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Celebrate Autumn with Apple Day
Apples (Malus domestica) on the bough of a tree Photographer: Ian Britton – www.freefoto.com Apple Day – 21st October 2006. The whole of the British Isles and beyond is about to celebrate Nature’s Autumn annual paradisal gift of our glorious health-giving apple crops. There are festivities arranged to interest gardeners, for apple enthusiasts, and fun events with food and drink for the whole family. These are taking place in thirty-seven counties of England, from Bedfordshire to Worcestershire and Yorkshire, as well as in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Jersey, Channel Islands, this year.1 Rightly so. It’s about time the goodness of our seasonal fresh home-grown produce saw more light of day and was fittingly appreciated and celebrated. For too long our wonderful home-grown apples have languished in the shadow of less flavoursome imports in the supermarkets. With often only a couple each of eating and cooking British apple varieties to choose from, many members of the public have lost much knowledge of our numerous delicious apple varieties. For some younger people, all idea of the splendid choices to be made from British apples is unknown through lack of familiarity – they have never even had a glimpse of them where they shop in adulthood. To give you a random flavour of what’s on offer in the way of entertainment; one of the many ‘Apple Day’ events you could attend is at Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden. They are celebrating their ‘Tenth Annual Apple Day’, offering apple tastings and testing of 40 different varieties, 34 dessert and 7 cooking apples, sourced from the Eastern Region. Amongst those apples on offer will be ‘Blenheim Orange’, a great UK apple to go with cheese, discovered in 1740, described as ‘nutty-flavoured, sweet with crumbly flesh texture’. Good for baking, and found in France, 1776, is the ‘Orleans Reinette’ apple, which has an ‘armotic,3 nutty flavour with sweet, firm, rather dry flesh’, or you may prefer a useful eating and cooking apple such as ‘Belle de Bokskoop’, originally discovered in the Netherlands 1856. It’s enough to make your mouth water. They also put on an ‘Apple Day for Children’. For the great outdoors, Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum,4 between Hereford and Leominster, run by Herefordshire Council Parks & Countryside Service has a 67 acre tree collection (arboretum) with over 500 rare and exotic trees in an attractive parkland setting. Revel in Autumn’s colours in the 103 acres of semi-natural ancient woodland designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Local Nature Reserve (LNR). Last year Queenswood Country Park was selling apple trees, and if that’s your interest ring before you go. Varieties on sale included Edward VII’s ‘Blenheim Orange Cross’ a cooker/dessert apple from Barbourne, Worcester, and ‘Gladstone’, a dessert apple found in a nursery field at Blakedown, Kidderminster, in 1868. Also ‘Lady Sudeley’, an early dessert apple named after the Sudeley Estate in the Cotsworlds, and ‘Wyken Pippin’, a late dessert apple thought to be raised in 1700 from an imported pip by Lord Craven at Wyken Hall, Coventry. The Wyken name smacks of witches and pagan ‘Wicca’, appropriate for Halloween! The apple was also the chosen tree of the Druids upon which to grow their sacred healing mistletoe, and is part of the Ordeal by Fire and the Ordeal by Water – the latter re-enacted in the Halloween party game of ‘bobbing for apples’. Garden varieties on sale included ‘Beauty of Bath’, ‘Ellison’s Orange’, ‘Lodgemore Non Pareil’ and ‘Tydemans Early Worcester’. If you are contemplating starting your own special orchard of elite trees, as well as contributing to the conservation of the traditional apple gene-pool, such places to visit could be an attractive proposition. From the listing of UK ‘Apple Day’ events, check out National Trust venues, for if the weather is naff, it’s useful to have somewhere such as a stately home to wander around and enjoy. You may want to take your apple fest a step further and visit an event such as the Hereford Cider Museum Festival,4A or aim for a cider and perry5 making venue, which produce some of our oldest recreational drinks, to sample the rich apple and pear pickings’ pressings’ results. But remember, cider and perry can be strong ‘heady’ stuff. On the pear crop front, since 2000, the branded ‘light perry’ drinks market is dominated by ‘Lambrini’,6 known for its slogan “Lambrini Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. However, ‘Babycham’, also a branded perry, no longer fashionable, was once a ‘smart set’ drink and very popular in the 1950s. It was marketed principally as a women’s drink and sold in miniature Champagne-style bottles. It is perhaps unknown to the current generation of drinkers, but perhaps it might yet see a revival. When you’ve exhausted all the annual ‘Apple Day’ events of the British Isles, which may take you a few years to cover, there are always the pleasurable Celtic cider festivals of Northern Spain. Join in the autumn traditional cider festival in Llanes, Asturias,7 where the people proudly dress up in their national costume and folk-dance in the street for their own enjoyment – without a tourist in sight! The men of this Celtic region also perform a tricky cider-drinking ritual6 which involves pouring the golden liquid from a great height. If you want to have a go, you may need a mackintosh! If you are apple-hooked and want to experience even more apple enjoyment abroad, then Normandy, France, is an attractive choice. Calvados8 (apple brandy), a drink to be treated with respect, is part of the customs and farming year in Normandy. All over the countryside apples are grown to be turned into cider, pommeau9 and calvados. If you wish to experience the apple harvest and the cider making, autumn is the best time to visit. Make no mistake, apples, green or rosy-red and sun-blush variegated, are part of our myths, legends, folklore, history, food, food-medicine and much more, but they really are a source of great enjoyment and worthy of annual celebrations. So don’t miss out. If you do, as soon as you get your 2007 calendar plan to partake in an ‘Apple Day’ celebration next year or, if you can’t wait, visit an apple-growing area festooned with beautiful white and pale rose-kissed apple-blossoms in the spring. “Lo! Sweeten’d with the summer light, The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mellow, Drops in a silent autumn night.
All its allotted length of days The flower ripens in its place, Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil, Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil.”
(Alfred Lord Tennyson –The Lotus-Eaters)10
