Apples have always played a significant yet diverse role in history. Today apples continue to astonish in medicine, with headlines reporting that an apple a day really does have health benefits. In 2013, researchers in Oxford suggested that either an apple a day or a statin (a kind of drug) seemed to be equally successful at preventing heart attacks and strokes in people over the age of 50.

EPIC study, one of the biggest studies of its kind, involves half a million people and looks at the effects of eating fruit and vegetables on disease. Participants consuming at least eight portions a day had an astonishing 22% lower risk of heart disease, and risks of some cancers were slightly reduced. However, other cancers were unaffected, and there was no real effect on diabetes.

How might the humble apple be declaring war on heart disease and cancer, two of our biggest killers? The answer might lie in polyphenols (多酚) in apples, which is useful for protecting the fruit from disease and also giving it color and flavor. They have the potential to protect our body by reducing blood stickiness and cholesterol (胆固醇) levels.

Several studies also show a reduction in blood pressure when more fruit and vegetables are eaten. Furthermore, apples contain a fibre called pectin (果胶) which sticks to cholesterol in the body, slowing their absorption. What is clear is that the apple is a complex mix of components, working together for the good of our health.

But can we eat enough apples a day to keep the doctor away? Eating too many may not be a good idea, especially with a risk of lasting exposure to low levels of pesticide. Some people are even allergic to apples, and they can wear away outer layer of tooth. The Department of Health’s advice to consume “5-a-day” (including both fruit and vegetables) might be a realistic starting point.

Emerging economies struggled to grow through the 2010s and pessimism covers them now. People wonder how they will pay debts during the COVID-19 and how they can grow rapidly as they did in the past in an era of deglobalisation (去全球化).

The freshest of many answers to this issue is the fast-spreading digital revolution. The digital revolution is already as progressive in emerging economies as developed ones. Among the top 30 nations by income from digital services as a share of gross domestic product(GDP), 16 are in the emerging world. Indonesia, for example, is further advanced by this measure than France or Canada. And since 2017, digital income has been growing in emerging countries at an average annual pace of 26 percent, compared with 11 percent in the developed ones.

How can it be that poorer nations are adopting common digital technologies faster than the rich? One explanation is habit and its absence. In societies filled with physical stores and services, customers are often comfortable with them and slow to abandon the providers. In countries where people have difficulty even finding a bank or a doctor, they will jump at the first digital option that comes along. Outsiders have a hard time grasping the impact digital services can have on underserved (服务不足的)populations. Nations lacking in schools, hospitals and banks can quickly bridge these gaps by establishing online services. Though only 5 percent of Kenyans carry credit cards, more than 70 percent have access to digital banking.

It’s early days, too. As economist Carlota Perez has shown, tech revolutions last a long time. Innovations like the car and the steam engine were still transforming economies half a century later. Now, the fading era of globalisation will limit the number of emerging markets, but the era of rapid digitisation has only just begun. This offers many developing economies a revolutionary new path to catch up with the living standards of the developed world.