Apple Consumption Linked to Improved Brain Health
A growing body of evidence suggests that eating apples and apple products can be beneficial when it comes to improving brain health and diminishing the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
A University of Massachusetts-Lowell research team led by Dr. Thomas Shea has uncovered a wide range of brain-protective effects in apples and apple juice that accompany aging and contribute to Alzheimer's disease. The research is discussed in the November/December 2009 issue of AgroFOOD Industry High-Tech.
"Our studies, like similar studies from other laboratories, provide evidence that good nutrition can help maintain a healthy brain, even in the face of genetic risk factors that may otherwise cause a decline in brain fuction in adult life and aging," Shea said.
Nine published studies from Shea's group demonstrate that eating apples and drinking apple juice may improve cognition, reduce hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, and improve mood behavior in persons with Alzheimer's disease.
Animal studies from Shea's laboratory showed that apple juice improved cognitive performance and increased acetylcholine levels, a neurotransmitter that is essential to thought and memory functions. According to the researchers, the findings suggest that apple juice can impact cognition by boosting neurotransmitter levels.
Research summarized that apple juice helped prevent the increase in oxidative damage to the brain (which contributes to a decline in cognition) that is commonly seen with aging and with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease in mice. In one study, the brain tissue of mice consuming apple juice on a daily basis appeared to reduce levels of beta-amyloid, the protein that forms "senile plaques," in Alzheimer's disease.
Findings of the study report that among 21 individuals with moderate to severe Alzheimer's, the researchers report that consumption of two, 4 ounce glasses of apple juice daily for one month reduced behavioral and psychotic symptoms associated with dementia by 27%. The largest changes were seen in reducing anxiety levels, agitation and delusion. The findings suggest that apple juice may be a useful adjunct therapy for reducing the decline in mood that typically accompanies the progression of Alzheimer's disease and dimentia.
Why apples? According to the researchers, it remains unclear which components of apples (and apple juice) are responsible for the beneficial effects. The researchers do suggest, however, that the mechanisms responsible likely extend beyond the antioxidant activity of apple polyphenols - health-promoting substances natually present in fruit.