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Apples said to improve circulatory health

Category: General Health

More research showing the health benefits of antioxidant-rich foods indicates that high results from cholesterol tests can be decreased by regularly eating apples. According to these findings found in the Journal of Functional Foods, the adage about daily apple consumption lowering the frequency of encounters with doctors is grounded in truth.

The researchers examined a group of subjects between 40 and 60 years old whose diets did not routinely include apples. Cholesterol tests for a subset that ate an apple every day for four weeks indicated an average of 40 percent reduction of their low-density lipoprotein, a.k.a. "bad" cholesterol, levels. Another group who did the same with capsules containing the antioxidant found in apples did not demonstrate as much lowered cholesterol.

"When [bad cholesterol] becomes oxidized, it takes on a form that begins atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries," said lead researcher Robert DiSilvestro, professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University. "We got a tremendous effect against [bad cholesterol] being oxidized with just one apple a day for four weeks."

Last year, The Huffington Post published a list of other health benefits that studies show could result from regularly munching on apples, including weight loss, improved endurance and a reduced chance of developing metabolic syndrome.