An apple a day...

An apple a day could keep the doctor away according to new study which found soluble fibre in the fruit can change the ‘personality’ of immune cells.

Researchers from the University of Illinois fed laboratory mice low-fat diets that were identical, except that they contained either soluble or insoluble fibre. They found that soluble fibre reduces inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases and strengthens the immune system.
“Soluble fibre changes the personality of immune cells – they go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from infection,” said Gregory Freund, professor at the college of medicine.
Freund said this is because soluble fibre – which is found in oats, nuts and citrus fruit as well as apples – causes a rise in the production of the anti-inflammatory protein interleukin-4.
In laboratory tests, mice were fed their fibre diet for six weeks, after which scientists induced illness with lipopolysaccharide, which mimics bacterial infection. Two hours later, the mice fed soluble fibre were only half as sick, and recovered 50% sooner. “In only six weeks, these animals had profound positive changes in their immune systems,” said Christina Sherry, who also worked on the study.
Sherry said the study provided two valuable lessons; the first is that soluble fibre has direct anti-inflammatory effects and builds up the immune system; the second is that the amount of soluble fibre necessary to achieve these health benefits is reasonable.
Freund is will now investigate whether soluble fibre could offset some of the negative effects of a high-fat diet such as diabetes and heart disease. He believes supplementing a high-fat diet with soluble fibre may help delay the onset of diabetes.