UC-Davis Clinical Research Confirms Health Benefits of 100 Percent Apple Juice & Apples in Adults

(story courtesy of Newstream)

February 2001 (Newstream) -- For adults who think that apple juice is just for kids -- listen up! Clinical nutrition researchers at the University of California at Davis (UC-Davis) have just discovered that nutrients in apples and 100 percent apple juice can help slow a key process -- oxidation - in adults that can lead to heart disease, similar to the benefits seen with tea or red wine. As a result of the research participants drinking 1-1/2 cups of 100 percent apple juice (the size of a regular canned soda) or eating two fresh apples each day, researchers found measurable heart-health benefits. The research was just published this week in the Winter edition of the Journal of Medicinal Food, an international and highly regarded research journal.

Dianne Hyson, Ph.D., R.D., the study's lead researcher, emphasized this is the first study conducted in adults or any humans to demonstrate that apples and apple juice may help to slow the oxidation process that is involved in the build-up of plaque that leads to heart disease. The clinical study of healthy men and women found that the daily consumption of apple products slowed the oxidation process of the study participants' "bad" (LDL) cholesterol, even when nothing else in the diet was changed. Hyson notes that when this LDL cholesterol becomes oxidized, it has more of a tendency to clog arteries, a process that can lead to heart disease.

The risk of atherosclerosis is reduced if oxidation of LDL cholesterol can be delayed, giving the body more time to eliminate the cholesterol before it can cause arterial damage.

This UC-Davis clinical study sought to validate the same researchers' 1999 findings that apple nutrients inhibited LDL oxidation in an in vitro laboratory study. Similarly, Cornell University researchers reported in June 2000 that apple antioxidants inhibit the growth of certain types of cancer cells, also in laboratory research. In their research published in the journal Nature, Cornell researchers reported that apple components had more antioxidant capability than a 1,500-milligram megadose of vitamin C. Recent population studies also have found significant associations with apples and a reduced risk of lung cancer, reduced risk of certain types of stroke, and reduced risk of coronary mortality, along with improved lung function - all of which were often attributed to the phytonutrients found in the apples.

This UC-Davis study in humans is important since it confirms what laboratory research has shown -- that both 100 percent apple juice and apples possess potent phytonutrients (active plant components) that are natural antioxidants. So if you think that apple juice is just for kids, think again. Both apple juice and apples may just help the entire family keep the doctor away.

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Produced for UC Davis Medical Center

Contacts:

Carole Gan,
UC Davis Medical Center
Media Relations,
916-734-9047

Sue Taylor,
The Kellen Company,
404-252-3663