BREAST CANCER STUDIES

Pytochemicals in apples may aid in the prevention of breast cancer.

An apple a day can keep breast cancer away, according to a study in rats by food scientists. Cornell University has conducted the first-ever study on the direct effects of apples on breast cancer prevention in animals. In this study led by Dr. Rui Hai Liu, Associate Professor of Food Science at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, the more apples consumed, the greater reduction in the incidence and number of breast cancer tumors. They found that tumor incidence was reduced by 17, 39, and 44 percent in rats fed the human equivalence of one, three or six apples a day, respectfully over 24 weeks.

Cornell University food scientists have discovered that substances called phytochemicals, found primarily in the skin of New York apples, provide huge antioxidant and anti-cancer benefits. In an article in the journal Nature five years ago, Liu and his colleagues credited phytochemicals – antioxidants – in fresh apples with inhibiting human liver and colon cancer cell growth. Antioxidants help prevent cancer by mopping up cell-damaging free radicals and inhibiting the production of reactive substances that could damage normal cells.

“Studies increasingly provide evidence that it is the additive and synergistic effects of the phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables that are responsible for their potent antioxidant and anticancer activities. Our findings suggest that consumers may gain more significant health benefits by eating more fruits and vegetables and whole grain foods than in consuming expensive dietary supplements, which do not contain the same array of balanced, complex components.” says Liu.

"Eating fruits and vegetables is better than taking a vitamin pill," said Liu.