Another study confirms that the famous Français saying that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Indeed, according to researchers at the University of Illinois, the soluble fiber in apples (but also in oats and walnuts in particular) would strengthen the immune system.
Previously, numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of eating apples for health, particularly in preventing colon cancer and breast, for morale, etc.. Gregory Freund and his team for their commitment to demonstrate the preventive effect of soluble fiber on the immune response. For this, they worked on an animal model, mice. In their experiment, two groups of mice were subjected to the same low fat diet with one difference: one group consumed soluble fiber and other insoluble fibers. Six weeks later, the researchers injected a substance called lipopolysaccharide, which mimics a bacterial infection.
"Two hours after injection of lipopolysaccharide, mice fed with soluble fiber were twice as sick as the second group and relied twice as fast," says Christina Sherry, who also worked on the study . She adds that "only 6 weeks, the immune system of these animals has undergone profound changes as positive. Researchers conclude, soluble fibers have an anti-inflammatory directly to boosting the immune system. In fact, it appears that soluble fiber would activate an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-4.
To achieve the daily dose for these benefits, the researchers estimate it would take for 28 to 35 grams of soluble fiber per day for this. They are found in apples, but then also in oats, nuts, lentils, citrus fruits, dried fruits, strawberries and carrots. As for insoluble fiber, although they have no effect on the immune system, they have a vital role in the digestive system. Finally, the subsidiary question is whether the soluble fiber may counteract the negative effects of diets high in fat, somehow "immunize" the obese against the deleterious effects of fat. "There are elements of significant anti-inflammatory in the fatty tissues. If they could be released strategically, they could potentially protect obese individuals from subsequent inflammatory responses such as heart attack by example" by Gregory Freund.
