More and more studies show a natural environment is good for your health.

Less pollution, less stress, facilities to do sports, sunny, positive effects on mental or immune health… The benefits of living away from city centers are increasingly proven. Here are some arguments before you prepare your suitcases.

Lower mortality when living near nature

Researchers at the Harvard University Public Graduate School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital wanted to examine the association between vegetation presence and mortality. For this, they used medical information on 108 630 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (USA) between 2000 and 2008. The mortality risk was compared with the level of vegetation present around the dwellings, measured by satellite imagery. There were 8 604 deaths over the period studied.

The 20% of women with the most vegetation in their environment (for 250 m around) had 12% less mortality than those with the least vegetation. This association was particularly strong for respiratory and cancer mortality: women living in areas with the most vegetation had 34% risk in fewer deaths from respiratory diseases compared to those with the least vegetation. These associations are explained by factors such as: physical activity, the presence of particles less than 2.5 µm, social life, mental health, exposure to air pollution, noise, or stress.

These results should encourage urban planners to incorporate more vegetation into urban areas.

Living in the mountains to keep your figure

According to a study of American soldiers, overweight people living at high altitudes would have less risk of tipping into obesity than those living at low altitudes. When the altitude rises, the air pressure decreases and the body has more difficulty in supplying oxygen: it’s in a situation of hypoxia. Studies have shown a reduction in appetite and body fat in conditions of hypoxia.

The researchers questioned whether hypoxia could limit the risk of obesity. They studied nearly 100 000 overweight soldiers stationed at different elevations in the United States, between 2006 and 2012. Some were assigned at high altitudes, more than 1 960 m, and others at low altitudes, i.e. less than 980 m.

Results: Soldiers assigned at high-altitude had a reduced obesity rate of 41% compared with those at low altitudes. These results appear to be confirmed by observations made on the civilian population: in fact, the American city where one is the thinnest is Boulder, Colorado, at 1 650 m altitude; the American city where one is the largest would be Huntington, West Virginia, located at 171 m altitude only.

This beneficial effect of altitude on weight could be explained for hormonal reasons because hypoxia is associated with an increase in leptin, a hormone suppressing appetite. Cholecystokinin, which stimulates the digestion of fats and proteins, and noradrenaline, which influences appetite by reducing blood flow to the intestine, both increase at high altitude.

In the countryside for good immunity

The idea that an increase in immune disorders (asthma, allergies…) in Western countries is linked to an excess of hygiene is not new: according to the hygienist hypothesis, our immune system would be less in contact with environmental micro-organisms, which would cause chronic inflammation problems.

Some important infections for immune development have been eliminated from developed countries. With urbanization, contacts with animals, green spaces, and therefore micro-organisms of the environment have diminished. The microbial diversity presents on the skin, in the intestine, the lungs has decreased; at the same time, micro-organisms in the environment have become less numerous due to better hygiene.

Because of the loss of old infections, the immune system would have become more dependent on microbiota, such as intestinal flora, and the environment. This is why exposure to environmental micro-organisms such as those which can be found in the countryside would play an important role. This would explain why people living in urban centers with little access to green spaces would suffer more chronic inflammation, as Christopher Lowry explains: chronic inflammation can lead to all kinds of problems, From irritable bowel syndrome to asthma, allergies and even depression.

At sea, health is also better

Spending the time near the sea has a beneficial effect on health. This is what researchers at the University of Exeter (England) say at a conference of the American Geophysical Union. A stay at the beach allows you to expose yourself to the sun and therefore to make the full of vitamin D. But that is not the only health benefit.

Researchers have studied the health of English populations at different points in the territory. They showed those who lived near the coasts had a better state of health. The reasons for this are different: living near the coast reduces stress but also encourages physical activity. Two positive health effects.

Another indication of the beneficial effect of the sea on well-being: an experiment carried out by the researchers. They proposed to different people pictures corresponding to views of hotel rooms; they asked them how much they were willing to pay for the room. Between a view of the sea, the green countryside or the city, most would have paid the most expensive to have a sea view.

References

James P, Hart JE, Banay RF, Laden F. Exposure to Greenness and Mortality in a Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study of Women. Environ Health Perspect. 2016 Apr 14.

