Deep Cove BC Health Specialists
Local dentists, specialists, doctors, and alternative health professionals.

Massage Therapy

Medical Doctors & Optometry

Find the health professionals you need in Deep Cove BC.

An apple a day really can help keep the doctor away, at least for postmenopausal women,

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times April 12, 2011, 12:06 p.m.
An apple a day really can help keep the doctor away, at least for postmenopausal women, researchers said Tuesday.

In a study of 160 women who ate either dried apples or prunes daily for one year, the women who ate apples saw their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol – the "bad" kind known as LDL– drop by 23% after six months. At the same time, their "good" high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or HDL, rose about 4% over the course of the study.

Women in the dried apple group ate 2/3 cup of the fruit each day. Though the apple slices added 240 calories to their daily diet, these women wound up losing weight – 3.3 pounds, on average. These women also saw their levels of C-reactive protein (a measure of potentially dangerous inflammation) and lipid hydroperoxide (which can signal higher risk for cardiovascular problems) fall.

RELATED: Eating more carbs at dinner may help with weight loss and cholesterol levels, a study finds

Researchers from Florida State University decided to put apples to the test because the fruit contains pectin, which improves the body's ability to metabolize fat, and polyphenols, which dials back production of inflammatory molecules. At least, those effects had been demonstrated in animals. Now they have some preliminary data that the same might be true in people.

The next step, the researchers said in a statement, is to expand the study to women across the country to test whether the old adage holds up.

And it IS an old adage. According to this website on the history of popular phrases, idioms and expressions, the idea that eating an apple a day could keep the doctor away can be traced to Pembrokeshire in southwest Wales. Nearly 150 years ago, a Welsh magazine called "Notes and Queries" published a longer version of the famous rhyme:

Eat an apple on going to bed

And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread.

The results of the preliminary research were presented in a poster session Tuesday at the Experimental Biology 2011 conference in Washington, D.C.

Deep Cove BC
Accommodations

Deep Cove BC
Real Estate

Deep Cove BC
Restaurants

Deep Cove BC Maps

Deep Cove BC Events

Deep Cove BC News Links

Deep Cove BC Travels

DeepCoveBC
Movie Reviews

DeepCoveBC
Book Selections

Deep Cove BC
Theatre

Deep Cove BC
Email List