Two apples a day, good health forever?

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. This English proverb, of Welsh origin, means in French “an apple a day keeps the doctor away forever”. But scientifically, does it hold up? There is no proof yet. A scientific team has somehow tested this hypothesis by measuring the effect of eating two apples a day on adults with cholesterol. Their study is published in the journal The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

To carry out this work, the researchers started from several assumptions. First, the apple is a fruit rich in fiber and bio-active compounds such as polyphenols. The apple would also have an effect on the blood lipid levels of patients. However, to date there have not been any randomized controlled trials to confirm these hypotheses.

The level of “bad cholesterol” has gone down…

So the scientific team decided to carry out this clinical trial themselves. For eight weeks, a group of people ate two apples a day. Another group received an isocaloric drink (ie with the same number of calories). After a four-week break, the groups were reversed. When participants ate apples, researchers found that their blood parameters, such as total cholesterol transporters and “bad cholesterol” were lower. No effect observed, however, on blood pressure and other classic markers of cardiovascular disease.

But the study itself is limited

Even if these results testify to a beneficial effect of apples on health, the study is limited. Indeed, the researchers could not use an “apple placebo”. Using an isocaloric drink instead doesn’t quite do the trick since it’s ultimately reducing the apple to a sum of nutrients. Finally, we can say that what the study shows is that it is better to eat an apple than to drink apple juice in case of cholesterol. However, there are known and recognized ways to fight against cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet, for example, consists of lots of fruits and vegetables, legumes, cereals and olive oil.