Dried apples and plums lower cardiovascular disease risk in postmenopausal women

Dried apples? A clinical trial just published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers evidence that consuming a modest amount of dried apples and plums (prunes) can lower cardiovascular disease risk by improving lipids and reducing inflammation. The authors state...

"Evidence suggests that consumption of apple or its bioactive components modulate lipid metabolism and reduce the production of proinflammatory molecules. However, there is a paucity of such research in human beings...Hence, we conducted a 1-year clinical trial to evaluate the effect of dried apple vs dried plum consumption in reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors in postmenopausal women."

They randomly assigned 160 qualified postmenopausal women to one of two groups: dried apple (75 g/day) or dried plum (comparative control). While documenting physical activity and diet the collected fasting blood samples at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months to measure various cardiovascular disease risk markers. The data showed that both dried apples and dried plums were helpful in their own way:

"...women who consumed dried apple lost 1.5 kg body weight by the end of the study, albeit not significantly different from the dried plum group. In terms of cholesterol, serum total cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the dried apple group compared with the dried plum group only at 6 months...women who consumed dried apple had significantly lower serum levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 9% and 16%, respectively, at 3 months compared with baseline. These serum values were further decreased to 13% and 24%, respectively, after 6 months but stayed constant thereafter. The within-group analysis also reported that daily apple consumption profoundly improved atherogenic risk ratios, whereas there were no significant changes in lipid profile or atherogenic risk ratios as a result of dried plum consumption. Both dried fruits were able to lower serum levels of lipid hydroperoxide and C-reactive protein. However, serum C-reactive protein levels were significantly lower in the dried plum group compared with the dried apple group at 3 months."

So both were successful in reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors including 'bad' cholesterol and markers of inflammation. The authors conclude.

"There were no significant differences between the dried apple and dried plum groups in altering serum levels of atherogenic cholesterols except total cholesterol at 6 months. However, when within treatment group comparisons are made, consumption of 75 g dried apple (about two medium-sized apples) can significantly lower atherogenic cholesterol levels as early as 3 months. Furthermore, consumption of dried apple and dried plum are beneficial to human health in terms of anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties."