ITHACA, N.Y., Feb 17, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A U.S. researcher has confirmed
that an apple a day -- plus other fruits and vegetables -- does indeed reduce a
woman's risk of breast cancer.
Rui Hai Liu of the University of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said his
six studies published in the past year add to growing evidence that an apple and
other produce significantly inhibit the size of mammary tumors in rats -- and
the more extracts they were given, the greater the inhibition.
In his latest study, Liu found that a type of adenocarcinoma -- a highly
malignant tumor and the main cause of death of breast-cancer patients, as well
as of animals with mammary cancer -- was evident in 81 percent of tumors in the
control animals.
However, it developed in only 57 percent, 50 percent and 23 percent of the rats
fed low, middle and high doses of apple extracts -- the equivalent of one, three
and six apples a day in humans, respectively, during the 24-week study.
The studies highlight the important role of phytochemicals, known as phenolics
or flavonoids, found in apples and other fruits and vegetables. Of the top 25
fruits consumed in the United States, Liu reported that apples provide 33
percent of the phenolics that Americans consume annually.
"These studies add to the growing evidence that increased consumption of fruits
and vegetables, including apples, would provide consumers with more phenolics,
which are proving to have important health benefits," Liu said in a statement.
"I would encourage consumers to eat more and a wide variety of fruits and
vegetables daily."
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