Improving Your Lung Health With Apples

Your lungs are essential - without them, your body would not be able to function fully. Through their action of breathing air in and out of the body, they provide the oxygen necessary to our organs and expel any waste gases (such as carbon dioxide). This process is crucial in making sure all our organs function the way they should.¹

When your lungs are compromised, they do not work properly, which can significantly impact the quality of your everyday life as well as lead to diseases associated with the lungs.¹ Common examples include:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – This disease is the 4^th leading cause of death worldwide
• Asthma
• Lung cancer – The most prominent cancer

Hence, it is a top priority to keep your lungs healthy.

There are several things you can do to maintain healthy lungs. One of the most important ones is a balanced, healthy diet. Research has shown time and time again that what you eat can affect how well your lungs function.²

Have you ever heard of the famous saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, this maxim certainly holds some truth. Apples have been found to be incredibly beneficial to live a long and healthy life, an aspect of this being protecting the health of our lungs.³ This article will detail the variety of nutrients in the apple which benefit our lungs. 

Antioxidants in apples 

Role of antioxidants in lung health 

An antioxidant is a molecule that protects our organs from harmful particles called free radicals. Free radicals are small compounds that are found in all organs, produced as excess products from normal bodily processes, and as a result of external sources, such as cigarette smoke, X-rays and industrial chemicals.³

These free radicals are incredibly reactive, and they like to interact with cells all around the body. Small doses of these compounds can actually help us remain healthy, however, too many free radicals in the body disrupt normal functions and interactions of cells and organs, in turn affecting our overall health.³

Free radicals are like small pinballs shooting around the body, affecting the cells they bounce into. Too many of these pinballs will eventually cause mayhem. This process is called oxidative stress, and when this occurs in your lungs, it can lead to various diseases (such as COPD and lung cancer).⁴

Antioxidants act like neutralisers – they react with the free radicals instead of our cells, stopping them from interrupting important functions within your lungs and maintaining your health.⁴ Apples are full of various antioxidants that help any oxidative stress found in your lungs.

Specific antioxidants in apples

Quercetin

Apples are well known to be rich sources of the phytochemical quercetin. This chemical promotes the production of antioxidant genes, in turn suppressing any oxidative stress found in the lungs and thus protecting them.⁵ Quercetin has also shown to block entry to bacteria and viruses threatening your lungs, as well as helping to defeat any bacteria and virus already present in them. This prevents lung infections and diseases, including COPD.⁶

Flavonoids

Specifically found in apple peel, flavonoids are a class of pigments that act as antioxidants in the lungs. Studies have shown that they help decrease the risk of developing lung diseases such as lung cancer and COPD.⁷ 

Polyphenols 

Polyphenols are a group of compounds found in apples. Examples include catechins, epicatechins and cyanidins. These antioxidants have been found to aid the prevention of lung cancer.⁸ 

Vitamins and minerals in apples 

Apples contain a variety of vitamins and minerals that encourage a healthy lung system and prevent lung disease occurrence.

Vitamins in apples

Vitamin C

Apples are particularly known for their high amount of vitamin C – in fact, an apple contains roughly 10% of a person’s suggested daily vitamin C intake.⁹ Vitamin C is also considered a powerful antioxidant, helping to protect the lungs by reducing the risk and duration of any infection you may catch. These antioxidant properties also help protect us from COPD.¹⁰

Moreover, vitamin C from apples can help people who suffer from asthma, as the vitamin helps relax muscles of the lungs’ airways, which are commonly obstructed and tense in an asthmatic patient. This dilation of airways helps relieve symptoms.¹¹

Vitamin A

Apples also contain vitamin A, which is considered essential in the development of healthy lungs. They are crucial for the formation of the part of the lungs called the alveoli. These are little sacs within the lungs where gas exchange occurs – oxygen from the air breathed in enters the blood vessels through the walls of the alveoli and then travels all over the body, whereas waste gases produced within the body travel back to the lungs via blood vessels and the alveoli expel them out of the body.¹² Hence, without vitamin A, our lungs would not be able to function properly.

