An apple a day? How about 2 per day?
Who knew? God knew (knows)!
.
.
Apples Work Magic on Bad Cholesterol
Tom Valeo Tampa Bay Times
Chicago Daily Herald
04-11-12
.
It raises good cholesterol, lowers bad cholesterol and contributes to weight loss.
So what is this miracle substance? An apple.
.
"I consider apples a magic food," said Bahram H. Arjmandi, Ph.D., director for the Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging at Florida State University. "Apples are not my favorite food, but I buy a bag a week and try to eat two per day. I am convinced this is what I should do if I want to remain healthy."
.
According to Arjmandi, apple pectin -- the white stuff under the skin -- binds to cholesterol in the gut and ferries it out of the body. This is well-known, but what surprised Arjmandi is how much cholesterol a couple of apples can remove from the body.
.
In one recent study, he divided 160 women between the ages of 45 and 65 into two groups. One group ate 75 grams of dried apple per day -- about 2 1/2 ounces -- while the other ate the same amount of dried prunes. To his amazement, the women who ate apples experienced a 23 percent decrease in LDL "bad" cholesterol, and increased their HDL "good" cholesterol by 3 percent to 4 percent -- a boost difficult to achieve with drugs or exercise.
The women who ate the dried prunes experienced no such effects on their cholesterol, although another study found that women who ate 10 prunes per day, while taking calcium and vitamin D supplements, had higher bone density in their forearms and spine than women who ate apples.
.
Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver. Statin drugs, such as Lipitor and Crestor, reduce cholesterol very effectively by blocking an enzyme needed to make it. The problem is that statins can be hard on the liver, which is why people who take them must have a blood test periodically to make sure their liver is not becoming irritated and inflamed.
.
"The liver is one of the largest organs in the body, and it can remain pretty functional if only 50 percent of it stays healthy," said Arjmandi. "You do not see an abnormality in the blood unless you do substantial damage to the liver. Drugs have their place, but if you have to check your liver enzymes, that means the drug is doing something not so good for you, and I don't understand why we would go for drug therapies when eating two apples a day reduces LDL cholesterol so effectively. Eat apples and you not only don't harm your liver, but you substantially benefit your health."
.
So why aren't apples prescribed for high cholesterol as avidly as statin drugs?
Statins account for about 6.5 percent of all drug sales in the U.S., according to Forbes magazine, and earn drug companies about $26 billion per year.
"You'd have to sell a lot of apples to make that kind of money," Arjmandi said. "If the drugs earn that kind of money, why would a business bother with apple pectin?"
.
(C) 2012 Chicago Daily Herald. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company All Rights Reserved

On the other hand, when you reduce inflammation levels and maintain hormonal control with the Zone, you'll lower LDL, raise HDL and support bone density, as well as enjoy numerous other benefits, and you'd do it all without the extra insulin stimulation that would result from eating two apples daily. BTW, two small to medium sized apples represents more than 1/3 of the daily carbohydrate intake of the avegage women on the Zone diet.

John, thanks for the great information!

I have apples sitting out for my family to eat, and they eat them up. We love them raw or cooked. We love to add them to other foods, salads, etc. They are extremely portable, they pack easily into a lunch bag.

Apples are considered favorable carbohydrate in the Zone, and when coupled with appropriate protein and fat, they make an excellent addition to one's meal or snack. I, for one, am really glad that apples are such zone-friendly fruits. One entire apple has a glycemic load of about 5, per nutritiondata.com (which is about 2.5 per zone block).

Zoners might want to defer to Dr. Sears info for the glycemic load of aples, which is twice that of the amounts given in the previous post (Sears, Barry. "The Top 100 Zone Foods". New York: Regan Books, 2001.)

For those who do not have access to the book referenced by Sue, here is what it says on page 112 THE TOP 100 ZONE FOODS, by Barry Sears:

"Everyone knows the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", and apples do indeed provide a myriad of health benefits. Without a doubt apples are amazing for controlling blood sugar, which is a key point of the Zone Diet, Apples are a good source of soluble fiber, especially pectin, which helps control insulin levels by slowing the release of sugar into your bloodstream. Pectin also helps reduce cholesterol levels by lowering insulin secretion. Another type of soluble fiber in apples absorbs large amounts of water from the intestinal tract, which helps prevent constipation.

Although apples don't have an extremely high antioxidant capacity, whole fresh apples do contace caffeic or chlorogenic acid, which blocks cancer formation in lab animals given potent carcinogens.

Since apple trees are especially susceptible to worms, scale, and other insects, they are usually sprayed with pesticides several times during the growing season. Thus you should always wash apples carefully before eating them; some experts suggest even peeling them, especially if they have been waxed.

DID YOU KNOW? Apples have been called "nature's toothbrush". Although they don't actually clean your teeth, they do promote dental hygiene. Biting and chewing stimulates your gums, and the sweetness of the apple causes an increased secretion of saliva, which reduces tooth decay by lowering the levels of bacteria in your mouth."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again, thanks John for reminding everyone of the wonderful aspects of apples!

Not all foods ... Some are useful and good for other health reasons.
!/2 an apple split between my wife and I was part of a great salad for dinner.
Myself, I will continue to explore and enjoy all foods (some in moderation and others limited}.,
that our good Lord provided to us ...

I have been adding 1/2 apple to a salad, as well. It really does make a difference, in terms of finishing it off with a sweetness, and yet very satisfying.

YUM!

Seems like I am being misunderstood.

John, I didn't suggest not to eat apples or any other foods. I repeat, my points are, 1. A person gets all those benefits plus a lot more from lowering inflammation and maintaining hormonal control, and 2. Two whole apples a day might be a bit much, especially for a woman eating 11 blocks a day.

Cranberry, I am referring to page 292 "Table B-5 Glycemic Loads of Various Tested Carbohydrates" which lists the GL of one apple.

Thanks for your clarification.

It would be extremely helpful to other zoners if you would include the information in your post, rather than just typing out a book reference. I am betting that there are a number of zoners who don't have the complete library of Zone books, and are basically left out of the conversation without knowing what is being discussed.

Thanks!

CHEERS!

A tip to other Zoners who might be reading this thread, Sue's reference points out that 1 apple has a glycemic load of 978--which is a LOT different than the information that I had posted.

A note about glycemic load, it is all relative to the scale being used and the reference point that is used. The data that I presented came from one source, while Sue's data came from another source. While her data may suggest that apples have a much higher glycemic load than what I suggested, lets keep in mind that Barry Sears also says on page 294: "A good rule of thumb: never consume a glycemic load of more than 3000 in any one meal."

;-)

Cranberry, I gave that reference book in deference to your recent request in these Forums for references. 978 would be 9.78 when put in the context if the GLs you posted, which is basically 10, which is twice the amount of the one you found on nutritiondata, hence my choice to defer to the info from Dr. Sears. This is a Zone Forum after all, where Zone info is being discussed. My intent is to pass on my knowledge to others who could be helped by it. This is not to say differing info is wrong. The differeing measurements could be the result of measuring two different varieties or maybe two different sizes of apples. Regardless, for the Zone Diet I would defer to Dr. Sears info, since he is the creator of the Zone.

hi i am new in this forum,,,,
thanks for your kind information.....