Apple Anti-Cancer

Apple can assist in a holistic cancer treatment. Apple will not cure cancer alone but in combination with other herbs, juices and therapies, apple will boost cancer treatment effectiveness.

In the apple studies, Raul first exposed cancer cells to various antioxidants found in apples. They found that one type of antioxidant, called procyanidins, triggered a series of cell signals that resulted in cancer cell death. The experiment with laboratory rats, the rats were exposed to colon cancer-causing substances and then fed a mixture of water and apple procyanidins. Rats getting “apple water” for six weeks had half the number of precancerous lesions in their colons compared with rats eating the regular diet.

The finding “suggests that eating the whole apple, including the skin, might offer some [cancer prevention] benefits,” says Raul.

Something as simple and natural as a daily apple may help in the fight against breast cancer. According to research scientist Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., of Cornell University, the results are favorable. His research program at Cornell University focuses on diet and cancer, and the effect of functional foods on chronic disease, cardiovascular disease, and aging.

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Liu’s study demonstrated that whole apple extracts effectively inhibited mammary cancer growth in rats, therefore leading him and his team to believe that apples may very well be an effective strategy for cancer protection. Especially good to learn as apples are major contributors of phytochemicals in human diets. In an interview with the American Federation for Aging Research, Liu said he and his colleagues were able to show that phytochemicals in fresh apples could greatly inhibit the growth of liver and colon cancer cells. Specifically, his research showed that 50 mg of apple extracts taken from the skins, inhibited colon cancer cells by 43 percent. And apple flesh extracts inhibited the colon cancer cells by 29 percent. The same dosage of apple extracts with skins, he said,inhibited liver cancer cells by 57 percent, and the extracts inhibited liver cancer cells by 40 percent. Liu’s team also treated rats with a known mammary carcinogen, and were able to block mammary cancer formation. This is the first study of the effects of apples on cancer prevention in animals. Liu said that while there is a good chance it will work in humans, they still have to confirm this premise with additional tests. But why wait for the results? An apple a day is a healthy way to get a head start.

Apple Health Benefits

Apple’s Amazing Polyphenols
Quercetin is the primary phytonutrient found in apples, and it’s far more concentrated in the skin than in the pulp. Kaempferol and myricetin are also important apple flavonols. Chlorogenic acid is apple’s primary phenolic acid, and it’s found throughout the pulp and also in the skin.

If apples are red, it’s because of their anthocyanins, which are largely restricted to the skin. When an apple is more uniformly red in color, or when its red color is deeper in hue, it’s because there are more anthocyanins. In terms of catechin polyphenols, epicatechin is the primary nutrient found in apples. The flavonoid phloridzin accounts for 98% of the flavonoids found in the apple seeds. The total polyphenol contents of apples range from about 1-7 grams/kilogram of fresh pulp, but this ratio gets much higher in the skin, underscoring the special value of apple skins for deriving optimal polyphenol benefits from this fruit. In fact, in animal studies, there is a very commonly used standardized apple extract called standardized apple peel polyphenol extract, or APPE.

In a recent research studies show polyphenols to be the favorite mechanism used by apples to protect themselves from UV-B radiation. Cells in the skin of apple that conduct photosynthesis are especially sensitive to UV-B light from the sun. Many of the polyphenols in the skin of apples can actually absorb UV-B light, and thereby prevent UV-B from damaging the photosynthetic cells in the apple skin. Polyphenols, then, are like the apple’s natural sunscreen.

It is also interesting to note that the amazing polyphenol content of apples is related to their easy browning when sliced open or bruised. Inside the cells of apple skin and pulp are enzymes called polyphenol oxidases, or PPOs. When the cells of the apple are sliced through or physically damaged when an apple is dropped, the PPOs start oxidizing the polyphenols in apples, and the result you see is a browning of the damaged apple portion. It’s important to handle apples delicately in order to protect their health-supportive polyphenols.

Antioxidants are disease-fighting compounds. Scientists believe these compounds help prevent and repair oxidation damage that happens during normal cell activity. Apples are also full of a fibre called pectin—a medium-sized apple contains about 4 grams of fibre. Pectin is classed as a soluble, fermentable and viscous fibre, a combination that gives it a huge list of health benefits.

Apple Benefits for Blood Sugar Regulation

At many different levels, the polyphenols in apples are clearly capable of influencing our digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, and the overall impact of these changes is to improve regulation of our blood sugar. The impact of apple polyphenols on our carbohydrate processing includes:

Slowing down of carbohydrate digestion. Quercetin and other flavonoids found in apples act to inhibit carbohydrate-digesting enzymes like alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. When these enzymes are inhibited, carbohydrates are broken down less readily into simple sugars, and less load is placed on our bloodstream to accommodate more sugar.
Reduction of glucose absorption. Polyphenols in apples clearly lower the rate of glucose absorption from our digestive tract. Once again, this change lessens the sugar load on our bloodstream.

Stimulation of the pancreas to put out more insulin. Getting sugar out of our bloodstream often requires the help of insulin, a hormone produced by the beta cells of our pancreas. By telling the beta cells of our pancreas to produce more insulin, the polyphenols found in apple can help us clear more sugar from our blood and keep our blood sugar level in better balance.

