Vienna, Va. - Australian researchers studying the relationship between diet and asthma have reported that, among the fruits and vegetables they studied, eating apples and pears appears to provide the best protection against this growing health risk.

Asthma is a serious and growing U.S. health threat and can be deadly if not properly managed. The American Lung Association reports that, in 2000, nearly 5,000 Americans died from asthma, or nearly two of every 100,000 Americans. Federal data indicates that at current rates 31.3 million Americans will be diagnosed with asthma in their lifetime, and that diagnosis rates increased 25 percent between 1999 and 2001. Asthma is a major children's health issue, as children aged 5-17 are most likely to be diagnosed with asthma than persons 18 or older. Asthma strikes women more often than men, and numbers are highest in the African American community.

Diet has only been recently identified as a potential risk factor for asthma, and the Australian study sought to provide clarity regarding research evidence found to date.

The cross-sectional Australian study involving 1,607 young adults aged 20-44 was published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (cite: Am J Clin Nutr 2003; 78; 414-21.) Of all the fruits and vegetables studied, study participants who ate apples and pears had the lowest risk of asthma. The researchers noted that more study is needed to determine whether changes in diet could be used to prevent asthma or lessen its severity.

The Australian study is the latest research to suggest we might breathe easier - literally - by eating apples. In December 2001, London-based researchers reported that people who ate at least two apples per week had a 22-32 percent lower risk of developing asthma than people who ate fewer apples, based on their population-based case-control study. In May 2001, researchers at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom reported that apple eaters had better lung function and lower risk of respiratory disease, such as asthma, than non-apple eaters. At the same time, researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands reported that smokers eating moderate amounts of fruits and vegetables - and particularly apples - cut their risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) nearly in half.

In January 2000, researchers at London's St. George's Hospital also documented a possible link between apples and lung function. Researchers at the University of Hawaii and Finland's National Public Health Institute both linked apple consumption with a reduced risk of lung cancer in separate studies published in 2000 and in 1997, respectively.

While the recent studies suggest apples' high content of plant-based compounds called flavonoids to be the potential health benefactor, the Australian study did not identify specific nutrients as being protective, but rather pointed to the whole food.

"We found that the consumption of whole fruit, in the form of apples and pears, did protect against asthma," wrote Dr. Rosalie Woods and her colleagues.

In addition to possible lung health benefits, recent research suggests apples, and foods made from them such as 100 percent apple juice, may provide "whole body" health benefits by reducing risk of a range of ailments, including heart disease, certain types of cancer and stroke. Late last year, Finnish researchers reported components found in apples may "keep the doctor away" by reducing the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, type 2 diabetes and asthma. Earlier this year, Brazilian researchers reported adding small amounts of apples and pears to the diet caused women to lose weight faster than non-fruit-eating women on the same diet.

Notes:

• This and other USApple consumer and health news - including USApple's 2003 crop arrival announcement - are available at http://www.usapple.org/media/newsreleases/index.cfm.
• The AJCN abstract of this study can be viewed online at http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/78/3/414.
• Summaries of the apple health studies referenced here can be found on USApple's Web site at http://www.usapple.org/educators/research/index.cfm.
• For information about U.S. pears, contact Laura Wieking at Pear Bureau Northwest, telephone (503) 652-9720, e-mail lwieking@usapears.com.
• American Lung Association data on trends in asthma morbidity and mortality are available online at http://www.lungusa.org/data/asthma/asthma1.pdf.
• Need apple photos? Check out the Media section's Image Library at www.usapple.org, or contact us to request a copy of our creative support CD containing high-resolution digital images of the best photos from USApple's library.