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Summary A new study shows that munching on an apple daily can keep the heart healthy.
A small-scale study funded by the apple industry claims that an apple a day can, indeed, keep the cardiologist at bay.The research found that healthy, middle-aged adults who ate one apple every day for four weeks succeeded in lowering levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol by 40 percent, a substance which has been linked to the hardening of the arteries.To carry out their study, researchers from Ohio State University recruited 16 healthy adults between the ages of 40 and 60 who weren’t regular apple eaters – less than twice a month. Participants were instructed to eat either a Red or a Golden Delicious apple every day for four weeks.Another 17 participants took oral capsules containing 194 mg of polyphenols for four weeks, and a third group of 18 people took a placebo. While the polyphenol capsules also yielded measurable results, they weren’t as strong as consuming whole apples, researchers said.
