Antioxidants have been touted as good for everything from skin quality to heart disease, and now research has found that fruits high in antioxidants can reduce the prevalence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Apples / Grapes reducing Cholesterol
A study conducted by the University of Montpellier and Victor Ségalen University in Bordeaux linked the consumption of apples and purple grapes with a decrease in measures of atherosclerosis and cholesterol levels in hamsters.

40 male hamsters were divided into 5 groups and all were fed a diet that promoted the hardening of the arteries for 12 weeks. Supplemented into their diets was mashed apple for the first group, then the subsequent groups received mashed purple grape, apple juice, purple grape juice and water for the control group.

Juicing for Best Results
It was found that all the groups receiving fruit supplements had reduced cholesterol and artery hardening, but the groups receiving the juiced form had better results. Apple juice reduced hardening by 60% and the mashed apple reduced it by 40%, but the best was 90% in the purple grape juice, and 78% for the mashed grape. The team believe that the higher potency of the purple grape is due to increased amounts of antioxidising flavonoids.

The researchers concluded that consuming antioxidant-rich fruit in juice form was more effective at lowering cholesterol and the risk of atherosclerosis. Jean-Max Rouanet who led the research stated, "The present results clearly show for the first time that apple and purple grape prevent diet-induced atherosclerosis in hamsters, and that the fruit processing can have a major impact on the potential health benefits of fruit in pathological conditions,"