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1. 1,3, or 6 apples a day

2. New Food Pyramid

3. Apple a day

4. Charting your health

5. The buzz on honey

1, 3, or 6 apples a day?

An apple a day can help keep breast cancer away, according to a study in rats by food scientist at Cornell University. “We found that tumor incidence was reduced by 17, 39, and 44 percent in rats fed the human equivalent of 1, 3, or six apples a day, respectively, over 24 weeks,” say Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science and lead author of the study. The Cornell researchers treated a group of rats with a known mammary carcinogen and then fed them either whole apple extracts or control extracts. Liu, who says this is the first study of the effects of apples on cancer prevention in animals also found the number of tumors was reduced by 25, 25, and 61 percent in rats fed the equivalent of 1, 3, or 6 apples a day, respectively. The report is published in http://pubs.acs.org/cgi- In an article 5 years ago, Liu and colleagues credited phytochemicals – Antioxidants – in fresh apples with inhibiting human liver and colon cancer cell growth. Antioxidants help prevent cancer by mopping up cell-damaging free radical and inhibiting the production of reactive substances that could damage normal cells.

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New Pyramid

On April 19 the USDA unveiled MY-Pyramid, a new symbol and interactive food guidance system. MyPyramid replaces the Food Guide Pyramid introduced in 1192 and emphasizes the need for a more individualized approach to improving diet and lifestyle. “Steps to a Healthier You,” MyPyramid’s central message, supports President George Bush’s HealthierUS initiative, designed to help Americans live longer, better and healehier lives, according to the USDA.

The new guidelines recommend eating the equivalent of 2 apples per day, according to the US Apple association. “ Of all the dietary advice recommended in the guide, eating apples may be the easiest to implement in today’s busy lifestyle,” said Wendy Davis, a nutritionist for USApple.

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“Apple a Day” adage gets modern makeover

On the health front, research is now providing modern proof of that old adage about an apple a day keeping the doctor away. Recent health research discoveries have found a wide range of potential apple health benefits from weight loss to hair retention:

1. Brazilian researchers reported in April that study participants who ate an apple at every meal lost more weight while dieting than participants who did not eat fruit in their clinical study.

2. Japanese researchers reported last year that a chemical isolated from apples, procyanadin B-2, significantly promoted hair growth in their animal study – by 300% compared to controls – by inhibiting expression of protein kinase C, known to play a role in cell proliferation and believed to act as a negative hair-growing factor.

3. Earlier this year, Finnish researchers reported apple eaters in that country have a lower risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, type 2 diabetes and asthma, based on their study of 10,000 people – one of the largest analyses of apples and health benefits on recorded.

4. University of California-Davis researchers found two apples or two glasses of apple juice a day lowered an important marker for heart disease in participants of their 2,000 clinical study.

5. European researchers have suggested we literally can breathe easier with apples, reporting in several population studies over the last few years that apple eaters appear to have lower risk of lung disease and a better lung function.

6. Cornell laboratory research reports apples have high antioxidant capacity, suggesting apples may be able to counteract oxidative damage in the body associated with some diseases.

For more information about Usapple activities to research and educate consumers about health benefits of apples, contact USApple vice president of public relations by telephone at (703) 442-8850 or (800) 781-4443, or via email at jdaly@usapple.org.

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CHARTING YOUR HEALTH
The Five a Day Way

The chart below indicates some of the fruits that fall into that group, and the health benefits that foods from that group provide.

According to the Produce For Better Health Campaign each group provides a wide range of minerals, fibers, and phytochemicals your body needs to maintain good health, and if you eat one serving from each group per day, you reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Reference:
Fruit Grower March 2003
Produce For Better Health Foundation 302-235-2329

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The buzz on honey is that it’s healthy

Most people think of honey as the sweet stuff that you put on toast or drop into hot tea, but in recent years, researchers have been exploring its potential in other ways:

1. To lessen the ill effects of radiation therapy in patients with cancer of the head and neck.

2. To improve oral health.

3. To preserve food.

4. To boost antioxidants.

5. To enhance athletic performance.

Honey is not a new remedy.
It’s part of a current fascination with natural remedies and foods and a throwback to ancient times when honey was used as a wound healer, laxative, cough and sore-throat soother, and a salve for sore eyes – among other things.
Newlyweds in ancient Persia were expected to drink honey mead every day for one “honey month” to get in the right “frame of mind” for a happy marriage, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The journal Supportive Care in Cancer recently reported a study by researchers at the University of Malaysia showing that honey may benefit patients who suffer swelling, sores, and inflammation in the mouth after radiation therapy. Patients who applied honey to their mouths before and after therapy experienced less inflammation than those who didn’t.

Honey has also been the focus of study at the University of Illinois. Research from the department of food science and human nutrition found that honey has the same level of antioxidants as some fruits and vegetables. That’s important because antioxidants are thought to thwart the process by which fats in food react with oxygen and cause the development of free radicals that damage the body. The body can fight this oxidation process up to a certain point, but if it gets out of control, it can eventually lead to things such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and aging. “The way to protect against that is to use an antioxidant.”
Preventing tooth decay

Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago are also working to find out whether honey can protect against oral pathogens, the bacteria that causes tooth decay. Everybody thinks that honey is sticky and gooey, therefore it must cause more cavities, but honey has protective components that protect against these bacteria. A paper is soon to come with this new data.

The director of Exercise and Sports Nutrition Laboratory at Baylor University in Texas, has been involved in studies looking at how honey consumption might benefit athletes.
Honey also was found to be beneficial in maintaining blood-sugar levels.

Antibacterial effect
In honey, there is little honey water available to promote the growth of bacteria and yeast. Also, honey’s natural acidity inhibits some pathogens, and it has tiny amounts of hydrogen peroxide as well as other substances that seem to contribute to its antibacterial effect, according to the National Honey Board. Manuka honey in New Zealand has been used to destroy bacteria found in stomach ulcers as well as tough strains of bacteria that infect wounds and burns, according to the honey board.
In closing, the article stresses the importance of not giving honey to children under the age of 1 because of the potential threat of botulism. They can’t handle it yet.

References: Journal and Courier, Sunday, August 3,2003 E5

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