Drinking Apple Juice Helps Combat Obesity

KARLSRUHE, GermanyDrinking a glass of polyphenol-rich apple juice daily for four weeks may decrease body fat in obese individuals by 1% to 2%, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers at the Max Rubner-Institut in Karlsruhe, and the Research Institute of Geisenheim examined the effect of polyphenol-rich cloudy apple juice (CloA) consumption on plasma parameters related to the obesity phenotype and potential effects of interactions between CloA and allelic variants in obesity candidate genes were assessed in obese men.

For the study, researchers recruited 68 obese non-diabetic men to participate in a controlled, randomized, parallel study. Participants were randomly assigned to received 750 mL per day of cloudy apple juice  providing 802.5 mg polyphenols or a control beverage for four weeks. Participants were genotyped for single-nucleotide polymorphisms in PPAR (rs1801282), UCP3 (rs1800849), IL-6 (rs1800795), FABP2 (rs1799883), INSIG2 (rs7566605), and PGC1 (rs8192678) genes.

After four weeks, results showed the men in the cloudy apple juice group displayed significant reductions in total body fat of 1%, compared with 0.2% in the control group. In individuals with a certain genetic profile, the reductions in total body fat were as high as 2%.

The researchers found the IL-6-174 G/C polymorphism showed a relationship with body fat reduction. Specifically, the C/C form was associated with a 2% reduction in total body fat after four weeks of cloudy apple juice intervention; no effects were observed for the G/C or G/G variants.

A 2009 study conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell found consumption of two, 4-ounce glasses of apple juice daily for one month reduced behavioral and psychotic symptoms associated with dementia by 27%. The largest changes were seen in reducing anxiety levels, agitation and delusion. The findings suggest that apple juice may be a useful adjunct therapy for reducing the decline in mood that typically accompanies the progression of Alzheimers disease and dementia.