Numerous recent studies have proven that
apples help fight
cancer. At least three studies published in the last year by a professor of food science add to growing evidence that
apples, as well as other fruits and
vegetables, are powerful ways to help prevent breast
cancer. One of the most recent of these studies found that fresh
apple extracts significantly inhibited the size of mammary tumors in rats. In fact, the more extracts given to the animals, the more breast tumors were inhibited. This research backs up earlier findings of other studies conducted by Dr. Liu, published in 2007 and 2008.
Liu Jia-Ren; Dong Hong-Wei; Chen Bing-Qing; Zhao Peng; Liu Rui Hai
Fresh apples suppress mammary carcinogenesis and proliferative activity and induce apoptosis in mammary tumors of the Sprague-Dawley rat. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 2009;57(1):297-304. "Whole
apple extracts possess potent
antioxidant activity and antiproliferative activity against
cancer cells in vitro. The objectives of this study were to determine the anticancer activity of
apple extracts in a rat mammary
cancer model induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) in vivo and to determine if
apple extracts inhibited cell proliferation and affected apoptosis in mammary
cancer tissues in vivo. Rats were given the whole
apple extracts (0, 3.3, 10.0, or 20.0 g/kg of body weight) by gavage starting 2 weeks prior to DMBA administration and continuing for 24 weeks. Rats treated with DMBA (positive control) developed mammary tumors with 71.4% tumor incidence during the 24-week study. No tumors were detected in the negative control group untreated with DMBA. A dose-dependent inhibition of mammary carcinogenesis by
apple extracts was observed (P < 0.01). Tumor multiplicity decreased with increasing
apple extracts. Histopathological evaluations of tumors were performed. The proportions of adenocarcinoma masses decreased with increasing
apple extracts. The expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cyclin D1, and Bcl-2 decreased, and Bax expression and apoptosis increased with increasing
apple extracts. These results demonstrate the potent capacity of fresh
apples to suppress DMBA-initiated mammary cancers in rats."
Details of other studies:
He Xiangjiu; Liu Rui Hai
Phytochemicals of apple peels: isolation, structure elucidation, and their antiproliferative and antioxidant activities. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 2008;56(21):9905-10.
He Xiangjiu; Liu Rui Hai
Triterpenoids isolated from apple peels have potent antiproliferative activity and may be partially responsible for apple's anticancer activity.
Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 2007;55(11):4366-70.
Breast
cancer is the most frequently diagnosed
cancer and the second leading cause of
cancer deaths in U.S. women. The anti-cancer property of
apples is particularly important because adenocarcinoma, a highly malignant tumor and the main cause of death in breast-cancer patients, as well as of animals with mammary
cancer, has been found in over 80% of tumors.
The author of the studies, Dr. Liu said in a statement
"We not only observed that the treated animals had fewer tumors, but the tumors were smaller, less malignant and grew more slowly compared with the tumors in the untreated rats."
These studies emphasize the valuable, health-protecting role of phytochemicals found in
apples as well as other fruits and
vegetables.
Apples have a huge range of health benefits. They contain a form of fiber called pectin, which has a cleansing effect on the body. It binds to
toxic waste such as heavy metals and environmental pollutants in the body, and removes it through the digestive system. This fiber helps to soften the body's waste and leave the body naturally, which is why
apples are useful for alleviating diarrhea or constipation.