Juice is King!
Written by Asinus Asinum Fricat on May 4, 2008 – 8:31 am -Long term supplementation of antioxidant-rich apples and purple grapes, particularly in juice form, may prevent artery hardening, researchers from France have reported for the first time.
Measures of atherosclerosis were reduced in hamsters with high cholesterol levels following consumption of the fruit and their respective juices, but the benefits were significantly greater for the juices, report researchers from the University of Montpellier 1 and 2, and the Victor Ségalen University in Bordeaux 2 in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
Ladies and gentlemen, start your juicers!
“The present results clearly show for the first time that apple and purple grape prevent diet-induced atherosclerosis in hamsters, and that the fruit processing can have a major impact on the potential health benefits of fruit in pathological conditions,” wrote the researchers, led by Jean-Max Rouanet. “These findings, therefore, provide encouragement that fruit and fruit juices may have a significant clinical and public health relevance.”
Rouanet and co-workers took 40 male Syrian golden hamsters and randomly divided them into five groups. The animals were fed a diet to promote the development of artery hardening, and supplemented with mashed apple or purple grape, or the same volume of apple juice or purple grape juice, or water (control group) for 12 weeks.
At the end of the study, they found that total cholesterol levels were significantly reduced in the animals fed the fruit-supplemented diets, by 11 per cent in apple group and 24 per cent in the apple juice group, and 30 per cent in the purple grape and 34 per cent in the purple grape juice group. This was attributed to the reductions in levels of non-HDL cholesterol.
The juices also outperformed the fruit for protecting against atherosclerosis, measured by the aortic fatty streak lesion area or AFSA. This value was reduced by 93 and 78 per cent for the purple grape juice and the fruit, respectively, and by 60 and 48 per cent for apple juice and apple, respectively.
“The results show for the first time that long-term consumption of antioxidants supplied by apple and purple grape, especially phenolic compounds, prevents the development of atherosclerosis in hamsters, and that processing can have a major impact on the potential health benefits of a product,” stated the researchers.
Commenting on the underlying mechanism, Rouanet and co-workers stated that the greater potency of the purple grape and its juice may be due to the flavonoids content:
“Flavonoids, especially anthocyanins and catechins in purple grape and purple grape juice, generally have more hydroxyl groups than phenolic acids found in apple and apple juice,” wrote the authors. “This could explain why purple grape juice and purple grape displayed a better efficacy than apple and apple juice against early atherosclerosis. Nevertheless, these beneficial effects cannot only be attributed to their phenolic contents, but to the result of the action of different antioxidant compounds present in the fruits (vitamin C, carotenoids, polyphenols) and to possible synergistic and antagonist effects still unknown,” they added.
Tags: , Fruit Juices, Health
Posted in Food |
7 Comments
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I’ve cmpletely abandoned my low carbs ways and have been stuffing myself with fruits and veggies. In fact, I went out to lunch the other day with a woman who’s just discovered low carb, and she was horrified how I loaded up on carrot salad, fruits, beans, brussel sprouts, turnip greens, etc.
See, I believe it’s *all* of them - all the fruits and veggies have these kinds of potentials. My sister (who knows about these things) has whammied me over the head for years now with concepts of synergism and occurring at the cellular level and micro-nutrients when it comes to eating, and it’s ony been recently that it’s all really started to click with me.
For a long time, I developed phobias about things like grapes and apples and carrots, due to their high sugar content. But no more.
I loves me my grapes! I like grape juice as well, but I have to have a bunch of grapes ready to grab a few, sitting on the counter.
True, sitting out like that, the last of the bunch often goes moldy, but the compost bin is not at all picky about accepting moldy grapes.
The low-carb craze has crazed many people into thinking that ALL carbohydrates are poison; too bad that they don’t appreciate the good tummy-feeling that a plateful of vegetables and fruits can bring.
The sugar content of fruits IS high, but when the whole fruit itself is eaten - along with the peel of the apple and the skin of the grape - your tummy is filled and happy, with much less sugar than if you ate, say, a plateful of French fried potatoes.
A friend of a friend of mine, years ago, was diagnosed with terminal cancer (can’t remember which one) and his girlfriend put him on a diet of carrot & spinach juice laced with celery. He is still alive (this was 18 years ago). Amazing.
Oh exactly.
My latest guilty pleasure has been D’Anjou pears. I try not to buy them, really I do, because I know they’re shipped over long distances, etc.
But whenever I’m in the grocery, they smell like perfume. Oh, I wish I smelled that good!
So I always pick up a few. They’re wonderful and so, so satisfying.
Vegetables and fruits are lifesavers, most people don’t know it…OTOH, it’s an expensive way to eat, unless you happen to grow your own.
Actually, it’s not that expensive. Really, it isn’t.
I know this from personal experience because, over the past few years, I’ve caved and submitted myself to a few days of frozen food eating - embarrassing, but true. One of my deep dark secrets, and a consequence of years of crazy eating schedules (America loves to hate its educators, but our schedules and stress levels would kill the hardiest of our critics).
The problem is, those frozen meals cause you to eat more. They’re terribly unsatisfying, even the best of them.
By contrast, a simple can of spinach cooked with a touch of butter or olive oil and vinegar can hold me for hours and is very, very satisfying.
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