Voss JD, Allison DB, Webber BJ, Otto JL, Clark LL.. Lower Obesity Rate during Residence at High Altitude among a Military Population with Frequent Migration: A Quasi Experimental

Model for Investigating Spatial Causation. PLoS One. 2014 Apr 16;9(4):e93493. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093493. eCollection 2014.

Rook Graham A.W., Raison Charles L, Lowry Christopher. Microbial “Old Friends”, immunoregulation and socio-economic status. Clin Exp Immunol. 2014 Jan 9. doi: 10.1111/cei.12269.

Jeff Watters, Fred Tyson, Paul Sandifer, Margaret Leinen (modératrice) et Lora Fleming.The Changing Ocean and Impacts on Human Health. AGU science policy conference. 26 juin 2013.

Sea, mountain, countryside: where to live to be healthy
Nutrition and Innovation

Agricultural yields are higher with polyculture than with monoculture.

While modern agriculture promotes monoculture on the same plot, French researchers from the Centre for functional and evolutionary ecology (CEFE-CNRS/Université de Montpellier) and Inra from Lusignan have just shown that the polycultures have a better yield than monoculture, especially in drought conditions. The results are published in the journal Nature Plants.

The study, which lasted a year and a half, focused on 5 forage plants, with monoculture plots and others associating the 5 plants. The genetic diversity was also varied by the researchers. Some plots have been irrigated and others weren’t irrigated, to check the behavior of plants in a drought situation.

In irrigation, the yield of mixed-plant plots was greater than the monoculture plants of 200 grams per m2, or 2 tons per hectare. In a drought situation, the difference has been increased to 8 tons per hectare. The yield of plots containing ten different genotypes of the same species was more stable than those with a single genotype.

This study suggests that biodiversity, such as permaculture practice, is more interesting to improve yields than the current model.

The principles of permaculture validated by a scientific study
Nutrition and Innovation

The products of the hive contain unsuspected health virtues. Pollen can be an interesting ally to relieve benign prostatic hypertrophy.

What is bee pollen?

Pollen is the male microgametophytes produced by the stamens of flowers. It consists of many microscopic elements, the pollen grains, which each measure 0.02 mm to 0.04 mm. When the bees come to loot the nectar of the flowers, they catch on their paws the pollen of flowers they carry in small balls called pollen pellets. These balls are then mixed by the bee with yeasts and lactic ferments from the nectar of the plants. Fresh frozen pollen contains lactic ferments and live yeasts but not the dried pollen.

Pollen composition

Depending on the floral origin, pollen composition may vary. It includes:

• 30% to 55% carbohydrates (mainly glucose and fructose);

• 25% to 30% protein (the content varies depending on the climatic conditions, the soil characteristics in which the plants grow and the season);

• Amino acids: arginine, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine;

• 1% to 20% lipids, including part of essential fatty acids;

• 18% water;

• 18% cellulose;

• 5% minerals: calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, sulfur, selenium;

• Group B vitamins in large quantities;

• Vitamins A, C, D, E in lower quantity;

• 5 to 8 lactic ferments;

• 3 yeasts;

• Immunostimulatory substances;

• Enzymes, coenzymes, sterols, bacteriostatic and growth substances, pigments, aromas and volatile oils.

The different pollens

The composition of the different pollens varies according to the flower on which the bees have taken them. In apitherapy, the following pollens are mainly used:

• The cistus pollen containing carotenoids and protects the intestinal mucosa;

• Willow pollen (harvested in the spring) containing substances which protect the retina from the eye and help prevent and delay the evolution of AMD (age-related macular degeneration) and is also addressed to men with prostate problems;

• The heather pollen which ensures the protection of the circulatory sphere and is therefore interesting for varicose veins, hemorrhoids but also the brain;

• Chestnut pollen, the most antioxidant, which is particularly suitable for women after 40 years in the menopause period (contains phytoestrogens and inhibits calcium loss);

• Poppy pollen, rich in protein and vitamin C, which ideally accompanies vegetarian diets.

The antioxidant power of pollen

An evaluation was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of different pollens thanks to the ORAC test. The results show the various pollens have a much higher antioxidant capacity than fruits and vegetables. As a comparison, 15 or 20 grams of fresh pollen is equivalent to 900 grams of vegetables.

What pollen can do for you?

