LUNG FUNCTION STUDIES

British researchers found that apple eaters had better lung function than non-apple eaters.

A study from the National Institute of Health found that eating foods rich in fiber and flavonoids, found most abundantly in apples, may reduce chronic productive cough and other respiratory symptoms. The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

British researchers were investigating a hypothesized association between diet and lung function when they found a strong positive association between lung function and the number of apples eaten each week after analyzing dietary records and health outcomes of a study group of 2,512 men. Although is had been suggested by other researchers that vitamin C from fresh fruit was responsible for improving lung function, this research found to the contrary. These researchers believe that it is consumption of antioxidants in apples (flavonoids like quercetin) that provide an explanation for the healthful effect.