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Sunday, September 08, 2002

New Study Links Apples To Reduced Risk Of Stroke

MCLEAN, Va. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" continues to gain new scientific support, according to newly-published research that links apples to a reduced risk of stroke.

In a study released this week in the May issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Finnish researchers concluded there is an association between apple consumption and a reduced risk of stroke, after studying a large group of 9,208 Finnish men and women for more than 25 years. After following the study group for 28 years, researchers determined that study participants who ate the most apples had the lowest risk for stroke, where a blood clot starves part of the brain of oxygen.

"Apples, apple juice and other apple products have always been in the forefront of a healthy diet," noted Sue Taylor, R.D., director of nutrition communications for the Processed Apples Institute. "This and other recent research confirms what our Moms have known all along: that a serving of apples or apple juice really will keep the doctor away!" "An apple a day, literally, appears to confer all kinds of health benefits, from heart and lung health to now stroke prevention," said Julia Daly, public relations director for the U.S. Apple Association.

Two other epidemiological studies from Finland published in recent years found that consumption of plant-based "phytonutrients" found in apples were correlated with reductions in the risk of developing both heart disease and lung cancer. Both studies pointed to quercetin, from a class of phytonutrients called flavonoids, as the beneficial agent. Apples are the best fruit source of quercetin.

Last spring, researchers at the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis) reported that both apple juice and apples are loaded with these newly-identified phytonutrients now being praised for their health benefits. They found that apple flavonoids may help prevent the damaging effects of the "bad" type of cholesterol on the cardiovascular system.

The latest Finnish study suggests there may be more to apples' healthfulness than previously thought. Researchers reported that while there was a strong relationship between apple consumption and reduced risk of stroke, the benefit did not appear to be related to apples' high quercetin content - suggesting that some unidentified component in apples may be at work. "Nutrients in apples and other foods work in complex synergy we don't completely understand, making it difficult to single out any one nutrient as responsible for apple's protective benefits," said UC-Davis researcher Dianne Hyson, M.S., R.D. "This study adds to the growing body of evidence that apples and apple juice are associated with a number of health benefits."
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Pumping Up With Apples

Old news is good news, in the case of apples! The health benefits of apples and apple products were first recorded during medieval times, giving rise to the old English saying, "Ate an apfel avore gwain to bed makes the doctor beg his bread," translated today as, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." While it is widely known apples are an excellent source of dietary fiber, apples and apple products also have recently been found to contain high levels of powerful phytonutrients providing important health benefits. Following are summaries of several studies that have been conducted to date on apples and apple products.

Nature, June 2000: Researchers at Cornell University found that phytonutrients in apples inhibited the growth of colon cancer and liver cancer cells in in vitro laboratory experiments. According to researchers, 100 grams of unpeeled fresh apple - about two-thirds of a medium-sized apple - provides the total antioxidant activity of 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2000: Finnish researchers found that individuals who ate the most apples had the lowest risk of thrombotic stroke, possibly due to the phytonutrients found in the apples. Researchers reached this conclusion after analyzing the dietary records and health outcomes of 9,208 men followed in this 28-year study.

Thorax, January 2000: British researchers concluded that apple eaters had better lung function than non- apple eaters. They found a strong positive association between lung function and the number of apples eaten each week after analyzing dietary records and health outcomes of a study group of 2,512 men followed for five years. Researchers suggested antioxidants in apples (e.g., flavonoids like quercetin) might explain the healthful effect.

Journal of the National Cancer Institute, January 2000: Hawaiian researchers found that increased consumption of quercetin was associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer in this study of 600 lung cancer patients and an equal number of cancer-free persons. Researchers investigating a possible relationship between the consumption of flavonoids and lung cancer risk found a statistically significant inverse association between consumption of the flavonoid quercetin, found primarily in apples and onions, and lung cancer risk. This study validated similar findings published in 1997 (see below.)

Life Sciences, April 1999: Researchers at the University of California-Davis reported that phytonutrients in apples and apple juice prevent oxidation of "bad" cholesterol in this in vitro experiment, and thus may help protect against cardiovascular disease. They also confirmed important apple phytonutrients are found in significant levels in apple juice.


American Journal of Epidemiology, 1997: Epidemiologists from Finland's National Public Health Institute found that consumption of a flavonoid-rich diet - particularly, flavonoids from apples - was associated with a reduced risk of developing cancer. In a study involving 9,959 men and women followed for 24 years, researchers found that lung cancer was 46 percent lower among those whose diets contained the highest amount of flavonoids. Of the major dietary flavonoid sources, consumption of apples showed the greatest inverse association with lung cancer incidence.

British Medical Journal, 1996: Epidemiologists from Finland's National Public Health Institute concluded that high consumption of flavonoids from apples and onions was directly associated with the lowest risk for coronary mortality, based on a 25-year study of 5,133 Finnish men and women.
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