Protecting the intestines

Fresh pollen would be effective in protecting the intestines from inflammatory diseases. The National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) in Toulouse has compared the effects of fresh pollen and dried pollen on intestines inflammation of Crohn’s disease-type1. Rats received either fresh frozen cistus pollen, or dried cistus pollen stored in the refrigerator, or placebo. Among rats supplemented with fresh pollen, researchers found 30% less lesions compared to rats which received placebo.

Reduce benign prostatic hypertrophy

Men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) may benefit from pollen virtues. A summary of the clinical trials conducted with a rye flower pollen extract was published in 2001. Two studies were analyzed in all of 444 participants who were suffering from BPH. They concluded pollen reduces nocturia (more important urine emission at night than in the daytime, contrary to normal rhythm) but has no positive effect on other symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy.

Four clinical trials have been conducted since then, in Russia2-3 and in China4-5. According to one of these studies, the optimal dosage of rye pollen to reduce the symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy and slowing the progression is 750 mg per day in the long term.

Relieve prostatitis

A study published in 2006 in the journal Urology suggests that pollen could also help men with prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate6. Researchers followed 60 patients aged 20 to 55 years with non-bacterial prostatitis who received either pollen or placebo. After 6 months of follow-up, the men who had received pollen showed an improvement in the symptoms of prostatitis.

Protect your eyes

Willow pollen may be effective in preventing macular degeneration from the age-related retina (AMD), a disease affecting the elderly and the central vision. This disabling disease is characterized by the formation of dead cell clusters called druze hindering vision by still living cells. Volunteers with AMD have taken willow pollen which would have resulted in the disappearance of druze among some patients after 1 to 2 years. These benefits would be due to the xanthophylls pigments contained in large quantities in willow pollen.

How to take pollen?

Lactic ferments and yeasts contained in fresh pollen are not preserved in the dried pollen. It is therefore better to consume frozen pollen which contains all the virtues of fresh pollen. The ideal is to follow a pollen cure for 6 weeks at the rate of 1 teaspoon each morning at breakfast.

References

1. F. Lamine, V. Théodorou, P. Percie du Sert. Effect of dry versus fresh cistus bee-pollen in experimental colitis in rats. 2001. Inra, Toulouse.

2. Shaplygin LV, Sivakov AA. Use of cernilton in the therapy of prostatic adenoma and chronic prostatitis. Urologiia. 2007 May-Jun;(3):35-7, 39. Russian.

3. Aslamazov EG, Akhvlediani ND, et al.Cernilton in the treatment of prostatic adenoma and chronic prostatitis. Urologiia. 2007 Jan-Feb;(1):52, 54-6. Russian.

4. Xu J, Qian WQ, Song JD. Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue A comparative study on different doses of cernilton for preventing the clinical progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia.. 2008 Jun;14(6):533-7. Chinese.

5. Li NC, Wu SL, et al. Zhonghua Wai Ke Za Zhi. Comparison of different drugs on the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia. 2007 Jul 15;45(14):947-50. Chinese.

6. Elist J. Effects of pollen extract preparation Prostat/Poltit on lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Urology. 2006 Jan;67(1):60-3.

Bee pollen virtues
Nutrition and Innovation

Apple is the fruit of the apple tree, cultivated everywhere in the world. Round, sometimes flattened at the top, it has a more or less tender skin, red, green or yellow according to the many varieties. It covers a crunchy, sweet and more or less acidic flesh. In the center, there are five hard alveoli containing two seeds.

Apple is the third most consumed fruit in the world, after citrus and banana. Seventy million tons are produced mainly by United States, China, Germany, France, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Iran and India. In all these countries, apples are also transformed and exported.

The story of apple

The apple tree is probably from a vast region which goes from Caucasus to the Tian Shan mountains on the edge of China. In this region still survive Malus sieversii colonies, one of the wild ancestors of cultivated apple trees and crabapples species. However, the apple fruit which we consume today is a hybrid which does not spontaneously grow in the wild. It would have started to spread 8,000 years before our era, along with merchants and travelers on primitive roads created for trade needs. Apple remnants dating back thousands of years have been found during excavations in Jericho, in Jordan Valley.

Greek philosopher Theophrastus described 6 varieties of apple trees, three hundred years before our era. He also gave advice how to care and graft techniques to multiply the trees. At the time people already knew that trees coming from direct sowing (seeds) gave fruits with lower quality than grafted trees. The Romans, who excelled in its culture, spread apple trees throughout the Empire, including in British Isles. In the first century of our era, thirty varieties were well known.