Apples & Food Miles Aside from horticultural and apple cookery enthusiasts and our desire for healthy fresh and natural organic foods, what has likely helped bring about the revaluation and resurgence of interest in our home-grown fruits back into our consciousness, by the Government and the public alike, is the awareness of the environmental issue of ‘Food Miles’ – the measure of the distance a food travels from location of growth to your plate. Food-miles matter, because they add substantially to the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Agriculture and food now account for nearly 30% of goods transported on our roads. Food transported by air freight has a far greater impact on the environment than sea or road travel, and a lot of our imported fruits are air-lifted.11 According to a new report by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), food miles rose by 15% between 1992-2002.12 Even so, for some of us, preference for home-grown produce is not an environmental issue alone, but one of health. Still, one good decision, i.e. to eat home-grown produce, fuels the resolution of the other. Since the emergence of supermarkets, which provide unseasonable produce availability all-year-round, apples are often transported from far flung locations such as China at great environmental cost. As a result of this out-of-season purchase habit, we have lost our choice in apple selection, which in turn has affected our domestic fruit growers. Commercially, many of the home-grown apple varieties have been allowed to fade away and die. Back in 1999 the SAFE (Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Environment) Alliance, a coalition of 32 organizations working for sustainable food and farming in the United Kingdom and abroad, listed some of our apple and pear varieties which used to be available in different parts of Britain, but which are scarce now or non-existent.12A Apple varieties included ‘Marriage Maker’, ‘Poor Man’s Profit’, and the Norfolk Beefing apple, which was “baked in bread ovens after the bread had been removed, and an iron plate placed on top to press the air out”. Pears that have disappeared include the ‘Vicar of Winkfield’, the ‘Swan’s Egg’, and ‘Hacon’s Incomparable’. The report said virtually half of Britain’s pear orchards and nearly two-thirds of its apple orchards have been destroyed since 1970.12B This means a loss of biodiversity, as orchards – especially traditional ones – are wild-life havens for species as diverse as bats, hares, badgers, owls and woodpeckers, as well as many plants. They reported the choice for consumers has shrunk too. Over centuries, many hybrids and cultivars have been developed, which amount to 7,000 different varieties on the world market today - all the more reason for retailers to give the UK public more choice. With 2,300 known varieties of apple, just two – the ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ (eating apple) and the ‘Bramley’ (cooking apple) – now dominate UK orchards. Of 550 different sorts of pear, three varieties are generally available.12C More than two-thirds of apples sold in Britain are imported and four-fifths of pears.12D ‘Safe’ campaigns against long-distance transport of food, which it said is often unnecessary and always environmentally damaging, because of the contribution to global warming of the transport involved.12E Long-distance transport, whether from abroad or within Britain, also breaks the link between consumer and producer. This is double-edged, because it means that unless the public buy a clearly-labelled “fair trade” product, shoppers have little assurance that the people producing their food have decent working conditions. ‘Safe’ was concerned then that “factory farming” of fruit means not only very restricted choice, but also much greater use of chemicals, you should be concerned now. Visiting an ‘Apple Day’ celebration with the family, by whatever form of transport is one story, and one return journey to support our apples, growers and orchards - regular trips to the supermarket to buy foreign imported apples is another, which adds further to the fruits’ food miles! The Apple Tree in Our Lives “A charitable man is like an apple tree – he gives his fruit and is silent; the philanthropist is like the hen.” (Sheldon Alan Silverstein)13 Those who in childhood had the good fortune to live in the countryside, playing under pink and white apple-blossom laden trees in spring-time orchards, will have fond memories of the sheer pleasure come the Autumn of plucking and sinking their teeth into autumn sun-warmed apples straight from the bough. Back at school in September for the winter term, many will have read John Keats’ poetic description in his Ode ‘To Autumn’ of Nature’s opulence and bounty, the romantic beauty of autumn days, a poem perhaps remembered long after much else once learned in school-days is forgotten. “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; … “14 You may still come across wild apples on country walks from which our table varieties originate. A sharp reminder of what we have lost and may lose means we need to give our full support to British apples, for as Thoreau in America put it: “To appreciate the wild and sharp flavours of these October fruits, it is necessary that you be breathing the sharp October or November air. … Some of these apples might be labelled, “To be eaten in the wind.” It takes a savage or wild taste to appreciate a wild fruit. … The era of the Wild Apple will soon be past. I fear that he who walks over these fields a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples. …”15 There is plenty of interest to attract the student to the apple; it features largely in our mythology, history, legend and folklore. For example, in a British Arthurian myth and legend apples are most identified with the Island of Avalon, whose name is derived from the Welsh word for apple ‘afal’, pronounced aval. Although the whereabouts of Avalon is debatable, it is associated with Glastonbury, in Somerset, England, where the mortally wounded Knight Arthur was taken to be healed. Avalon is a metaphor for a kind of heaven. It is a spiritual, mystical, place; a land flourishing with vegetation where there is always sunlight and warm gentle breezes, and where the inhabitants never grow old or know pain or injury.16 Oh! If you take the writings in the Bible literally, rather than in many cases as a form of symbolism or parabolic, and are concerned about the apple’s implication in the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Genesis (iii, 1-24) records that Eve did eat ‘the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil’. But, people imagine the fruit eaten was an apple, because the Latin word for ‘evil’ is malum and the Latin word for ‘apple’ is also malum! Hence forward, unfairly, people began literally to associate the apple with the fruit Eve ate. Whatever way you may individually interpret the Bible, practically speaking there are serious doubts as to the forbidden fruit being an apple, as none grew in the latitude where Eden is supposed to have been. In Genesis (ii, 10-14) it suggests a setting in the ancient near east, specifically somewhere in Mesopotamia. A substantial consensus now exists that the knowledge of the location of Eden has been lost, but there is no other indication of its existence beyond the record found in Genesis. One way or another, there appears to be no evidence that Eve tempted Adam with an apple. However much giving the ‘apple’ a bad name has been useful to religious history and art, in realistic terms it could well be granted absolution from this antiquated stigma. The study of the apple with all its multifarious fascinating facets and in all its many modes and uses is a life-time quest. A Bite of Apple’s Botanical History
