Families who eat healthy foods and whose children drink lots of apple juice are less likely to develop asthma, says a recent scientific study.

The study which took place in Greenwich London involved primary school children between the ages of five and 10 years old. Children who drank apple juice daily appeared to be less likely to suffer from wheezing as those who drank apple juice less than once a month. It is thought that the phenolic acids and flavoinoids contained in the juice were helping to calm inflammation in the children’s airways which is a common factor of both wheezing and asthma. Healthy foods research has also shown that women who ate apples regularly during their pregnancy also helped prevent asthma in their children in later years.

Surprisingly the apple juice involved did not need to be fresh. It was found that long life juices made from concentrates were just as effective. In other studies, it was found that less processed apple juice contained higher amounts of antioxidants than found in the more heavily processed clear juice products. The heavy processed varieties have a longer shelf life but are less effective overall.

Scientists have known for a long time, the apples are an excellent food for protecting the body. Getting technical, its flavoinoids which are also found in chocolate and green tea as well and some other fruits can prevent damage to DNA. They take up free oxygen radicals and it is these flavoinoids that are known as antioxidants.

There are other major benefits to eating apples, and drinking plenty of apple juice. The flavoinoids help prevent heart disease and help prevent different types of cancer such as breast cancer in women; colon cancer, and prostate cancer in men.

Vitamin C in apples help the immune system and helps protect against bleeding gums and bruising easily. There is also a benefit in preventing tooth decay, as apples have properties that can kill up to 80 per cent of bacteria, and here is a major benefit that most people don’t know about. Apples contain phytonutrients which are substances that can help prevent neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Additionally, these substances can reduce dangerous cholesterol in the body, so the benefits of eating apples and drinking apple juice apply to everyone from young to old throughout the whole of their lifetime.

Your grandmother was right, healthy foods and in particular eating apples, is good for you.