruit. So do green apples help with morning sickness?

To find out whether or not green apples can help ease or prevent morning sickness, Romper reached out to Chicago pharmacist Bineesh Moyeed, PharmD. She says that because green apples are tangy and sour, they may help some people with nausea, but there isn’t enough research or evidence to definitively prove it. “There is no actual scientific data to support green apples as a preventative measure or cure for nausea,” says Moyeed, “but if it does help, that’s a good thing.” She adds that because green apples are also a healthy fruit, you would be killing two birds with one stone by easing your nausea and adding a nutritious element to your diet.

Other than the tangy taste, how else can green apples help with nausea? According to Everyday Health, the fiber content of apples can help slow down digestion to help relieve nausea, but if you are not able to keep foods down, then the fiber may make you vomit. So if your morning sickness or general nausea is severe and accompanied by vomiting, you may want to take small sips of green apple juice instead of eating the actual apples. Green apples contain pectin, explained Home Remedies for Life, which helps in neutralizing the acids in your stomach and can prevent you from feeling nauseated. The article suggested drinking a mixture of green apple juice and lemon juice, with a pinch of black pepper, to quell or prevent a bout of nausea.

What causes that morning sickness anyway? Over 50 percent of pregnant women suffer and Baby Center noted that the nausea is likely being caused by the fluctuation of pregnancy hormones, which can leave you with a more sensitive sense of taste and smell, triggering bouts of nausea more easily.

If you suffer from motion sickness, the nausea is caused by the conflicting signals sent from your body, inner ears, and eyes to the brain, explained University of Maryland Medical Center. When you are traveling by boat, car, or airplane, your inner ear may sense motion or movement that your eyes can’t see, and your eyes may reversely see something (like a still cabin) that your body doesn’t feel. These mixed signals can go on to disrupt the gastric rhythm in your system, causing you to feel sick to your stomach. Nausea, the website further noted, can make you feel dizzy, fatigued, and can sometimes lead to headaches, cold sweats and vomiting.

I suffer from severe motion sickness, so I usually keep strong mint gum, lemon slices, or salt and vinegar chips on hand if I am going for a long drive or flight. There is something about the tart and sour taste that makes me feel less queasy, but green apples are starting to look like a better option. They are more portable than sliced lemons, so they eliminate the issue of lemon juice leaking all over the place, and you don't need ziplock bags to carry them. Best of all, they are much healthier than salt and vinegar potato chips (full of all that yummy fat and sodium), so I won’t have to feel guilty about scarfing down a whole bag. Luckily, green apples are in season, and they may just be the nausea remedy you (and I) have been looking for.

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