Today, there are a few thousand varieties worldwide, although 90% of the world production comes from a dozen varieties. Over the centuries, people have selected varieties which were better suited for consumption as fresh fruit, others were better to cook and others finally for making juice and cider. The fruits of some varieties are stored only a few days, while others can spend the winter without problem. There are also varieties whose fruit dries well and others varieties are more suitable for freezing.

Health benefits of apple

Apples are a good source of antioxidants and dietary fiber whether they are red, green or yellow. Eating apples regularly would reduce the risk of asthma, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Benefits of apple

• Cardiovascular disease. Antioxidant power of apple would help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Indeed, the antioxidants contained in the apple help to reduce and prevent lipid oxidation circulating in the blood and reduce blood cholesterol levels. According to a recent study, consumption of fresh apple can also reduce the incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), particularly among men. This syndrome includes unstable angina and myocardial infarction.

• High cholesterol. Apple pectin would have a beneficial effects for lower blood cholesterol. Among rats, pectin would eliminate a lot of cholesterol by the stool. Moreover, studies among humans have shown that pectin consumption from apple and other soluble fibers, in this case the guar gum and arabic gum, caused a decline in blood cholesterol, especially the bad cholesterol. Apple juice would have beneficial effects on lipid profile and certain inflammatory markers. In particular, the apple juice flavonoids have these antioxidants and anti-inflammatories effects.

• Asthma. Eating apples (ideally 2 or more per week) would have a favorable effect on the respiratory function as well as on asthma incidence and affections of the respiratory tracts. Apple contains polyphenols and flavonoids. These might increase the body’s antioxidant ability and thus reducing the inflammatory response among asthmatics. On the other hand, other studies will be necessary before saying with certainty that they have a protective effect. Moreover, a study conducted among more than 2,600 children from 5 to 10 years old concluded that daily consumption of concentrated apple juice was associated with a lower incidence of wheezing respiratory noise (the most common symptom of asthma and can be an indicator of the disease). Finally, apple consumption during pregnancy could reduce the risk of asthma among children.

• Cancers. Several studies have shown that regular consumption of apples could reduce the risk of cancer, especially lung cancer and colorectal cancer. In vitro studies on cell cultures and in vivo studies among animals indicate that regular consumption of apple juice or an apple or more per day would have a preventive effect against colorectal, colon, breast and lung cancers. Polyphenols and other compounds contained in apple and apple juice have antioxidant effects and would decrease the proliferation of cancer cells. However, these recent hypotheses must be validated for humans.

What contains apple?

Antioxidants

Apple contains a large variety of antioxidants that are known to prevent the oxidation of DNA and the proliferation of cancer cells, to reduce blood cholesterol levels and improve respiratory function. Apple contains flavonoids, such as quercepin, procyanidins, catechin and epicatechin, as well as other phenolic compounds, for example chlorogenic acid.
Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant, and it would have a potential of protection even against cancer and cardiovascular disease. According to researchers, quercetin contained in apple would contribute to a protective effect against lung cancer. Procyanidins, epicatechin and catechin, have been associated with a decrease in the oxidation of ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL). Procyanidins are effective for the prevention of cancer cell development.

Polyphenols contained in apples have shown beneficial effects on blood cholesterol and a reduction in blood vessels lesions among animals. In a study among humans, daily consumption for 12 weeks of polyphenol capsules (600 mg) extracted from apples decreased LDL cholesterol and visceral fat. A fresh apple contains about 200 mg of polyphenols.

Fiber

Pectin is a type of soluble fiber. It has the property to form a gel, which in part gives texture to jams and fruit jellies. It represents about half of total fiber quantity in an apple, especially in the skin (an apple contains about 1 g of pectin). By their ability to form a gel, soluble fiber may bind, in part, sugar and cholesterol in the intestine and thus reduce absorption.

Eating the peel of the apple is recommended

To enjoy the benefits of apple, it is best to eat the fruit with its peel. Indeed, the antioxidant power of apple skin is 2 to 6 times higher than the flesh. The skin would contain also 2 to 6 times more phenolic compounds and 2 to 3 times more flavonoids than flesh. This antioxidant capacity is among other things related to anthocyanins, the pigments that give the red color to the apple skin, but also several other flavonoids and phenolic compounds present in the peel. Another study established that apples with the skin are more effective to reduce the proliferation of cancer cells than apples without peel. Finally, apple peel contains a type of compound that is not in the flesh. This is the triterpenes (the most abundant being ursolique acid) which would have the property to prevent tumor growth.