Apple tree (Malus domestica) from Koehler’s Medicinal Plants 1887 - www.en.wikipeida.org The word ‘apple’ comes from the old English word aeppel. The apple tree was perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated. The storage capability of the apple is one of its huge advantages, thus apples have remained an important food in all cooler climates. They can be stored for months whilst retaining much of their nutritive value. Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing, have been an important foodstuff in both Europe and Asia for millennia. With the advent of the European New World’s explorers, this also holds true for centuries in America and Argentina. The evidence for the apple’s botanical origins point to the wild ancestor of Malus domestica:Rosaceae derived from Malus sieversii. It has no common name in English, but is known where it is a native as “alma”.17 The location in question is the city of Almaty, which means ‘appled’ or ‘the place with apples’. It was formerly known as ‘Alma-Ata’ or “father-apple” in Imperial Russia, and is the largest city in Kazakhstan. In the surrounding region there is unequalled genetic diversity among the ‘alma’ (wild apples), which implies that south-east Kazakhstan is where the domesticated apple is native.18 This tree is still found wild in the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang, China.19 The apple, Malus, comprises a genus of about 30-35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs, including our ‘Table Apple’ (M. domestica, der. M. sieversii). The other species that may be familiar to us are generally known as ‘wild apples’ or ‘crab-apples’ i.e. ‘crabs’ given that name for their small and tart fruits.20 The genus is native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, Asia and North America.21 The Crab apple species may be less palatable, but they are excellent for cooking or juicing, and make lovely pink-golden ‘crab apple jelly’. For many years, there was indecision as to the apple’s origin. It was debated whether M. domestica evolved from chance hybridisation among various wild species, but recent DNA analysis indicates that the hybridisation theory is almost certainly false.22 Instead, it appears that a single species still growing in the Ili Valley on the northern slopes of the Tien Shan mountains at the border of north-west China and the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan is indeed the ancestor of the domestic apples we eat today.23 Apples Nutritional Value Apples are power-houses for good health, their nutritional value is immense. They are well-known to be high in vitamin C, also vitamins K, B6 and E (alpha tocopherol), and others of the B complex vitamins B1, B2, B3, with lesser amounts of B5, B9 (folate) and B12. Apples are also high in antioxidants; anti-carcinogenic vitamin A (beta-carotene) and flavonoids.24 They contain carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fibre, fatty acids, plus a broad spectrum of minerals, including high potassium and calcium content, as well as amino acids and much more. Apple’s Appliance of Science & Health Benefits In 2002, 45 million tonnes of apples were grown worldwide with a value of about US$10 billion, approximately £5,356,994,836 or 7,994,635,907 Euros! The figures do not seem so gargantuan when it is considered there are millions of people in the world who need to eat ‘An apple day, to keep the doctor away’. In the arena of science for medicine, modern research is confirming many of apple’s remedial contents’ activity that folk-medicine has used in practice for centuries. The beneficial assets of the fruit have hitherto been underestimated. Just how much of a punch an apple packs, will to some extent vary with different varieties. To demonstrate this, last year a Canadian government study measured the levels of antioxidants in eight varieties of apples and found that ‘Red Delicious’, the most common variety grown in the US, contained the highest concentration of health enhancing chemicals.25 And, “to get the most bang for your bite”, it was suggested to be sure to eat the peel, because according to researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the skin of the ‘Red Delicious’ apple contains over six times more antioxidant activity than the flesh. True, pesticide contamination is linked to an increasing number of diseases, and they are mostly found on the outside of fruits’ and vegetables’. Although to wash or peel apples before eating may reduce pesticide intake, peeling will also reduce the intake of beneficial nutrients. However, the researchers advised not to shun other apple varieties, as more research is needed to determine whether quantity alone counts, e.g. antioxidants in some apples may be better absorbed (bioavailable) than others.26 For the benefit of apple buffs, the antioxidant rating of this study’s apples was first ‘Red Delicious’, being six times higher in antioxidants than the bottom ranked ‘Empire’ variety. ‘Red Delicious’ was followed secondly by, ‘Northern Spy’, the ‘Cortland’, ‘Ida Red’, ‘Golden Delicious,’ ‘McIntosh’ and ‘Mutsu’ in that order.27 Three years earlier, the importance of apple ‘peel’ was borne out by American researchers at Cornell University, who had concluded that: “the high content of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and antiproliferative activity of apple peels indicate that they may impart health benefits when consumed and should be regarded as a valuable source of antioxidants.”28 In a review two years ago, there is evidence for apples, among other fruits and vegetables, that phytochemicals, including phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids from them may play a key role in reducing chronic disease risk.29 The researchers found widely consumed apples are a rich source of phytochemicals, and studies have linked the consumption of apples with reduced risk of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and diabetes.30 Smokers take heed. Several studies have specifically linked apple consumption with a reduced risk for cancer, especially lung cancer. In the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals' Follow-up Study, involving over 77,000 women and 47, 000 men, fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a 21% reduced risk in lung cancer risk in women, but this association was not seen in men.31 Very few of the individual fruits and vegetables examined had a significant effect on lung cancer risk in women, however apples were one of the individual fruits associated with a decreased risk in lung cancer. Women who consumed at least one serving per day of apples and pears had a reduced risk of the disease.32 It may be early days, but in some latest research carried out, apples have popped up for developing medicinal herb-derived and food plant-derived prophylactic agents, i.e. remedies that prevent or slow the course of an illness or disease, which was directed at neurological, metabolic, cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders using ‘Oligonol’.33 This is a novel technology product taken from polyphenols,33A typically proanthocyanidin33B from a variety of fruits (apples, grapes, persimmons, etc.) that has optimized bioavailability in easily absorbed forms. Supplementation of mice with Oligonol significantly reduced the extent of lipid peroxidation34 in the kidney, brain and liver.34A It triggers apoptosis (cell death) in breast cancer cells, suggesting its important chemopreventive effects.35 There is also reference to animal models of senescence (the organic process of growing older and showing the effects of increasing age) and geriatric disorders which exhibit learning and memory deficits, and enhanced production or defective control of oxidative stress that could prove Oligonol to be extremely useful, e.g. apples have recently featured in Alzheimer’s research. Since it was announced in a news bulletin in 200435 that apple’s procyanidins36 may ward off cancer, which chemicals were shown to significantly reduce the number of pre-cancerous lesions in lab animals by a research team from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, who presented their work at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, there has been more recent activity in the science community regarding apples’ use for colon cancer. The work, led by Dr Francis Raul in 2004, found that parallel research suggests the chemicals work by altering signalling pathways that control the process by which cells commit suicide at the end of their natural life. This process goes awry in cancer cells, leading to uncontrolled division and the formation of tumours. Procyanidins triggered signals that lead to cell suicide, thus thwarting the growth and spread of cancer. Secondly, lab animals’ supplemented