AN APPLE A DAY FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST AGEING

Based on a recent study, eating an apple a day can stop the effects of ageing.

Eating an apple a day helps fight against ageing.

A wonderful chemical found in apple peel and green tomatoes can rejuvenate aged and tired muscles into those of a young adult after just two months of treatment, said researchers from Iowa University.

They did hope that this finding could lead to new therapies for the old so as to help them keep fit and active for longer.

Muscle wasting is old age is caused by a protein named ATF4 which changes the structure of genes, starving muscles of the proteins they need to remain healthy leading to a loss of mass and strength.

Fortunately, the researchers discovered two natural compounds which can reduce the performance of ATF4.

One is ursolic acid found in the outer layer of apples, and the other is tomatidine found in green tomatoes.

Initial tests on old mice showed that ursolic acid and tomatidine “dramatically reduce muscle weakness and atrophy due to ageing,” help increase the mass of muscles by 10% and the quality of muscles by 30% after just two months.

“According to these results, the two compounds appear to be potential tools for the fight against age- related muscle weakness and atrophy,” added lead author Professor Christopher Adams.

“By reducing ATF4 activity, ursolic acid and tomatidine allow muscles to recover from the impacts of ageing.”