Age-old wisdom tells us that we should eat fruit to stay
healthy. Once again, science catches up to the old adage. A
new study suggests that compounds in fruit, especially
apples, may promote brain fitness as you age.
Specifically, researchers found that phenolics, extracted
from apples, bananas and oranges protected neuron-like
cells from dying in a dish. But before we get into the new
results let's cover a little background on what the fruits
may be doing to protect your brain.
Too much oxidative stress can lead to Alzheimer's disease
One of the things that can damage bodily tissues and cause
disease is oxidative stress. This is essentially a process
that usually happens during the manufacturing of energy.
Just like a nuclear reactor makes energy very efficiently,
but at the same time produces toxic by-products, so do our
tissues.
Usually these toxic by-products are well controlled, but
occasionally they escape into our cells and tissues and do
a little damage. If left unchecked, this damage can
accumulate and eventually lead to disease.
Since the brain gets dibs on about 20% of the calories that
you eat, it has a lot of energy production going on and is
at risk of oxidative stress. In fact, many studies indicate
that Alzheimer's disease brains are highly susceptible to
oxidative stress and that this may be one causative factor
in developing the disease in the first place.
Fruit can protect you from oxidative stress
That's the bad news, now here's the good news. Antioxidants
found in fruits and vegetables can help prevent oxidative
stress by neutralizing the toxic by-products of the energy
production process. That's why it's so critical to get your
recommended five to nine servings a day. This gives your
brain and body what it needs to fight oxidative stress.
In new research, scientists from Korea and Cornell,
extracted specific nutrients, called phenols, from apples,
bananas and oranges and used them to save neuron-like cells
grown in a dish. They treated the cells with hydrogen
peroxide, which will cause oxidative stress and tested if
the fruit extracts could save the cells from damage and
death.
Apples help neurons and blood vessels
First, researchers looked at damage to the protective
membrane that surrounds the cells to see if the fruit
extract could prevent them from springing leaks caused by
the toxic peroxide. Second, researchers measured the actual
peroxide-induced death of the cells and the ability of the
fruit phenols to save them.
It turned out that all the tested fruit extracts were
effective at protecting membrane damage and cell death, but
apple extract was the most potent.
In a related experiment researchers from the University of
California at Davis, also tested the ability of apple
extract to prevent cells from dying. But in this experiment
they used endothelial cells, which are the cells that make
up the walls of blood vessels.
Again, since the brain utilizes a big share of the bodies
oxygen supply, blood delivery through a healthy circulatory
system is a huge factor. And, the health of the endothelial
cells that make up the vascular system is extremely
important for overall brain health and fitness.
In this experiment, the apple extract met the challenge
again. Researchers treated endothelial cells in a dish with
a toxin known to kill them, and were able to prevent the
cell death with the apple extract.
So there you have it. We should remember all that stuff our
grandmother told us and take heed. An apple a day really
may keep the doctor away and help maintain good brain
function as we age.
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