Wow, we’ve all heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but new research may make that claim seem quaint in comparison. If the findings in a new animal study proves to be true for humans as well, an antioxidant found in apples could extend your life by as much as 10 percent.
The current findings involved fruit flies – don’t laugh, they are used in hundreds of studies every year – and they help bolster similar findings when used with other test animals.
The fight to extend our life starts with the “bad guys” known as free radicals, which cause negative changes in our body related to the aging process and some diseases. The good news is that antioxidants help combat the effects of free radicals. Fruits and vegetables, particularly colorful foods like apples, tomatoes, broccoli, and blueberries are superb sources of antioxidants.
What the researchers found was that apple polyphenols not only prolonged the average lifespan of fruit flies in the study, but they helped preserve their ability to walk, climb and move. The apple polyphenols also reversed levels of multiple biochemical substances found in older fruit flies which are markers for age-related deterioration.
The researchers say that these findings also supported a previous study that found apples produced a 13-22 percent decrease in heart disease risk for women.
(via: Science Daily)