Stimulation of insulin receptors to latch on to more insulin and increase the flow of sugar out of our bloodstream and into our cells. In order for sugar to leave our bloodstream and enter our cells (especially our muscle cells), insulin receptors on those cells must bind together with the insulin hormone and create cell changes that will allow sugar to pass through the cell membrane and into the cell. (Muscle cells, for example, continuously need this uptake of sugar from the bloodstream in order to function.)

Polyphenols in apples help to activate the muscle cell insulin receptors, and in this way, they help facilitate passage of sugar from our bloodstream up into our cells. Once again, the result is better blood sugar regulation in our body.

Apples Anti-Asthma Benefits

Multiple studies have shown apple intake to be associated with decreased risk of asthma. However, in some cases, the study findings have been even stronger. In one study, apples showed better risk reduction for asthma than total fruit-plus-vegetable intake combined.

In this particular study, it turned out that apples were not routinely consumed by fruit-plus-vegetable eaters, such that researchers could separate out a small group of study participants who regularly ate apples and could compare this group to other study participants who regularly ate fruits-plus-vegetables but did not include apples among their fruits. Like the anti-cancer benefits of apples, apples’ anti-asthma benefits are definitely associated with the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients found in this fruit. However, there is very likely to be something else going on as well since apples appear to be a truly standout fruit in this regard.

While not as developed as research in other areas, preliminary health benefits of apples have also been established for several age-related health problems, including macular degeneration of the eye and neurodegenerative problems, including Alzheimer’s disease. In animal studies, prevention of bone loss has also been an area of investigation, particularly related to the phloridizin content of apples.

Apples Preparation

The skin of the apple is unusually rich in nutrients, and even if the recipe you’ve chosen requires peeled apples, consider leaving the skins on to receive the unique benefits found in the skins. Choose organic apples to avoid problems related to pesticide residues and other contaminants on the skins.

If you cannot obtain organic apples, and you are willing to accept some level of risk related to consumption of residues on the apple skins, we believe that it can still be a good trade-off between nutrients and contaminants if you leave the skin of the apple intact and eat the apple unpeeled. Just be sure to thoroughly rinse the entire apple under a stream of pure water while gently scrubbing the skin with a natural bristle brush for 10-15 seconds.

To prevent browning when slicing apples for a recipe, simply put the slices in a bowl of cold water to which a spoonful of lemon juice has been added for use in future recipes, sliced apples freeze well in plastic bags or containers.

There’s an important loss of nutrients that usually occurs when apples are processed into applesauce, and an even greater loss when they are processed into juice. Some types of processing are easier on nutrients than others, but in general, apple sauces require boiling of apples and apple juices require some extraction of pulp. In all cases, the more apple that can be retained, the better the resulting nourishment. Processing can take a special toll on polyphenols. We’ve seen recent studies where only 10% of the flavonols and 3% of the catechins from the original apples remained present in the processed apple juice, Even chlorogenic acid (one of the more stable polyphenols in apples) tends to be decreased by at least 50% during the processing of whole apples into juice.

Obviously, there are exceptions to these generalized findings. For example, it is possible to put whole apples into a powerful blender and consume the resulting juice. In this case, very little if any of the nutrients are lost. However, this type of blending is not used in the commercial production of apple juice. Commercial apple juices are typically either “clear” or “cloudy.” Clear apple juices have the vast majority of the apple pomace (pulpy apple solids) removed. Cloudy apple juices typically retain some of these pulpy solids because even though the pulpy solids have been removed from the juice through pressing and filtering, they are added back in at some designated level. When purchasing apple juice, always choose cloudy juices if possible.

Apple Storage

Apples can be stored for relatively long (3-4 months) periods of time. Cold storage at low refrigerator temperatures (35-40F/2-4C) is able to help minimize loss of nutrients. In addition, it’s helpful to maintain some moisture in the cold storage area, for example, by inclusion of damp cheesecloth in the crisper bin of a refrigerator. Over a period of time involving months, there is loss of total polyphenols from apples, including both flavonoid and non-flavonoid polyphenols. However, valuable amounts of polyphenols (and all other nutrients) remain. In some food traditions, cold storage of apples over the winter months is still counted on as a key part of dietary nourishment from fruits.

You’ve no doubt heard the saying, “one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.” Well, research studies agree. An apple that has been bruised from being dropped (or that has been damaged in some other way) will start to release unusual amounts of ethylene gas. This ethylene gas can pose a risk to other apples that have not been damaged and greatly decrease their shelf life. For this reason, it’s important to handle apples with tender loving care, and also to remove any damaged apples from groups of apples stored in bulk.

A few quick serving ideas

• Add diced apples to fruit or green salads.
• Braise a chopped apple with red cabbage.
• For an alternative to sweet desserts: Sliced apples (either alone or with other fruits) and cheese are a European favorite.

To get the most benefit, don’t peel your apples. Quercetin is found only in the skin.

Buy Apple Extract Online

Search Google.com for Apple Extract.

Apples Research Links

Relevance of specific apple polyphenolics and health.
http://www.treecrops.org.nz/resrch/apple/applecancdat.html

Cancer chemopreventive potential of apples, apple juice, and apple components.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18855307

Jason Vale, Champion arm wrestler has fought and cured cancer 3 times through eating raw apple and apricot seeds that contain a little known vitamin B17.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2793380650380830725#

The potential health benefits of apples are numerous. Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables, including apples, as part of a healthy diet may aid in the prevention of chronic disease and maintenance of good health.
http://www.nutritionj.com/content/3/1/5