Eat The Whole Thing And Watch Cancer Risk Drop
By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Juicier than the latest celeb gossip and more crisp than HDTV, apples may do a lot more than be the perfect fruit. The type of fiber in apples, called pectin, lowers your colon cancer risk by bumping up colon-protective compounds and clamping down on cancer-causing ones. In the lab, apple pectin increased levels of butyrate, a fatty acid that manages to do this colon-health double duty. That's fabulous, since colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer for both men and women.
Unlike chocolate cake or entire buckets of wings, apples are one case where you really want to eat the whole thing. In other words, don't peel it first. If you pitch the skin, you're ditching compounds called triterpenoids (we're not going to test you on that), which have strong potential against colon cancer and against breast and liver cancers, too. More reasons to go whole: The peels also contain quercetin, a compound that may bolster your immune system (it may even help stave off the flu when you're under stress), and that can help defend your body against cardiovascular disease and even Alzheimer's.
Of course, apples aren't the only thing you should do to keep your colon cancer risk down. You also need regular screenings. Do an annual Hemoccult test after age 40 (available at pharmacies and not as gross as you think) and colonoscopy screening every 10 years, starting at age 50.
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The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: The Owner's Manual." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. (c) 2009 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Read more about By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. at ArcaMax.com.
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