with a liquid apple-derived procyanidins added to their diet, after about six weeks, were found to have about half the number of pre-cancerous lesions in their colons compared with the control group. Although the research results were aimed at creating new treatments to combat tumour growth, Dr Raul said: “Our work suggests that eating the whole apple, including the skin, might offer some anti-cancer benefits. That is certainly something we can comfortably do without further study.” ‘Cancer Research UK’,37 said apple skins were also high in fibre, and independent research has shown that increased fibre intake can independently reduce the incidence of bowel cancers. ‘Colon Cancer Concern’38 added: “People whose diets are low in fibre, fruit and vegetables and who do not exercise regularly, appear to be at increased risk of developing bowel cancer.” The World Cancer Research Fund UK39 (WRCF UK) also stated their own research has shown that we can reduce our risk of developing cancer by between 30%-40% by making life-style changes such as eating more fruit and vegetables, taking regular exercise and watching our weight. Moving on, last year French researchers found that apple procyanidins alter intracellular signalling pathways, polyamine biosynthesis and trigger apoptosis (cell death) in tumour cells. The good news is, in contrast with absorbable drugs, these natural, non-toxic, dietary constituents reach the colon where they are able to exert their anti-tumour effects.40 This August 2006, the French research progressed further and they are now recommending apple procyanidins for chemoprevetive and therapeutic interventions.41 Additionally, this April German researchers investigated whether apple juice with high amounts of anti-oxidative phenolics might protect the human intestine against cell damage. They explored to what extent the preventive effectiveness of polyphenolic juice extracts is governed by amounts of five major constituents (rutin, phloridzin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and epicatechin). In human colon cell lines ‘in vitro’ reconstituted mixtures of these phenolics were investigated in comparison to the original juice extracts, originating from cider and tables apples. Their results lead to the conclusion that the selected constituents in their authentic proportions substantially account for the anti-oxidative effectiveness of phenolic apple juice extracts.42 In March 2006, biotech researchers concluded that apple flavonoids modulate toxicological defence against colon cancer risk factors.43 The same month last year other German researchers examining cloudy apple juice versus clear apple juice, containing different amounts of analyzed procyanidins and pectin44A found that cloudy apple juice decreases DNA damage in animal studies.44 The researchers think that pectin may be responsible for the stronger cancer-preventive effect of cloudy apple juice.45 Why the emphasis on colon cancer? The four most common cancers, breast, lung, colorectal and prostate, accounted for just over half of the 233,600 new cases of malignant cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) registered in England in 2004. Survival varies by type of cancer and, for each, by a number of factors including sex, age and socio-economic status.46 Five-year relative survival is very low for cancers of the pancreas, lung, oesophagus and stomach, in the range 2%-15% for patients diagnosed in England in 1998-2001, compared with colon cancer (nearly 50%), cancers of the bladder, cervix and prostate (53%-71%) and breast cancer (80%). For the majority of cancers a higher proportion of women than men survived for at least five years after diagnosis.47 Colon cancer mainly affects the more vulnerable elderly. In many cases a colostomy48 is required. Because this operation may have complications, and/or hospitalization can hold the threat of superbug infections (MRSA: Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and/or Clostridium difficile), and the reversal of which operation also means a double dose of all that it entails; plus there’s a 50% chance of a good survival period for colon cancer, with what we are learning about eating apples, which is so easy to do to boost protection, the opportunity to use apples in the diet to advantage should not be missed. EAT APPLES AND AVOID! Don’t wait until you are middle-aged or old, if you don’t already do so, start eating apples and/or drinking apple juice now – long before the undignified disease of Alzheimer’s,49 which is linked to the accumulation of clumps of beta-amyloid protein in the brain, can possibly take hold. A recent American study, appearing in the American Journal of Medicine, involving 2,000 Japanese American people recorded for up to 10 years, had powerful results. It suggests that drinking fruit and vegetable juices frequently significantly cuts the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.50 The researchers found the risk was 76% lower for those who drank polyphenol-rich juice more than three times a week, compared with those who drank it less than once a week.51 Back in 2004, it was found that nutrients in apples may protect the brain from oxidative damage that causes neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. US Researchers from Cornell University, reporting in the Journal of Food Science, revealed that apple nutrients protected brain neurons against oxidative damage known to trigger neurodegenerative diseases.52 They also reported in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry that the apple phytonutrient quercetin52A is the active ingredient responsible for the protective effect. “These results suggest that quercetin, in addition to many other biological benefits, contributes significantly to the protective effects of neuronal cells from oxidative stress-induced neuro-toxicity, such as Alzheimer’s disease”.53 Apples are quercetin-rich! It had already been found in an American study in 2004 that apple juice prevents oxidative stress and impaired cognitive performance caused by genetic and dietary deficiencies in animals.54 It also was known in 2004 that increased oxidative stress contributes to the decline in cognitive performance during normal aging and in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Dietary supplementations with fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidant potential have in some cases compensated for oxidative stress. The same year, members of the same research team found ‘in vitro’ that the antioxidant potential of apple products can prevent Amyloid-beta56-induced oxidative damge.55 Good apple-news for everyone, is that in spring this year researchers at the University of California discovered how the flavonoids in apples offer protection beyond their known antioxidant effect (mopping up DNA-damaging ‘free radicals’) or why ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay’. Human endothelial cells were treated with an extract produced from fresh ‘Fuji’, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Red Delicious’ and ‘Granny Smith’ apple varieties. They exposed the cells to tumour necrosis factor (TNF), a compound that triggers cell death and produces inflammation. It was observed that the apple flavonoids were able to protect the cells from the effects of the TNF by inhibiting chemical signals that would otherwise damage or kill cells. This is a big step forward in understanding how apple extracts (products) could aid neuro- and other degenerative diseases. Diabetes, together with obesity, is another disease becoming increasingly prevalent. Apple consumption may also be associated with a lower risk for diabetes.57 In a 2002 Finnish study of 10,000 people,58 a reduced risk of Type II Diabetes as connected with apple consumption. Higher