Joe Friesen, "Red Delicious most nutritious", Globe and Mail, May 24,
2005,
Link:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050524/APPLES24/TPHealth/
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but new research shows that
when it comes to healthy eating, not all apples are created equal.
A study by scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to be
published this week indicates that of the eight main varieties of apple
grown in Ontario, the Red Delicious is the most nutritious.
Red Delicious apples contain more than five times as many antioxidants
as Empire apples, the variety with the lowest antioxidant level, said
the study's lead researcher, Rong Tsao.
"Redder apples are generally richer in antioxidants than pale coloured
apples," Dr. Tsao said, explaining that antioxidants are the "good
chemicals in fruits and vegetables that help us fight cancers and
cardiovascular diseases.
"These are the compounds that are known to fight with the so-called
free radicals in our body."
"The free radicals are the culprits of modern human chronic diseases."
The study is notable because it pinpoints for the first time the
individual molecules that contribute most to antioxidant activities in
apples. Those molecules were found to be much more prevalent in the
skin of the apple than in the flesh of the fruit, leading Dr. Tsao to
recommend Canadians put down their peelers and eat the whole apple.
Identifying those molecules will also help scientists such as Dr. Tsao
as they try to produce new breeds of apples that could potentially
contain more concentrated nutritional benefits.
"So instead of eating two [apples], or even one, you can cut the
[portion] size in half," Dr. Tsao said.
There were significant differences in the antioxidant levels of the
apple varieties used in the study.
The flesh of the Northern Spy was found to be richest in antioxidants,
while the Empire and the Mutsu had the lowest levels in both their
flesh and skin. All the apples used in the study were grown at the same
orchard near Woodstock, Ont., and under the same agronomic conditions
to guarantee the consistency of the results.
Dr. Tsao, who works out of the federal Department of Agriculture and
Agri-Food's lab in Guelph, Ont., said the results don't necessarily
mean consumers will change their apple-eating habits, or that farmers
should start producing only certain varieties.
"Food is a very interesting thing. People don't always choose food by
what is most nutritious," he said.
Apples, which he believes are the second most commonly consumed fruit
after bananas, are not as rich in antioxidants as blueberries or
blackberries. They are, however, more affordable, more widely available
and more robust when it comes to storage, which means that an apple a
day may the most effective means of ensuring a healthy dose of
antioxidants.
Dr. Tsao now plans to use his findings to work with companies in the
apple juicing industry to create new products from apple waste. The
juicing industry typically discards the peels, he said, which are rich
in antioxidants. That material could be reworked and sold as a new kind
of nutritional product for human or animal consumption.
The study will be published on-line this week in the Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Other popular apple varieties, such as
the Granny Smith or the Gala, were left out of the study because they
are not grown locally.
A new study on apples shows that of the eight main varieties grown in
Ontario, Red Delicious has the most antioxidant activity. Antioxidants
in apples have been associated with lowered risks for certain kinds of
cancer.
THE APPLE SKIN TOP 8*
Red Delicious; 17,851
Ida Red; 12,083
Cortland; 11,908
Northern Spy; 10,044
Golden Delicious; 9,616
Mutsu; 6,820
McIntosh; 6.436
Empire; 2,736
THE APPLE FLESH TOP 8*
Northern Spy; 6,425
Cortland; 3,660
Red Delicious; 3,215
MacIntosh; 2,785
Ida Red; 2,749
Golden Delicious; 2,036
Mutsu; 1,584
Empire; 550
*Measured in FRAP units of antioxidant activity - FRAP is a commonly
used measure of antioxidant activity
SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRI FOOD