Coughing, spitting, and always feeling short of breath—people with these symptoms might benefit from eating apples. Coughing, spitting, and shortness of breath are symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). A survey conducted in the Netherlands involving people with this disease found that the more people consumed foods containing flavoproteins, the milder their symptoms were. The results of the survey were published in the July issue of the *American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine*.
Apple Rose
COPD is a disease characterized by chronic inflammation in the lungs and a gradual decline in respiratory function. It is most common in smokers, and according to Japanese statistics, 1 in 10 people over the age of 40 has COPD, making it a widespread illness. In its early stages, the disease is marked by frequent coughing and spitting and occasional shortness of breath. As it progresses, the shortness of breath becomes so severe that patients become dependent on oxygen tanks. Currently, there is no treatment that can definitively suppress the progression of the disease.
Cora Tabak and others from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands focused on flavoproteins found in fruits and other plants. There are thousands of flavoproteins, and it has been reported that catechins, flavonols, and flavones have the effect of preventing the worsening of COPD. Therefore, with the cooperation of 13,651 COPD patients, they investigated the relationship between the intake of catechins, flavonols, and flavones in the patients' usual diet and the severity of their COPD.
The results showed that when patients were divided into five groups based on their flavoprotein intake, the coughing and breathlessness of those in the highest-intake group were 20-30% milder than those in the lowest-intake group. The Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1.0), an indicator used to assess the severity of COPD, also varied depending on the intake of flavoproteins.
Black tea and apples contain large amounts of catechins, flavonols, and flavones. Interestingly, however, the relationship between the source of flavoprotein intake—whether from black tea or apples—and the severity of COPD was different. No correlation was found between the intake of black tea and the severity of COPD, while people who ate more apples had milder COPD symptoms.