Antioxidants in apples prevents Alzheimer's disease, says study

• A new study has found that an antioxidant abundant in apples and some other fruits and vegetables protects brain cells against oxidative stress, a tissue-damaging process associated with Alzheimer's and other neuro degenerative disorders.
• The study substantiates other recent animal studies, that the risk of developing Alzheimer's and similar diseases may be reduced by dietary intervention, particularly by increasing one's intake of antioxidant-rich foods.
• "On the basis of serving size, fresh apples have some of the highest levels of [the antioxidant] quercetin when compared to other fruits and vegetables and may be among the best food choices for fighting Alzheimer's," C.Y. Lee, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Food Science & Technology at Cornell University, was quoted as saying.
• "People should eat more apples, especially fresh ones," Lee says.
• He cautions that protection against Alzheimer's using any food product is currently theoretical and adds that genetics and environment are also believed to play a role in the disease.
• Fresh apples are a good source of quercetin, an anti oxidant than cooked or processed apple products because the compound is mainly concentrated in the skin of apples rather than the flesh.