Apple a Day -- new research
kbanzhaf
Posts: 601 Member
Hi Everyone,
I heard about this recently completed study on the radio this AM, so I did a Google search. We've "always" heard that an apple a day is good for you.....Here is further proof.
Kaye
An apple a day can really keep the doctor away — by reducing bad cholesterol levels in women, according to a new study.
"Apples are truly a miracle fruit that convey benefits beyond fiber content," said Bahram H. Arjmandi, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University, who led the study.
Animal studies have shown that apple pectin and polyphenols in apple improve lipid metabolism and lower the production of pro-inflammatory molecules.
Arjmandi's research is the first to evaluate the long-term cardio-protective effects of daily consumption of apple in postmenopausal women.
The study randomly assigned 160 women ages 45-65 to one of two dietary intervention groups: one received dried apples daily (75g/day for 1 year) and the other group ate dried prunes every day for a year.
Blood samples were taken at 3, 6 and 12-months.
The results surprised Arjmandi, who stated that incredible changes in the apple-eating women happened by 6 months - they experienced a 23 per cent decrease in LDL cholesterol.
The daily apple consumption also led to a lowering of lipid hydroperoxide levels and C-reactive protein in those women.
"I never expected apple consumption to reduce bad cholesterol to this extent while increasing HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol by about 4 per cent," said Arjmandi.
Yet another advantage is that the extra 240 calories per day consumed from the dried apple did not lead to weight gain in the women; in fact, they lost on average 3.3 lbs.
"Reducing body weight is an added benefit to daily apple intake" he said.
Part of the reason for the weight loss could be the fruit's pectin, which is known to have a satiety effect.
The results were presented at Experimental Biology 2011 in Washington, DC.
I heard about this recently completed study on the radio this AM, so I did a Google search. We've "always" heard that an apple a day is good for you.....Here is further proof.
Kaye
An apple a day can really keep the doctor away — by reducing bad cholesterol levels in women, according to a new study.
"Apples are truly a miracle fruit that convey benefits beyond fiber content," said Bahram H. Arjmandi, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University, who led the study.
Animal studies have shown that apple pectin and polyphenols in apple improve lipid metabolism and lower the production of pro-inflammatory molecules.
Arjmandi's research is the first to evaluate the long-term cardio-protective effects of daily consumption of apple in postmenopausal women.
The study randomly assigned 160 women ages 45-65 to one of two dietary intervention groups: one received dried apples daily (75g/day for 1 year) and the other group ate dried prunes every day for a year.
Blood samples were taken at 3, 6 and 12-months.
The results surprised Arjmandi, who stated that incredible changes in the apple-eating women happened by 6 months - they experienced a 23 per cent decrease in LDL cholesterol.
The daily apple consumption also led to a lowering of lipid hydroperoxide levels and C-reactive protein in those women.
"I never expected apple consumption to reduce bad cholesterol to this extent while increasing HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol by about 4 per cent," said Arjmandi.
Yet another advantage is that the extra 240 calories per day consumed from the dried apple did not lead to weight gain in the women; in fact, they lost on average 3.3 lbs.
"Reducing body weight is an added benefit to daily apple intake" he said.
Part of the reason for the weight loss could be the fruit's pectin, which is known to have a satiety effect.
The results were presented at Experimental Biology 2011 in Washington, DC.
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Replies
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BUMP.
Was just thinking about the "apple a day" saying and decided to do a search on MFP. I always figured it was based on fiber content of apples, but this study takes it further.
75 grams of dried apples a day. About 5 times the amount of calories in raw apples. I'm curious how they came up with that amount and why they chose apples, especially since the researcher said he was surprised by the findings.
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It is interesting. The post above yours says it was around 240 extra calories per day, which is about two large apples, I think.
I'm surprised they didn't gain weight. I thought conventional wisdom was that dried fruit isn't nearly as filling as fresh fruit.0 -
It's not clear from the abstract, but the participants may have reduced their daily calories to compensate. I participated in a clinical trial last year that involved consuming juice. I adjusted my calorie intake accordingly.
The study showed that both apple and plum reduced crp levels so both had anti-inflammatory properties, or may have displaced something in the diet that was pro-inflammatory. There was also no difference in lipid lowering between the groups, but apple showed greater ldl lowering within the group.
It would be interesting to read the full text and see the differences in food intake, calories etc. pre-intervention and during. It makes no sense that added calories led to weight loss.0 -
Every so often, there is a story about apples being good for you. Apple A Day and all that.