quercetin intake, a major component of apple peels, was also associated with a decreased risk in Type II diabetes. A year later, apple and pear intake was also associated with weight-loss in middle-aged overweight women in Brazil.59 Some 400 hypercholestemic, but non-smoking women were randomized to one of three supplement groups: oat cookies (biscuits), apples or pears, each subject consuming one of each supplement three times daily for 12 weeks.60 There was good adherence to the diet. After this three month period, those who consumed either apples or pears had a weight loss of 1.21kg. and a significantly lower blood glucose level, whereas those eating oat cookies did not lose weight or have lower blood glucose levels.61 In other research, the dynamics of blood glucose changes (avoidance of sharp peak) with apple make it a good fruit choice.62 A stout reminder for those over-weight to eat apples instead of eating fattening snacks. Diabetes takes an enormous human and monetary toll each year. Current treatment too often revolves around insulin and drug therapy, neglecting diet and exercise. To this end, a comprehensive review was undertaken as long ago as 1987 to assess and summarize the effects of dietary fibre on diabetes.63 Fibre supplement studies with guar, wheat bran, and apple fibre produced mixed results.64 These fibre diets reduce insulin requirements, improve glycaemic control, lower cholesterol and promote weight-loss.64 Apples have a good compliment of fibre and are simple to eat any time anywhere and studies show a good long-term adherence with fibre diets. However, the review stresses that diets must be individualized, with special modifications for obesity, hyperlipidemia,65 or physiological states such as pregnancy and lactation.66 They stipulated that high-fibre diets will ultimately improve metabolic control and decrease health care costs for thousands of diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.67 Heart disease is still the biggest ‘killer’ in the UK. Although the death rate has been falling, i.e. the number of deaths is down from nearly 121,000 in 2001 to nearly 117,500 in 2002, but obesity poses a major threat.68 A staggering 2.7 million people are estimated to be living with coronary heart disease (CHD) in the UK – a number that is rising year on year.69 Almost one in eight people (12%) have been diagnosed with a disease of the heart or circulatory system, and this figure does not include the millions who live with blocked arteries without even knowing it. Seventeen years ago this was just 7%.70 The Red Flag is flying, because with the woeful trends in lack of physical activity and widespread unhealthy diets, Britain now has the developed world’s fastest growing rate of obesity, which is threatening to reverse the fall in CHD mortality rate.71 Eating apples is not a cure for CHD, but adding them to your daily diet can assist your heart’s health. A reduced risk of cardiovascular disease has been associated with apple consumption due to their large concentration of flavonoids, as well as a variety of other phytochemicals. The Women's Health Study surveyed nearly 40,000 women with a 6.9-year follow-up, and examined the association between flavonoids and cardiovascular disease.72 Women ingesting the highest amounts of flavonoids had a 35% reduction in risk of cardiovascular events.73 In a Finnish study examining flavonoid intake and coronary mortality, it was found that total flavonoid intake was significantly inversely associated with coronary mortality in women, but not in men.74 Apple and onion intake were similarly associated with coronary mortality, especially in women.75 Data from this same cohort study also showed the effect of quercetin and apple intake on cerebrovascular disease. Those who had the highest consumption of apples had a lower risk of thrombotic stroke compared to those who consumed the lowest amounts of apples.76 Apples play an important role in the American diet and are among the most popular fruits consumed in the United States, recognized both for their flavour and nutrition.77 Nevertheless, the consumption of fresh apples has declined and processed apples has increased.78 This is most definitely not a lead to follow. Although our current number of orchards has been severely reduced, the value of eating fresh apples cannot be overestimated. One cannot say that this decline in the eating of fresh apples is responsible for the rising tide of heart disease in the USA, which is more likely down to overall diet, but it cannot help, for what is missing from the diet may be just as important as what should not be there. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is also the No.1 cause of death in America. According to statistics released by the American Heart Association (AHA), at least 58,800,000 million Americans i.e. 1 person in 4, suffer from some form of heart disease.79 It’s a sobering thought or enough to make you reach for a glass of cider! Some of apples’ protective effect against cardiovascular disease may come from its potential cholesterol-lowering ability. It was found that when cholesterol fed rats were supplemented with lyophilized apples, there was a significant drop in plasma cholesterol and liver cholesterols and an increase in high-density lipoproteins (HDL), commonly called ‘good’ cholesterol.80 Moreover, the researchers found that cholesterol excretion increased in the faeces of rats fed apples, which suggest reduced cholesterol absorption as a result.81 In more recent studies, it has been found that combined apple pectin and apple phenolics lowered plasma and liver cholesterol, tryglycerides, and apparent cholesterol absorption to a much greater extent than either apple pectin alone or apple phenolics. 82 This tells us that there is a beneficial interaction between fruit fibre and polyphenolic apple components. It also supports the researched suggestions that to eat the whole fruit is better than taking dietary supplements. Apples are seriously useful to heart disease. Breathe easier with apples. Apple consumption benefit has been also been linked with asthma and has been positively associated with general pulmonary health. In a recent study involving 1,600 adults in Australia, apple and pear intake was associated with a decreased risk of asthma and a decrease in bronchial hypersensitivity, but total fruit and vegetable intake was not associated with asthma risk or severity.83 A study of approximately 2,500 middle aged (45-49) Welshmen also demonstrated a beneficial effect of apple consumption on lung function.84 A strong positive association was seen between lung function and the number of apples eaten per week, consistent with a protective effect of hard fruit rather than soft/citrus fruit.85 This is not the end of apple’s medicine saga. Indeed, the scientific arousal of interest in the past few years bodes well for getting our healthful domestic apples back on track. Cider – A Medicine or a Drink? “Cider Apples” When God had made the oak trees, And the beeches and the pines, And the flowers and the grasses, And the tendrils of the vines; He saw that there was wanting A something in His plan, And He made the little apples, The little cider apples, The Sharp, sour cider apples To prove His love for man. (Author unknown) William Shakespeare lived in cider country and must have enjoyed the odd glass of ‘scrumpy’ (real cider) in his day. It is to be hoped he didn’t drink too much of it in one go before it had matured, or he would have got a terrible headache. Generally, regions of cider consumption tally with areas of production. Although it is not purely a regional drink today, before the development of rapid long-distance transportation, the drink would have been more common in apple orchard areas. This applied at home and