Apples just make sense as a daily part of the human diet.
Our forebears instinctively came to that same conclusion and adopted the maxim, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." They did not understand on a physiological basis why apple consumption was associated with health. Modern scientific studies are unraveling the reasons.
Some of the research is epidemiological. Large populations are studied for their dietary habits, and correlations between food intake and health consequences are identified. Researchers also have the tools now to study how particular constituents in foods react at the molecular level within our cells to do us ill or good.
Antioxidants
This line of research has led to the discovery of the benefits of antioxidants. Our cells can be harmed by free radicals-unavoidable substances in our bodies formed through natural living processes—but antioxidant compounds can reduce the damage and lessen the likelihood that disease will ensue. Fruits and vegetables as a whole contain a wide range of helpful antioxidants. Hence the advice to eat at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables is so sound. Apples are not the only health-imparting food in that group, but they make a vital contribution. Wisdom based on up-to-date science says to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables—and include at least one apple within your daily intake.
Aging
We deteriorate with age. Our motor skills degenerate. We have trouble remembering things. Antioxidants to the rescue!
Studies at various research institutions around the world, particularly the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging based at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., have linked the consumption of diets high in antioxidants with reduction in aging-related mental and physical degeneration. Oxidative stress (high incidence of free radicals) has been associated with such diseases as diabetic polyneuropathy (nerve damage in diabetics) and cardiomyopathy (heart muscle damage), according to an article in the May 2002 issue of Journal of Neural Transmission. Researchers at the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tampa, Fla., reporting in the July 15, 2002 issue of Journal of Neuroscience, noted that diets containing selected high-antioxidant foods actually reversed declines in particular physiological functions associated with aging-related mental deterioration. The Tufts scientists in collaboration with colleagues from Colorado and Pennsylvania, publishing in Brain Research in the June 2, 2000 issue, documented evidence that "age-related deficits in motor learning and memory can be reversed with nutritional interventions." They pointed out the relevance of these findings to rehabilitative strategies for victims of strokes.
The foods that have been touted the most for these positive factors are blueberries, strawberries and spinach. Apples are ranked as "intermediate" in this respect. British analysis from King's College in London, published in the February 2002 issue of Free Radical Research, listed various antioxidant components within the phenolic families of compounds found in fruits and vegetables. Darker foods like blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are rich in anthocyanins, which "demonstrated the highest antioxidant activities." Scientists at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition in Los Angeles, Calif., included most apples in this category, stating in the November 2001 Journal of Nutrition that "red-purple foods contain anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants found in red apples, grapes, berries and wine." Apples also have flavonoid antioxidants, including catechins and quercetin, to add to their beneficial potency. The Tampa study showed that apples "significantly downregulated" an age-related inflammatory response in the brain that is thought to contribute to deterioration in mental processes.
As the level of understanding of the human brain and neurological system advances, a tendency grows to hype "miracle foods" as quick fixes for whatever ails us. A more moderate position is simply to recommend greater consumption of all fruits and vegetables on a consistent basis, including plenty of apples. They can all contribute something worthwhile. Apples and some other fruits and vegetables appear to be brain food. Apples can be savored simply because they are so delicious, but you may also achieve a side benefit—making your brain work better!
Wrinkles
An article published by Australian researchers in the February 2001 issue of Journal of the American College of Nutrition was titled "Skin wrinkling: can food make a difference?" The answer was a conditional yes. Elderly populations were monitored in Australia, Greece and Sweden as part of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences "Food Habits in Later Life" study. Dietary intakes were recorded, and the subjects' skin wrinkles were measured "using a cutaneous microtopographic method." The findings were that "a high intake of vegetables, legumes and olive oil appeared to be protective against cutaneous actinic [sun-caused] skin damage." Meat and butter and other dairy products appeared to have adverse effects. An Anglo-Celtic group of subjects consumed more apples, prunes and tea than other ethnic subjects did, and those foods apparently contributed to favorable results. As usual, the scientists qualified their findings as less than definitive, since it was only one research project. Their official conclusion: "This study illustrates that skin wrinkling in a sun-exposed site in older people of various ethnic backgrounds may be influenced by the types of foods consumed." Eating apples and vegetables is certainly cheaper than a bill for cosmetic surgery!
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