Apples are a major source of natural fiber and plant antioxidants (called “polyphenols”) in the Western diet.  They are a staple of the North American diet and contain fiber that is very beneficial to intestinal bacteria^{(1, 2, 3)}.  The average American consumes more than 19 pounds of apples per year, second only to bananas (28 pounds per year), with each 150-gram apple containing several hundred polyphenols⁴.

 

Apples contain the antioxidant quercetin that has been shown to greatly benefit mental health⁵. Now a new study⁶ has found that apples may also benefit colon health.  Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer (behind lung cancer) in the United States and claims more than 55,000 Americans each year.  It is estimated that 1 in 4 Americans (80 to 90 million) are at risk because of age or other factors and, contrary to what most people believe, both men and women are equally affected⁷.

 

In the study, researchers exposed apple juice extract (AJE) (1 gram of extract dissolved in 1 L of methanol) to human stool samples (70 grams) for 24 hours.  They found that the AJE significantly increased levels of short-chain fatty acids in the stool samples.  Most notably, there was a 482% increase in butyrate, which serves as a major nutrient for the colon cells⁸.  It is also thought to play an important role in the protective effect of natural fiber against colorectal cancer by helping stop activation of proteins called histones through a process called “deacetylation”^{(9, 10)}.

 

For the researchers, “Pectin-rich apple products can thus be expected to exert [cell healthy] effects in the colon.”  In addition to apples, other ways to help with colon health in regards to colorectal cancer include calcium¹¹, conjugated linoleic acid¹², vitamin B6¹³omega-3 fatty acids¹⁴green tea¹⁵ and fiber¹⁶.

 

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

 

Reference:

 

¹  A.J. Vince, N.I. McNeil, J.D. Wager and O.M. Wrong, The effect of lactulose, pectin, arabinogalactan and cellulose on the production of organic acids and metabolism of ammonia by intestinal bacteria in a faecal incubation system, Br J Nutr 63 (1990), pp. 17–26

 

²  J.L. Casterline, C.J. Oles and Y. Ku, In vitro fermentation of various food fiber fractions, J Agric Food Chem 45 (1997), pp. 2463–2467

 

³  V. Lebet, E. Arrigoni and R. Amado, Measurement of fermentation products and substrate disappearance during incubation of dietary fiber sources with human faecal flora, Lebensm Wiss Technol 31 (1998), pp. 473–479

 

⁴  “Antioxidant Activity of Applies is High, says Cornell Food Scientist” posted on  http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/press/1999/leehealth.html

 

⁵  Lee, C. Y. (2004). "Protective Effects of Quercetin and Vitamin C against Oxidative Stress-Induced Neurodegeneration." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52: 7514-7517

⁶  Waldecker M.  Histone-deacetylase inhibition and butyrate formation: Fecal slurry incubations with apple pectin and apple juice extracts.  Nutrition 2008; 24(4): 366-374

 

⁷  “Colorectal Cancer Fact Sheet” posted on the Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition Website www.fdhn.org/html/education/colorectal/facts.html

 

⁸  W.E.W. Roediger, Utilization of nutrients by isolated epithelial cells of the rat colon, Gastroenterology 83 (1982), pp. 424–429

 

⁹  L.C. Boffa, G. Vidali, R.S. Mann and V.G. Allfrey, Suppression of histone deacetylation in vivo and in vitro by sodium butyrate, J Biol Chem 253 (1978), pp. 3364–3366

 

¹⁰  R. Reeves and E.P.M. Candido, Turnover of histone acetyl groups in cultured cells is inhibited by sodium butyrate, FEBS Lett 91 (1978), pp. 117–120

 

¹¹  Meunier, P. J. (1999). "Calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K in the prevention of fractures due to osteoporosis." Osteoporos Int 9 Suppl 2: S48-52

¹²  Larsson SC.  High-fat dairy food and conjugated linoleic acid intakes in relation to colorectal cancer incidence in the Swedish Mammography Cohort.  Am J Clin Nutr 2005 82: 894-900

  

¹³  Theodoratou E.  Dietary Vitamin B6 Intake and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008 17: 171-182 doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-07-0621

 

¹⁴  Kuriki K.  Risk of Colorectal Cancer Is Linked to Erythrocyte Compositions of Fatty Acids as Biomarkers for Dietary Intakes of Fish, Fat, and Fatty Acids.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006 15: 1791-1798

 

¹⁵  Yong G.  Prospective Cohort Study of Green Tea Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Women.  Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007 16: 1219-1223 doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-07-0097

 

¹⁶  Jacobs  ET.  Fiber, sex, and colorectal adenoma: results of a pooled analysis.  Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Feb 2006; 83: 343 – 349