North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark Lee" <markl@nytec.com>]

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/fw04/apples.html

The link above will take you to a discussion about why apples are
healthful.  It is a simplified version of a study published last year in
the journal called Free Radical Biology and Medicine (Lotito, S.B., and
Frei, B. (2004) The increase in human plasma antioxidant capacity
following apple consumption is due to the metabolic effect of fructose
on urate, not apple-derived antioxidant flavonoids. Free Rad. Biol. Med.
37, 251-258).

The conclusion of the study is that apples are healthful because of the
fructose they contain.  The antioxidant flavonoids are getting in the
news lately, but this study found that this substance is not making its
way into the bloodstream.  If this study is true, it would make much of
the effort to promote flavonoid-rich fruits seem like a waste of money.
It also would mean fructose is not the evil substance that nutrition
experts are making it out to be.

I have contacted both authors on the paper and some others involved in
flavonoid research, and asked for comments on the study.  I haven't
received any replies yet.  Are there any fruit explorers out their doing
nutrition research in their day job that can comment on this paper?

Thanks,
Mark Lee