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Apple Juice May Help Asthma-Related Symptoms in Children

ATLANTA  - Apple juice consumption may be linked to a reduction in wheezing among children, finds a new European study published in the June 2007 issue of European Respiratory Journal.  

Among the 2,635 children surveyed for this research, 11.9 percent were reported to have “current wheeze” whereas 24.5 percent reported “ever wheeze.”  “Current wheeze”is defined as the child having had wheezing or whistling in the chest in the last 12 months whereas “ever wheeze” was defined as the child ever had wheezing or whistling in the chest at any time in the past.  Ages of children evaluated ranged from 5-11, with the mean age being 8 years old. 

It was among the children who experienced “current wheeze” that there was a significant, dose response association between consumption of apple juice and a reduced incidence of the wheezing. The researchers found that drinking apple juice made from concentrate one or more times a day (compared to drinking apple juice less than once a month) was directly associated with improvement of wheezing.  A lesser association with apple juice consumption was found with “ever wheezing.”

The researchers suggest that further study be conducted since other studies have found that consumption of fresh apples are also associated with reduced risk of asthma-related symptoms. They note that the protective effect of apples has been attributed to phytochemicals, which include flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and phenolic acids. Apples are the largest source of free phenolics in people’s diet in the US and in Europe.