An Apple a Day Keeps Alzheimer's Away

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An Apple a Day Keeps Alzheimer's Away

Courtesy : Daily Health News.

 

Until recently, it was generally assumed that fate determined who

developed Alzheimer's disease (AD) and there was no way to change it.

But evidence is mounting that, as with so many other illnesses,

healthful life choices can improve the odds against AD. The latest

research is from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and focuses

on the impact of antioxidants and that yummy childhood standby --

apple juice.

 

In the study, mice -- some of which were susceptible to cognitive

decline -- were given one of three diets. The first was a nutritious

diet, while both the second and third were nutritionally deficient

diets. But the third diet was supplemented with apple juice -- the

equivalent of two 8-ounce glasses of pure apple juice or two to three

apples daily. Thomas B. Shea, PhD, the study's lead author, explained

to me that the poor diet was to create oxidative stress because this

would better isolate their response to apple juice. Dr. Shea, who is

the director of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell Center for

Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research, described the

sub-standard diet the mice had as akin to the way most people eat.

 

After a month (equivalent to a year in human life), the mice were put

into a maze to test their cognitive performance. The mice on a

nutritious diet tested in the 70% to 75% correct range. Mice on a

deficient diet without apple juice performed at just 50%, but the mice

that had a poor diet and apple juice rose to the 75% level,

establishing the value of the juice.

 

Further evidence: Dr. Shea says when they tested mice on apple juice

and a nutritious diet, they achieved a 90% level, higher than any he

had seen before. The researchers also found that acetylcholine, a

brain chemical, increased in mice that had apple juice compared with

those on a deficient diet without the juice. This is critical because

acetylcholine plummets in people with AD. In fact, the activity of

several current AD medications is to prevent the breakdown of

acetylcholine.

 

Dr. Shea says that the value here is definitely the antioxidants in

apples, not a boost from the fruit's natural sugar. But most of these

antioxidants aren't specific to apples, he says. You can also get them

from blueberries, spinach and probably cranberries as well (though not

from diluted or sugar-sweetened cranberry juice cocktail). If you

prefer apple juice, though, be sure to get pure apple juice, not apple

juice cocktail, which is loaded with sugar and contains less juice.

For those who prefer the fruit, any kind is fine, but always eat the

skin, the richest store of antioxidants. Be sure you wash it

thoroughly before eating to reduce pesticides.

 

This is extremely valuable research. It underscores the probable role

of a nutritious diet in combating the risk of AD. As Dr. Shea points

out, having a weakened form of certain genes likely increases the risk

of AD in a person. Antioxidants alone aren't powerful enough to

strengthen those genes, but having antioxidant- rich foods as part of

a sound diet appears to make a big difference in reducing risk of AD.

 

Be well,

 

Carole Jackson

Bottom Line's Daily Health News