Precautions

Apple contains fructose and sorbitol, two types of sugars which can cause gastrointestinal discomfort (bloating, gas, diarrhea) among sensitive people. Among adults, these discomforts can be felt from 10 g of sorbitol per day. A portion of 50 g or more of fructose per day can also cause diarrhea. Note that 1 cup (250 ml) of apple juice contains 6 times more sorbitol (2.6 g) than a fresh apple (0.4 g). However, the difference is smaller with respect to fructose. A cup of apple juice contains 14.2 g and an apple 8.2 g.

A recent study conducted among children of 5 months showed that babies with colic tolerated less apple juice than grape juice. The latter contains no sorbitol and has the same amount of fructose and glucose. Apple juice contains almost 3 times more fructose than glucose. The researchers therefore concluded that it would be preferable, among children with colic, to moderate consumption of juice containing sorbitol and more fructose to glucose, like apple juice.

Selection and conservation

Choose

You can buy apples year-round. The best time to buy apple is during autumn because they are ripened on the tree. You can go pick them yourself at the farmer or you can buy them at the supermarket. The fruit must be kept tightly closed. Note that although fruit from organic farming is often less attractive, its taste is mostly very good.

Keep

Refrigerator. Always keep the apples in cool storage and never at room temperature because they continue to ripen and eventually lose some of their flavor. Put them in the vegetables drawer of the refrigerator, preferably in a perforated bag.

Dehydrator. It’s relatively easy to dry apples. First remove the heart, peel them, then cut into slices, sprinkle with lemon juice and place in an oven set on very low heat for 6 to 8 hours or the dehydrator. You can also put the washers on a string and hang them out to dry in the air, which takes a few weeks.

Freezer. When they are fresh, only freeze apples with firm flesh. Remove the heart, cut into slices and place them in bags to freeze. You can also freeze them baked, stewed or in pieces.

Organic gardening

The apple tree grows best in temperate climates. It requires a deep ground, well drained, rich in breeding ground. It’s preferable to choose a place with a slope to avoid frost pockets and preserve flowers in the late spring frosts.

• pH: 6 to 7.

• Choose 2 or 3 varieties flowering at the same time to ensure good pollination. Some varieties of crab trees can serve as pollinators. If you have a small space you can plant dwarf varieties. Choose one of the new cultivars resistant to speckle (a fungal disease which attacks fruit trees).

• Plant as soon as possible in the spring when the trees are still in winter condition. Before planting, soak the roots a few hours in a water and clay solution.

• Prune trees from their installation and repeat it every year.

• Thin the fruits to keep only one per branch.

• Before the bud burst, apply dormant oil (repellent product slathered on the trunk when the tree is in a dormant period) to clear off insects, including mites.

• Against apple maggot, hang 3 or 4 pheromone traps per tree. Against the codling moth, spray a solution of Bacillus thurigensis. On tree varieties prone to speckle, treat several times during the season with sulfur in order to limit infestation. However, you should not worry if there’s some black spots on the fruit.

Ecology and environment

More and more traditional growers rely on integrated fruit production concept. It is intended to protect apple trees by considering all steps of production, implementation of the orchard until harvest. It allows using synthetic pesticides as a last resort.

In organic farming, where chemical products are strictly forbidden, you can find a spray product to protect vegetable productions against some insects and diseases. Products made from clay to protect apple trees against insects exist. It was particularly effective against the plum curculio which is also found in apple trees and apple codling moth. In organic orchards where it has been experienced, the product had preserved nearly 80% of the fruit against insect’s attacks while without it, 80% of fruits were affected. In fact, the product does not destroy the insect, but creates a barrier upsetting it and keep it away.

Kaolin also prevents appearance of certain fungal diseases which, without harming the quality of the fruit, may harm the fruit appearance. Finally, researchers who feared that clay adversely affect photosynthesis realized that was not the case, but it protected the leaves against infrared rays and heat. These products are already used by farmers for a multitude of crops: fruit with core and seeds, citrus fruits, oilseeds, berries, grapes, fruits vegetables, onions and their relatives, cabbages, cotton, cereals, as well as for ornamental plants.

Apple: nutrition facts and health benefits
Nutrition and Innovation