abroad, cider was said to be more common than wine in 12th –century Galicia, Northern Spain. Cider comes in a variety of tastes, from sweet to dry, with differing flavours. Its colour ranges from very dark, cloudy and sludgy through to crisp and golden yellow, the most processed being entirely clear. This is due to how much of the apple must is removed between pressings and fermentation. Apple cider vinegar86 is also very popular, especially the ‘organic’ version. Its health and beauty attributes, mainly from folk-lorian use rather than scientific investigation, have been extolled over a long period. It has 101 practical household uses in the home. Remember the ‘Jack and Jill’ nursery rhyme? Well, however smelly, brown paper (brown paper-bag style) soaked in apple cider vinegar and put across the forehead is said often to stop a headache within a few minutes!87 However, in tandem with scientific interest in apples and apple products, of late cider has come under the microscope. In 2002, UK scientists’ in a study of six subjects who drank 1.1L of a cider beverage,88 the data showed that polyphenols are taken up from cider, that phloretin89 is excreted in the urine and suggest that low doses of quercetin are extensively methylated,90 i.e. metabolized, in humans. So cider it seems could be doing drinkers some good. In August this year scientists in Glasgow were examining whether drinking cider may offer the same or similar health benefits as eating apples.91 They have found that English cider apples have high levels of phenolic antioxidants, which as we already know are linked to protection from several chronic diseases.92 The next stage of the study is to analyze how humans absorb these chemicals from cider. The researchers have already found that some varieties of apples and some types of cider have higher levels of phenolics than others. Their research showed cider apples have a higher phenolic content than dessert apples; they tested 19 varieties of English cider apples and 35 types of cider 93 – not all in one go one hopes! Funded by the National Association of Cider Makers and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the work is a combination of science and industry working together. The concept is that as production methods of cider could be adapted so that the phenolic levels remain high, even after fermentation, the alcoholic beverage could thus be made to be healthier. As lead researcher Serena Marks, University Glasgow, put it: “The more information we can get about phenolics in cider and what happens to them in the body, the more chance we have of positively influencing the phenolic content of English cider, for example, by helping manufacturers chose varieties of cider apples which have naturally higher levels of phenolics. This could mean that drinking a glass of cider is not only enjoyable, but a great way for people to naturally increase the amount of phenolics in their diet.”94 That’s quite an epithet for ‘a pint of rough’. Still, all things in moderation - the most important thing to do is eat whole apples. References: 1. ‘Apple Day’ for major listed venues and events – http://www.commonground.org.uk/appledays/a-events.html & See also: Apple Journal - http://www.applejournal.com/uk09.htm 2. The Tenth Annual Apple Day, Cambridge Botanic Garden – http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/appleday.htm 3. Armotic: e.g. Armotic chemicals called phenols (aromatic compounds) give woods their natural aroma. 4. Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/leisure/parks_recreation/2620.asp 4A. Hereford Cider Museum Festival 21st & 22nd October - Marcher Apple Network Rhwydwaith Afalau’r Gororau – Reviving the Old Apple and Pear Varieties in the Southern Marches. For Event see: http://www.thethreecontiesciderandperryassociation.co.uk/diary.htm 5. Perry or Pear Cider: is an alcoholic beverage made of fermented pear juice. It is similar to cider, in that it is made using a similar process and often has a similar alcoholic content, around 8% alcohol by volume. Perry has been made for centuries in Britain, especially the West Country and Wales. In England, perry from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, made from traditional recipes, forms an EU Protected Geographical Indication. ‘Real Perry’, perry distilled, is made in a similar style to apple brandy (Calvados). Perry is also common in France, particularly Normandy and Anjou. 6. Lambrini: a light perry manufactured in Liverpool, England, by Halewood International. 7. ‘The Rituals of Cider Drinking in the Asturias’ by Will Snyder – http://www.travellady.com/Issues/February04/CiderHouseBlues.htm (See also ‘Asturias’ - http://www.tuspain.com/travel/rega.htm 8. Calvados (Apple Brandy): Is made from distilling cider in the French Department of Calvados in Normandy, from where it gets its name, and in Normandy itself. Visiting guide to Calvados and Normandy – http://www.calvadosbook.com/calvados-visiting-normandy.php 9. Pommeau: is made by mixing apple must (unfermented cider) to a quantity of one-year-old Calvados. 10. Alfred Lord Tennyson, (1809-1892) Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom after William Wordsworth and is one of the most popular English poets. Much of his verse was based on classical or mythological themes. His most famous work is Idylls of the King (1885), a series of narrative poems based entirely on King Arthur and the Arthurian tales. 11. ‘Food Miles’ by Hattie Ellis BBC Food Matters – http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/foodmiles.shtml 12. Ibid. 12A. ‘UK Orchards go pear-shaped’ BBC News Online 25th January 1999. 12B. Ibid. 12C. Ibid. 12D. Ibid. 12E. Ibid. 13. Sheldon Alan ‘Shel’ Siliverstein (1930-1999): Also known as “Uncle Shelby”, was an American poet, songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children’s books. His famous fable The Giving Tree, first published in 1964, is a children’s book written and illustrated by Silverstein. It became one of his best known titles and has been translated into more than 30 languages. In the ‘apple tree’ quotation the tree is a metaphor for perfect altruism; the man is a metaphor for perfect selfishness. 14. John Keats (1795-1821): He was one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement. During this lifetime his work received constant criticism, mainly politically oriented. Later on, his work received appreciation for the cultural change his work helped to form. His poetry is sensuous and full of imagery. In the last part of his life he wrote some of his most memorable poems, including a series of odes that remain among the most popular poems in the English language. He wrote Ode “To Autumn” 19th September, 1819. Ode: An ode is a form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. 15. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) born David Henry Thoreau, was an American writer and philosopher. 16. ‘Apples and Apple Trees in Western European Myths Legends, and Folklore’ – http://www.silver-branch.org/ssbapple.html 17. Apple’s Botanical Origins - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Botanical_origins 18. Ibid. 19. Ibid. 20. Crab apples – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_apple 21. Ibid. 22. Apple’s Botanical Origins - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Botanical_origins 23. Ibid. Apple’s DNA analysis: by Barrie Jumiper, Emeritus Fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at Oxford University, plus others. 24. Flavonoids: are any group of antioxidant chemical compounds widely founding certain fruits, vegetables, teas, wines, nuts, seeds, and roots, often as a pigment. They are most commonly known for their antioxidant activity. Flavonoids are also referred to as bioflavonoids, but the terms are interchangeable, as all flavonoids are biological in origin. 