Bursting with nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, pectin and fiber, mothers have been telling their children for generations that an apple a day can keep the doctor away.
New research shows that an apple a day could keep cancer away
1. New Research shows that an Apple a Day Could Keep Cancer
Away!
Bursting with nutrients like vitamin C,
potassium, pectin and fiber, mothers have
been telling their children for generations
that an apple a day can keep the doctor
away. Now, research has uncovered yet
another reason that apples are one of
nature’s most potent medicines – and may
even act as a natural cancer cure.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States,
and incredibly, new studies have recently discovered an inverse
relationship between the consumption of apples and the risk of
cancer. In other words, the more apples a person eats, the lower
their risk is for several types of cancer. The most recent research
found that a compound in apples could actually behave as a natural
cancer cure, killing colon cancer cells more efficiently than even
chemotherapy drugs.
Could Apples Be the Key to Curing Colon Cancer?
In the course of this study, the researchers isolated a natural sugar
found naturally in apples, called oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides
are a type of carbohydrate that contains between 3 to 6 units of
simple sugar in their structure. In order to isolate the
oligosaccharides from the rest of the apple, the researchers
disposed of the skins, pulps, seeds and stems, and treated the juice
of the apples with natural enzymes in order to break down the
leftover apple compounds into pure oligosaccharides.
Once isolated, the oligosaccharides were added at various
concentrations to human colon cancer cells, called HT29. At lower
concentrations (about 0.9 parts per million or PPM), the
oligosaccharides killed 17.6 percent of the colon cancer cells within
just 36 hours. On the other hand, the chemo drug, which was
administered at an even higher concentration, killed only 10.9
2. percent of the colon cancer cells. Although these results were
impressive, the truly amazing results occurred when higher
concentrations of oligosaccharides were used – at 9.0 PPM, the
oligosaccharides killed a whopping 46% of the human colon cancer
cells.
Apples – A Superior Natural Cancer Cure
This breakthrough research showed that the oligosaccharides in
apples can not only out-perform common cancer drugs when it
comes to treating colon cancer, but that they are also a non-toxic
alternative, without all of the health risks and severe discomfort
caused by traditional cancer therapies. Unlike chemotherapy drugs,
oligosaccharides attack only the cancer cells, and do not cause harm
to the patient’s healthy cells. As such, treating colon cancer with
oligosaccharides could mean avoiding the troublesome side-effects
associated with cancer drugs such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue and
hairloss
Before you go throwing out the apple peels and consuming only
the juice however, consider the results of a study published in the
Nutrition and Cancer journal in 2010, which found that apple peels
are also effective as natural cancer cures. The researchers found
that apple peel extracts reduce the ability of several different
varieties of cancer cells to survive. According to the study, the
apple peel extract decreases the level of a certain antigen found in
cancer cells, and the reduction of that antigen results in a decreased
ability for the cancer cells to grow and multiply. The researchers
also found that apple peel extracts increase levels of a protein called
maspin, which helps to prevent tumors from growing and
spreading.
To maximize their cancer fighting properties, eat two apples a day
and don’t discard the skin. Be sure to choose organic apples,
because conventionally grown apples are contaminated with toxic
pesticides and herbicides which may actually increase your risk for
cancer. Also, choose locally grown apples when possible, because
3. apples that are shipped from far away are picked before they are
fully ripe and do not contain as many nutrients.