Apple Peels Put to the Test
Regular apple intake is associated with all sorts of benefits, such as living longer and, more specifically, a lower risk of dying from cancer. At 0:17 in my video Apple Peels Put to the Test for Chronic Joint Pain, you can see the survival curve of elderly women. Of those who do not eat an apple a day, nearly a quarter had died after 10 years and nearly half were gone after 15 years. In comparison, those who eat on average about half an apple a day don’t die as young, and those eating one daily apple—more than three and a half daily ounces, which is around a cup of apple slices—lived even longer. Is it possible that people who eat apples every day just happen to practice other healthy behaviors, like exercising more or not smoking, and that’s why they’re living longer? The study controlled for obesity, smoking status, poverty, diseases, exercise, and more, so the researchers really could compare apples to apples (so to speak).
What they didn’t control for, however, was an otherwise more healthful diet. As you can see at 1:04 in my video, studies show that those who regularly eat apples not only have higher intakes of nutrients like fiber that are found in the fruit, but they’re also eating less added sugar and less saturated fat. In other words, they’re eating overall more healthful diets, so it’s no wonder apple-eaters live longer. But, is apple-eating just a marker for healthful eating, or is there something about the apples themselves that’s beneficial? You don’t know until you put it to the test.
Given that “athletes use a variety of common strategies to stimulate arousal, cognition, and performance before morning training,” subjects were randomly assigned to a caffeinated energy drink, black coffee, an apple, or nothing at all in the morning. Did the apple hold its weight? Yes, it appeared to work just as well as the caffeinated beverages. The problem with these kinds of studies, though, is that they’re not blinded. Those in the apple group knew they were eating an apple, so there may have been an expectation bias—a placebo effect—that made them unconsciously give that extra bit of effort in the testing and skew the results. You can’t just stuff a whole apple into a pill.
To read the entire article, click here.
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