25. ‘Everyday apples pack antioxidant punch’ by J. M. Hirsch, Associated Press Writer. ‘Which polyphenolic compounds contribute to the total antioxidant activities of apple?’ Tsao R, Yang R, et al. Food Research Programme, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ontario, Canada. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Jun15; 53(12):4989-95. ‘Polyphenolic profiles in eight apple cultivars using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).’ Tsao R, Yang R, et al. Food Research Programme, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ontario, Canada. J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Oct 8; 51(21):6347-53. 26. Ibid. 27. Ibid. 28. ‘Antioxidant activity of apple peels. ‘ Wolfe, K, Wu X, Liu RH. Institute of Comparative and Environmental Toxicology and Department of Good Science, Stoking Hall, Cornell Uv., Ithaca, New York, USA. J Agri Food Chem. 2003 Jan 19; 51(3):609-14. 29. ‘Apple phytochemicals and their health benefits.’ Boyer J, Liu RH. Dept. of Food Science and Institute of Comparative and Environmental Toxicology and Department of Good Science, Cornell Uv., Ithaca, New York, USA.Nutr J. 2004 May 12; 3: 5. 30. Ibid. 31. ‘Prospective study of fruit and vegetable consumption and risk of lung cancer among men and women.’ Fesdanich D, Ziegler R et al. Channing Laboratory, Dept. of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Nov 15; 92(22):1812–1823. 32. Ibid. 33. ‘Low molecular proanthrocyanid in dietary biofactor Oligonol: Its modulation of oxidative stress, bioefficacy, neuroprotection, food application and chemoprevention potentials.’ Aruoma OI, Sun B, et al. Faculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank Uv., London, UK. Biofactors. 2006; 27(1-4):245-65. 33A. Polyphenols: a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol group per molecule. The polyphenols are responsible for the colouring of some plants, e.g. the colour of leaves in autumn. Research indicates that a class of polyphenols has antioxidant characteristics with potential health benefits. These polyphenolic antioxidants may reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Sources of polyphenols include peanuts, green tea, white tea, red wine, olive oil and olive derivatives, dark chocolate, and pomegranates, and other fruits and vegetables. ‘Polyphenols and disease risk in epidemiologic studies.’ Arts, I C and Hollman PC. RIKILT-Institute of Food Safety, Wageningen Uv. and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan; 81(1Suppl.):317S-325S. 33B. Proanthocyanidins: Natural antioxidant – any one of a class of flavonoids found in many plants that can be used as a dietary supplement to enhance immunity and to strengthen connective tissue. High concentrations of proanthocyanidins are found in pine bark and in grape seeds and skins. 34. Lipid peroxidation: refers to the oxidative degradation of lipids. This process proceeds by a ‘free radical ‘ chain reaction mechanism. 34A. ‘Low molecular proanthrocyanidin dietary biofactor Oligonol: Its modulation of oxidative stress, bioefficacy, neuroprotection, food application and chemoprevention potentials.’ Aruoma OI, Sun B, et al. Faculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank Uv., London, UK. Biofactors. 2006; 27(1-4):245-65. 35. ‘Apples may ward off colon cancer’ BBC News Online 19th October 2004. 36. Procyanidins: of the 4 major families: phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannins and lignins, procyanidins belong to the family of polyphenols. The procyanidin finds its origin in the fact that some polyphenolic compounds by acidic hydrolysis lead to the formation of Cyanidin (Bates-Smith reaction). Only a specific type of molecule constitute the procyanidins; the condensed forms of flavans 3-ol based essentially on catechin and epicatechin. 37. ‘Apples may ward off colon cancer’ BBC News Online 19th October 2004. Quote: Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK. 38. Ibid. Quote: Jola Gore-Booth Colon Cancer Concern. 39. Ibid. Quote: Sam Heggie WCRF UK. 40. ‘Chemopreventive properties of apple procyanidins on human colon cancer-derived metastatic SW620 cells and in a rat model colon carcinogenesis. ‘ Gosse F, Guvot S, et al. Laboratoire d’Oncologie Nutritonelle, Uv. Louis Pasteur EA 3430, Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l’Appareil Digestif (IRCAD), Strasbourg, France. Carcinogenesis. 2005 Jul; 26(7): 1291-5. Epub 2005 Mar 24. Metastasis: is the spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body e.g. brain, liver. Cancer cells can break away from a primary tumour, penetrate into lymphatic and blood vessels, circulate through the bloodstream, and grow in distant focus (metastasize) in normal tissues elsewhere in the body. Polyamine: compound with amino groups: an organic compound containing more than one amino group. Amines: are organic compounds and a type of functional group that contain nitrogen as the key atom. Structurally amines resemble ammonia. Catabolism: metabolism: the production of energy through the conversion of complex molecules into simpler ones. 41. ‘Potentiation of apple procyanidin-triggered apoptosis by the polyamine oxidase inactivator MDL 72527 in human colon cancer-derived metastatic cells. ‘ Gosse F, Roussi S, et al. Uv. Louis Pasteur EA 3430, Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l’Appareil Digestif (IRCAD), Strasbourg, France. Int J Oncol. 2006 Aug; 29(2):423-8. 42. ‘Modulation of oxidative cell damage by reconstituted mixtures of phenolic apple juice extracts in human colon cell lines.’ Schaefer S, Baum M, et al. Div. of Food Chemistry & Environmental Toxicology, Dept. of Chemistry, Uv., of Kasierlautern, Germany. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Apr; 50(4-5):413-7. 43. ‘Apple flavonoids inhibit growth of HT29 human colon cancer cells and modulate expression of genes involved in the biotransformation of xenobiotics.’ Veerish S, Kautenburger T, et al. Dept. of Nutritional Toxicology, Institute for Nutrition, Friedrich-Schiller-Uv., Jena, Germany. Mol Carcinog. 2006 Mar; 45(3):164-74. Xenobiotics: Synthetic chemicals believed to be resistant to environmental degradation. A branch of biotechnology called bioremediation is seeking to develop methods to degrade such compounds. 44. ‘Cloudy apple juice decreases DNA damage, hyperproliferation and aberrant crypt foci development in the distal colon of DMH-initiated rats.’ Barth SW, Fahndrich C, et al. Institute of Nutritional Physiology, Federal Research Centre for Nutrition and Food, Karlsruhe, Germany. Carcinogenesis. 2005 Aug; 26(8):1414-21. Epub 2005 Mar. 44A. Pectin: Any of various water-soluble colloidal carbohydrates that occur in ripe fruit and vegetables. Under acidic conditions, pectin forms a gel and can be used as an edible thickening agent in processed foods. It is used in making fruit jellies and jams. 45. Ibid. 46. National Statistics - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=915 47. Ibid. 48. Colostomy: is a surgical procedure that involves connecting a part of the colon onto the anterior abdominal wall, leaving the patient with an opening on the abdomen called a stoma. This opening is formed from the end of the large intestine drawn out through the incision and sutured to the skin. After a colostomy, faeces leave the body through the stoma, and collect in a pouch attached to the patient’s abdomen which is changed when necessary. . In some situations it may be possible to opt for a colo-anal pouch which eliminates the awkwardness and perceived social stigma associated with external bags. In place of an external appliance, an internal ileo-anal pouch is constructed using a portion of the patient’s lower intestine, to act as a new rectum in replace of the original that has been removed. 