Apples give cancer the pip

An apple a day could keep carcinoma away, according to new research at Cornell University, in New York state. Rai Hai Liu fed cancer-prone laboratory rats the human equivalent of one, three and six apples a day for 24 weeks, he will report in the next Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Tumour incidence was reduced by 17%, 39% and 44% respectively. His team also fed apples or apple extracts to rats with breast cancer and the same regime reduced tumours by 25%, 25% and 61%. Five years ago Dr Liu reported in Nature that antioxidants in fresh apples inhibited the growth of human liver and colon cancer cells.

Apple-rich diets have already been linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, cataracts and even macular degeneration. "Risk of many chronic diseases in modern life appears to be reduced by whole foods, not by isolated large doses of selected food compounds," says David Jacobs of Minnesota University. Keep eating the fruit and veg.

Source The Guardian