I keep waiting for the one that says, "Honeycrisp apples don't count, turns out they're bad," lol. Those things are SO good! They're almost an entirely different fruit.0 -
I really wish I found apples filling, but nope...0
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I think they're saying the people didn't calorie count and just ate less overall when the apple was part of their diet.Charlottesometimes23 wrote: »It would be interesting to read the full text and see the differences in food intake, calories etc. pre-intervention and during. It makes no sense that added calories led to weight loss.
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WalkingAlong wrote: »
I think they're saying the people didn't calorie count and just ate less overall when the apple was part of their diet.Charlottesometimes23 wrote: »It would be interesting to read the full text and see the differences in food intake, calories etc. pre-intervention and during. It makes no sense that added calories led to weight loss.
That's what I took away also. The gram weight of dried apples was 75g, btw so I was comparing the calories between 75g of raw apples with 75g of dried. That's where I got about 5 times more.
I dried a bunch of apples a while back after picking them from a local tree, but they are gone now. Next time I do it I'm going to figure out how many grams dried I get from one fresh apple.
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The calories wouldn't change from drying (though you're right, the weight would) so if eating 240 calories of dried apples had a positive effect, I imagine you could eat 240 calories of non-dried apples for the same effect, or possibly even less because I think they are more filling when not dried. I think eating 2-2.5 apples a day would get old (unless you did dry them), though, so I think I'll stick to one! Or maybe look for dried ones at Costco. 0
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I wonder why they used dried apples since the reduced water and increased sugar content seems counterproductive. Also, in terms of fiber, pears actually have more than apples. Plus, that's an awful lot of apples, and I like apples.0
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WalkingAlong wrote: »
I think they're saying the people didn't calorie count and just ate less overall when the apple was part of their diet.Charlottesometimes23 wrote: »It would be interesting to read the full text and see the differences in food intake, calories etc. pre-intervention and during. It makes no sense that added calories led to weight loss.
That's what I took away also. The gram weight of dried apples was 75g, btw so I was comparing the calories between 75g of raw apples with 75g of dried. That's where I got about 5 times more.
I dried a bunch of apples a while back after picking them from a local tree, but they are gone now. Next time I do it I'm going to figure out how many grams dried I get from one fresh apple.
I think it would be interesting to see more information from their food diaries at baseline and during. I'm going to look for the full text next week.
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I don't think it was published in a journal, just presented at that medical conference. The only full text I found was popular press summaries. I don't think the participants kept food diaries before or during. The 3.3 lb. loss was over a year. It was a USDA funded study.0
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WalkingAlong wrote: »I don't think it was published in a journal, just presented at that medical conference. The only full text I found was popular press summaries. I don't think the participants kept food diaries before or during. The 3.3 lb. loss was over a year. It was a USDA funded study.
I think that this was the study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22818725
I'm pretty sure that the study design would include food diaries.
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Every so often, there is a story about apples being good for you. Apple A Day and all that.
I keep waiting for the one that says, "Honeycrisp apples don't count, turns out they're bad," lol. Those things are SO good! They're almost an entirely different fruit.
Funny, I've had that thought as well...."what if honeycrisp apples are exempt because there must be something wrong since they are so yummy" 0 -
Yep its all about those apples!! Yum.0
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You're right, and it does sound like there was some total intake reporting. My acad. library doesn't have that journal so I can't help you with the details.Charlottesometimes23 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I don't think it was published in a journal, just presented at that medical conference. The only full text I found was popular press summaries. I don't think the participants kept food diaries before or during. The 3.3 lb. loss was over a year. It was a USDA funded study.
I think that this was the study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22818725
I'm pretty sure that the study design would include food diaries.
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"The Florida State University" - let me guess, study funded by a fruit grower's association ?0
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No problems, I'll get it at work on Monday, and I'll check out the funding source too Yarwell.WalkingAlong wrote: »
You're right, and it does sound like there was some total intake reporting. My acad. library doesn't have that journal so I can't help you with the details.Charlottesometimes23 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I don't think it was published in a journal, just presented at that medical conference. The only full text I found was popular press summaries. I don't think the participants kept food diaries before or during. The 3.3 lb. loss was over a year. It was a USDA funded study.
I think that this was the study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22818725
I'm pretty sure that the study design would include food diaries.
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One of the articles I read said the USDA funded it. I think apples are grown in the Pacific Northwest, and oranges in Florida!
A year long study would involve self-reported intake, so (to me) basically anywhere from a rough estimate to total fiction.
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I wish we knew why they chose dried apples (I know I keep saying that). Could it be because it took 240 grams of dried apples to achieve the amount of fiber the researchers wanted the control group to consume... or maybe some nutrient apples contain?