49. Alzheimer’s disease: is a progressive form of presenile dementia that is similar to senile dementia except that it usually starts in the 40s or 50s. First symptoms are impaired memory which is followed by impaired thought and speech and finally complete helplessness. 50. Juices ‘may cut Alzheimer’s risk’. BBC News Online 31st August 2006. 51. Ibid. 52. ‘Apple nutrient could protect against Alzheimer’s’. 2nd December 2004 – Natural Products Magazine Online. 52A. Quercetin: is a flavonoid that forms the ‘backbone’ for many other flavonoids. It exerts potent antioxidant activity and vitamin C-sparing action. Quercetin may have positive effect in combating or helping to prevent cancer, prostates, heart disease, cataracts, allergies/inflammations, and respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma. Foods rich in quercetin include apples, black & green tea, onions, raspberries, red wine, red grapes, citrus fruits, broccoli and other leafy green vegetables, and cherries. A study by the University of Queensland, Australia, has also indicated the presence of quercetin in varieties of honey, including honey derived from eucalyptus and tea-tree flowers. 53. ‘Apple nutrient could protect against Alzheimer’s’. 2nd December 2004 – Natural Products Magazine Online. 54. ‘Apple juice prevents oxidative stress and impaired cognitive performance caused by genetic and dietry deficieencies in mice.’ Rogers EJ, Milhalik, et al. Centre for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Uv. of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA. J Nutr Health Aging. 2004; 8(2):92-7. 55. ‘Apple juice prevents oxidative stress induced by amyloid-beta in culture.’ Oritz D, Shea TB. Centre for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Uv. of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA. J Alzheimers Dis. 2004 Feb; 6(1):27-30. 56. Amyloid beta: the main constituent of amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients. The ‘amyloid hypothesis’, that the plaques are responsible for the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, is accepted by the majority of researchers but is by no means conclusively established. Intra-cellular deposits of tau protein are also seen in the disease, and may also be implicated. ‘Common Structure of Soluble amyloid Oligomers implies Common Mechanism of Pathogenesis.’ Kayred R, et al. Science 300:486-489. 57. ‘Apple phytochemicals and their health benefits.’ Boyer J, Liu RH. Dept. of Food Science and Institute of Comparative and Environmental Toxicology and Department of Good Science, Cornell Uv., Ithaca, New York, USA.Nutr J. 2004 May 12; 3: 5. 58. ‘Flavonoid intake and risk of chronic diseases.’ Knekt P, Kumpulainen J, et al. National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Sep; 76:560-568. 59. ‘Weight loss associated with a daily intake of three apples or three pears among overweight women.’ Coneicao de Olivera M, Sichieri R, Sanchez Moura A. Instituto de Medicina Social, State Uv. of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nutrition. 2003 Mar; 19(3):253-6. 60. Ibid. 61. Ibid. 62. ‘Glycaemic, non-esterfied fatty acid (NEFA) and insulinemic responses to watermelon and apple in type 2 diabetic subjects.’ Fatema K, Habib B, et al. Biomedical Research Group, BIRDEM. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2003; 12 Supple: S53. 63. ‘Dietary fibre and diabetes: a comprehensive review and practical application.’ Anderson J W, Gusatafson NJ , et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 1987 Sep; 87(9):1189-97. 64. Ibid. 65. Hyperlipidemia: Presence of excess lipids in the blood. Lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities are extremely common in the general population, and are regarded as a highly modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease due to the influence of cholesterol, of the most clinically relevant lipid substances, on atherosclerosis. 66. ‘Dietary fibre and diabetes: a comprehensive review and practical application.’ Anderson J W, Gusatafson NJ , et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 1987 Sep; 87(9):1189-97. 67. Ibid. 68. British Heart Foundation – http://www.bhf.org.uk/news/printout.asp?secID=16&secondlevel=430&tjordevel=517&artID=5271 69. Ibid. 70. Ibid. 71. Ibid. 72. ‘Flavonoid intake and risk of cardiovascular disease in women.’ Sesso H, Gaziano JM, et al. Division of Preventive Medicine, Dept. of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hostpital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. J. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003; 77 (6):1400–1408. 73. Ibid. 74. Ibid. 75. ‘Flavonoid intake and coronary mortality in Finland: a cohort study.’ Knekt P, Jarvinen R, et al. National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. BMJ. 1996; 312 (7029):478–481. 76. ‘Quercetin intake and the incidence of cerebrovascular disease.’ Knekt P, Isotupa S, et al. National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2000; 54 (5):415–417. 77. ‘Apples in the American diet.’ Lewis N, Ruud J. Dept. of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Ruth Leverton Hall, Uv. of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA. Nutr Clin Care. 2003 Apr-Jun; 7(2):82-8. 78. Ibid. 79. Heart Statistics USA – ‘Heart Disease Facts’. http://www.annecollins.com/nutrition/heart-facts.htm#Statistics%20of%20heart%20disease%20USA 80. ’Apple favourably affects parameters of cholesterol metabolism and of anti-oxidative protection in cholesterol fed rats.’ Aprikian O, Levrat-Verny M, et al. Food Chem. 2001;75:445–452. 81. Ibid. 82. ‘Apple pectin and a polyphenol rich apple concentrate are more effective together than separately on cecal fermentations and plasma lipids in rats.’ Aprikian O, Duclos V, et al. Unite des Maladies Metaboliques et Micronutriments, INRA de Clermont-Ferrand/Theix, France. . J Nutr. 2003;133:1860–1865. 83. ’Food and nutrient intakes and asthma risk in young adults.’ Woods R, Walters H, et al. Dept. of Edpidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Central and Eastern Clinical School, Monash Uv., and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep; 78 (3):414–421. 84. ‘Diet, lung function, and lung decline in a cohort of 2512 middle aged men.’ Butland B, Fehily A, et al. Dept. of Public Health Sciences, St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, UK. Thorax. 2000 Feb; 55:102–108. 85. Ibid. 86. Apple cider vinegar (known also as ‘cider vinegar’): a brownish-yellow colour, is made from cider or apple must, and is often sold unfiltered. It often contains ‘mother of vinegar’ – a slime composed of yeast and acetic acid bacteria that develops on fermenting alcoholic liquids, which turns alcohol into acetic acid with the aid of oxygen from the air. 87. ‘Frugal Headache Remedy’ - http://chetday.com/vinegarheadacheremedy.htm 88. ‘Polyphenols from alcoholic apple cider are absorbed, metabolized and excreted by humans.’ DuPont MS, Bennett RN, et al. Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research park, Colney, Norwich, UK. J Nutr. 2002 Feb; 132(2):172-5. 89. Phloretin: origin phlorizin, and formerly used to some extent as a substitute for quinine. 90. Methylated: Methylation: In biological systems, methylation is catalyzed by enzymes; such methylation can be involved in regulation of protein function, and RNA metabolism. 91. Cider ‘may have health benefits’ – BBC News Online, 28th August 2006. 92. Ibid. 93. ‘Cider is linked to fighting disease’ Daily Mail, 28th August 2006. 94. ‘Antioxidant-rich cider under the microscope.’ By Stephen Daniells, Nutra Ingredients online: http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=70140&m=2FSN830&idP=2&c=zvcdgfpbnucfltc
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