Food our medicine? Yes, depending on the results of a study published in the medical journal the British Journal of Nutrition. Indeed, these conclusions tell us that eating an apple a day would extend life expectancy.
Researchers at the University of Western Australia (Australia) analyzed the eating behaviors of 1,456 women aged 70 to 85 over 15 years. The participants had to fill out regular and precise questionnaires on their eating habits.
The study’s findings revealed that women who ate an apple a day had a 35% reduced risk of premature death.
Fiber and flavonoids, two health allies
According to scientists, these results on life expectancy are due to flavonoids and fiber.
The antioxidant potential contained in 100 g of apple with the skin is the equivalent of 1500 mg of vitamin C. Antioxidant compounds, associated with each other – flavonoids and polyphenols – and added to the virtues of vitamin C, significantly reduce growth at least two types of cancer cells: liver and colon.
The apple is very rich in fiber: 2.5g / 100 grams. Thanks to the perfect balance between the two types of fibers it contains, the apple plays an essential role for good intestinal transit. Typical of the apple, soluble fibers like pectin form a thick gel during the digestion : they thus capture the cholesterol, lipids and moderate their assimilation.
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