The most obvious difference I can find is fiber, but its not like the 10g of fiber in the dried apples is a huge amount, IMO. Here's a link to nutrition difference between 100g of fresh and 100g dried.
apples-dried-sulfured-uncooked
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I wish we knew why they chose dried apples (I know I keep saying that). Could it be because it took 240 grams of dried apples to achieve the amount of fiber the researchers wanted the control group to consume... or maybe some nutrient apples contain?
The most obvious difference I can find is fiber, but its not like the 10g of fiber in the dried apples is a huge amount, IMO. Here's a link to nutrition difference between 100g of fresh and 100g dried.
apples-dried-sulfured-uncooked
Dehydrate? No water, easier to measure the left over. I suppose no two apples of the same weight have the same water content.
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WalkingAlong wrote: »One of the articles I read said the USDA funded it. I think apples are grown in the Pacific Northwest, and oranges in Florida!
A year long study would involve self-reported intake, so (to me) basically anywhere from a rough estimate to total fiction.
Even short studies often involve self reported intake, food diaries or food frequency questionnaires. They're not particularly reliable, but neither are food recalls with trained interviewers. People tend to underreport. Hopefully the variation within each individual's diary is not too large.
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I wish we knew why they chose dried apples (I know I keep saying that). Could it be because it took 240 grams of dried apples to achieve the amount of fiber the researchers wanted the control group to consume... or maybe some nutrient apples contain?
The most obvious difference I can find is fiber, but its not like the 10g of fiber in the dried apples is a huge amount, IMO. Here's a link to nutrition difference between 100g of fresh and 100g dried.
apples-dried-sulfured-uncooked
Dehydrate? No water, easier to measure the left over. I suppose no two apples of the same weight have the same water content.
I was thinking that too. It would be easier to measure and monitor.
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I think it's just easier to administer with dried apples. I know I'd be more likely to eat 75g of dried apple a day than to eat 2.5 whole apples each day for a year! And the study designers could send each person home with 6-12 months of dried apples at the start vs. maybe 3 weeks of fresh.0
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I got hold of the full text today. For anyone interested, here's some more info.
Re the dried apples: There was no explanation of why dried vs fresh, but the authors stated "The rationale for choosing the dose of dried apple was based on our earlier short-term clinical trial (B. H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, and D. A. Khalil, PhD, unpublished data, May 2002). In that study, dried apple was well tolerated by postmenopausal women and positively influenced lipid profiles."
Re blinding: "Participants were not blinded to intervention."
Re Diet Collection: "A 7-day dietary recall was collected from all participants by a registered dietitian at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Collected dietary recalls were analyzed using Food Processor SQL Nutrition and Fitness Program (ESHA Research). With the exception of height measured at baseline, body weights were repeatedly measured at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months."
Re Diet Analysis "Baseline characteristics of participants including age, time since menopause, and body mass index (Table 2) did not significantly differ between the two groups. The mean body weights of the participants in both groups were not significantly different at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. However, 12 months of apple consumption resulted in 1.5 kg weight loss compared with baseline. Analysis of the 7-day dietary recall and physical activity recall reported that the participant's food intakes (Table 3) and physical activity levels (Table 2) were not significantly different between baseline values of the two intervention groups and between any time points throughout the study."
Looking at table 3, comparing the 2 groups, it showed that women in the plum group consumed about 120 cals extra per day at 6 months and about 42 cals extra at 12 months compared to the apple group. The standard deviations were around 80 cals so it was not statistically significant.
Comparing calorie intake to baseline in the 2 groups, the apple group consumed 120 more cals per day at 12 months compared to baseline while the plum group consumed 200 more cals per day compared to baseline. Yet, the apple group lost weight...hmmmm...sounds dodgy...
Funding: FUNDING/SUPPORT This study was partly supported by the National Research Initiative of the US Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (grant no. 2005-35200-17053). Yarwell pretty much picked it.
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I always take gala apples to the gym with me . Today I decided to eat one in the sauna. They are loud lol0
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So what do I do with this bag of apples?
Thanks Charlotte.0 -
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An apple a day is probably healthier than many other things average people eat everyday. I would not be surprised if you add one healthy fruit a day that you could lose 3.3 pounds in a year. I am sure most women replaced something else to fit in the dried apples and 3.3 pounds a year is not a huge loss.0
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Thanks Charlotte. I wasn't as interested in the minimal weight loss described as the LDL cholesterol changes. Does seem odd they lost weight with an overall calorie increase however, even a net of 80 a day.0
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