Vitamin A also helps regenerate the layer of the lung called the mucosa – this lines our lungs and forms a barrier between our internal organs and the external air that is being breathed into and out of the lungs. This protects our lungs from any harmful bacteria or viruses that may be present in the air.¹² Hence, vitamin A also protects us from various lung diseases, including COPD and lung cancer.¹³

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is also found in apples. Its intake helps our lungs function to the best of their abilities. In fact, studies have shown that low levels of vitamin K can play a role in poorer lung health, in turn resulting in increased susceptibility to developing COPD, lung cancer, and asthma.¹⁴

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is another vitamin apples contain which acts as an antioxidant.¹⁵ In particular, this vitamin helps protect us from adult-onset asthma (asthma that only starts in adults), and helps lessen their symptoms if someone already suffers from it.¹⁶ 

Minerals in apples 

Potassium

Potassium is a mineral commonly found in apples, and it is known to improve lung function. This is because it helps provide energy to the muscles which help the lungs expand and contract whilst breathing in and out.¹⁷ The mineral also has a protective effect against diseases such as lung cancer, and it helps alleviate symptoms of COPD patients by helping them breathe better.¹⁸

Magnesium

Apples also contain magnesium, which is a mineral found to be critical in supporting lung function. They help muscles found in lung airways to relax, which in turn allows our airway to expand and let more air come in, meaning our organs get more oxygen and can function more efficiently. This expansion of the lung airways helps lessen symptoms that COPD, asthma, and cancer patients may experience.¹⁹ 

Anti-inflammatory properties of apples 

Inflammation and lung health 

Inflammation is a response governed by your body’s defence system, the immune system, to protect you from any foreign micro-organisms in your body. This system sends their immune cells to the part of your body where you have been infected, and tends to result in redness and swelling of the affected area. The immune system is an essential defence mechanism to protect us from harm.

However, if inflammation goes on for too long and does not stop even after the danger has been eliminated (known as chronic), then this can actually hurt us. In this case, our immune cells would be attacking our healthy cells and organs, affecting their function and resulting in disease formation. The chronic inflammation of the lungs is called pneumonitis.

Apple components that reduce inflammation 

To ensure that chronic inflammation and subsequent diseases does not occur, apples contain natural anti-inflammatory substances which help reduce any unnecessary inflammation taking place in the lungs. 

Fibre 

Apples are known to be very rich in carbohydrate fibre – 11-14% of a person’s recommended daily intake of fibre can come from an apple.⁹ Research has shown that a high fibre intake helps our lungs function significantly better, thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties.²⁰ Also, fibre from apples helps prevent the development of diseases such as COPD.²⁰ 

Quercetin

As well as being a powerful antioxidant, quercetin also has crucial anti-inflammatory properties that help COPD and asthma patients.⁶ It also has shown to be able to specifically inhibit the development of lung cancer and its spreading to other organs in the body.²¹ 

Catechins 

Catechins are the most common of polyphenols found in apples. Like quercetin, catechins are both strong antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, and they have shown to help against the development of COPD specifically.²²

What is the recommended intake of apples? 

Having 5 or more apples per week has been shown by various studies to help keep your lungs healthy, boost their functions, and reduce the chances of developing lung diseases, such as COPD, lung cancer and asthma.

However, the benefits of eating apples also depend on our lifestyle choices, such as someone’s history of smoking, someone’s fluid/water intake and exercising:

• How smoking affects lung health 
• How hydration affects lung health 
• How exercise affects lung health 

Hence, it is important to also be aware of how these additional lifestyle factors affect your lung health, in addition to the benefits we get from consuming apples.

Summary

In conclusion, apples are incredibly beneficial for maintaining and promoting healthy lungs, and preventing disease. Their vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds all help our lungs function more efficiently, and they also lessen the risk of developing serious diseases such as lung cancer, COPD and asthma.

They also help relieve symptoms of patients who already do suffer from such diseases, improving their quality of life. It is important, however, to not solely rely on eating apples to keep your lungs healthy – other healthy choices (such as eating a balanced diet, not smoking, getting weekly exercise in, and keeping yourself hydrated) are also essential.