An apple a day helps keep cancer away, new research shows.
Cornell University researchers told Nature magazine that apples pack a powerful anti-oxidant punch. Anti-oxidants are thought to prevent cancer by absorbing molecules responsible for cell damage that can trigger the disease.
To test the cancer-fighting qualities of the “phytochemicals” in apples, the researchers used cancer cells grown in the laboratory. They found that 50 mg of the phytochemicals extracted from the apple skin and apple flesh inhibited the reproduction of the cells by 43 and 29 percent, respectively.