You may have heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Scientists at the University of Reading in England have found that you might want to eat two apples daily (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online Dec. 16, 2019). They could improve your heart health.
What Is the Story on Two Apples a Day?
These fruits are rich in fiber and polyphenols called proanthocyanidins. The researchers thought they might lower cholesterol, so they recruited 40 volunteers with moderately high cholesterol. About half the group was assigned to eat two whole apples, skin and all but no cores, every day for two months. The other participants consumed an apple juice concoction with sugar. Calories were roughly the same for each group.
After two months, the volunteers ate no apples or apple products for four weeks. Then their assignment was switched. The first group got the apple juice concoction, while the second group ate two apples a day. The apples chosen were Renetta Canada, an old French variety rich on polyphenols. An Italian apple grower, Melinda, provided the fresh apples for the volunteers.
How Do Apples Affect Cholesterol?
The researchers found that when people ate apples, their LDL cholesterol dropped by about 4 percent. They also had slightly lower total cholesterol and more flexible blood vessels.
The investigators hypothesize that the pectin and other fiber in combination with the polyphenol compounds may have a beneficial impact on gut microbes that helps lower cholesterol. Cardiology experts warn, however, that people should not count on eating apples instead of taking statins to lower their cholesterol. The apple effect is not as great as that of the drugs.
A Dietary Portfolio to Lower Cholesterol:
Scientists established the power of a high-fiber diet to control cholesterol nearly a decade ago (JAMA, July 23, 2003). Canadian researchers compared a dietary portfolio high in viscous fibers, almonds, plant sterols and soy protein to a low-fat diet and a low-fat diet with the addition of lovastatin. This cholesterol-lowering drug was the standard treatment for high cholesterol at the time. Just to be clear, pectin is a viscous fiber similar to the fiber featured in the dietary portfolio.
According to the investigators,
“There were no significant differences in efficacy between the statin and dietary portfolio treatments.”
In other words, the dietary portfolio worked just as well to lower cholesterol as a statin drug.
A systematic review of the evidence on the dietary portfolio found that people following such a plant-based diet lower their LDL cholesterol and reduce their risk of heart disease (Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, May-June 2018). However, the dietary portfolio is not the only eating pattern that can help protect people from heart disease. In addition, scientists have found evidence supporting the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). Specifically, scientists reviewing the evidence found that people embracing this plant-based dietary pattern lower their blood pressure and other cardiometabolic risk factors (Nutrients, Feb. 5, 2019). In conclusion, plant-rich diets go well beyond apples. When you adopt a full dietary pattern high in plant fiber and polyphenols, you may be able to control cholesterol quite well.
