№№4-6(71-73), сəуір-маусым, апрель-июнь, April-June, 2013
ISSN 2307-0250
Žas āalymdar žaršysy – Vestnik molodyh učenyh – Messenger of young scientist
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the digestive tract; to stimulate the beta cells of the pancreas to secrete insulin; and to
increase uptake of glucose from the blood via stimulation of insulin receptors. All of these
mechanisms triggered by apple polyphenols can make it easier for you to regulate your
blood sugar.
Even though apple is not an excellent source of dietary fiber (it ranks as a «good»
source in our WHFoods Rating System), the fiber found in apple may combine with other
apple nutrients to provide you with the kind of health benefits you would ordinarily only
associate with much higher amounts of dietary fiber. These health benefits are particularly
important in prevention of heart disease through healthy regulation of blood fat levels.
Recent research has shown that intake of apples in their whole food form can significantly
lower many of our blood fats. The fat-lowering effects of apple have traditionally been
associated with its soluble fiber content, and in particular, with its fat-soluble fiber called
pectin. What we now know, however, is that whole apples only contain approximately 2-3
grams of fiber per 3.5 ounces, and that pectin accounts for less than 50% of this total fiber.
Nevertheless, this relatively modest amount of pectin found in whole apples has now been
shown to interact with other apple phytonutrients to give us the kind of blood fat lowering
effects that would typically be associated with much higher amounts of soluble fiber
intake. In recent comparisons
with laboratory animals, the blood fat lowering effects of
whole apple were shown to be greatly reduced when whole apples were eliminated from
the diet and replaced by pectin alone. In summary, it's not fiber alone that explains the
cardiovascular
benefits of apple, but the interaction of fiber with other phytonutrients in
this wonderful fruit. If you want the full cardiovascular benefits of apples, it's the whole
food form that you'll want to choose. Only this form can provide you with those unique
fiber-plus-phytonutrient combinations.
The whole food form of apples is also important if you want full satisfaction from
eating them. Researchers have recently compared intake of whole apples to intake of
applesauce
and apple juice, only to discover that people report less hunger (and better
satiety, or food satisfaction) after eating whole apples than after eating applesauce or
drinking apple juice. But especially interesting was an additional finding about calorie
intake following apple consumption. When healthy adults consumed one medium-sized
apple approximately 15 minutes before a meal, their caloric intake at that meal decreased
by an average of 15%. Since meals in this study averaged 1,240 calories, a reduction of
15% meant a reduction of 186 calories, or about 60 more calories than contained in a
medium apple. For these researchers, «getting ahead» in calories with a net reduction of 60
calories was a welcomed outcome of the study, and an extra benefit to their study's primary
conclusion – the importance of whole apples (versus other more processed apple forms) in
helping us manage our hunger and feeling more satisfied with our food.
Scientists have recently shown that important health
benefits of apples may stem
from their impact on bacteria in the digestive tract. In studies on laboratory animals, intake
of apples is now known to significantly alter amounts of two bacteria
(
Clostridiales
and
Bacteriodes
) in the large intestine. As a result of these bacterial changes,
metabolism in the large intestine is also changed, and many of these changes appear to
provide health benefits. For example, due to bacterial changes in the large intestine, there
appears to be more fuel available to the large intestine cells (in the form of butyric acid)
after apple is consumed. We expect to see future studies
confirming these results in
humans, and we are excited to think about potential health benefits of apple that will be
related to its impact on bacterial balance in our digestive tract.
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