Thumbs up to more of the following happening in New Zealand and throughout the world where we continue to come together to create fun, working projects to empower and strengthen communities by growing and planting fruit trees.
The full Monty: This Monty’s Surprise apple, discovered by Wanganui accountant Mark Christensen, is another weapon in the fight against cancer. Research into the anti-cancer properties of apples has placed this variety at the top of the list. The humble apple may be your best defence against cancer.
Seedling and heritage varieties of apples are the ones that ‘‘pack the most punch” when it comes to stopping the growth of colon and stomach cancer cells.
The New Zealand Tree Crops Association held its national conference in Cromwell during the weekend and one of the speakers was Wanganui member Mark Christensen, who outlined research into the anticancer properties of apples, initiated by the association’s Central Districts branch.
‘‘Our work is based on the hypothesis that for every disease affecting human health, there will be a plant with the necessary compounds to treat the disease,” Mr Christensen said.
Mr Christensen, who is an accountant, has always been interested in growing heritage apples and heirloom vegetable varieties.
Six years ago, he discovered a seedling apple tree on a Wanganui country road when he stopped to ‘‘stretch his legs” on a long car trip.
‘‘The tree was very old, judging by its girth and it was the oldest and largest apple tree I’d ever come across.”
It appeared diseaseresistant and its fruit had good flavour.
It was ‘‘one of a kind” and was later named Monty’s Surprise after an old identity in the district.
Studies in Finland have already shown that people who ate five apples a week had the world’s lowest rate of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, so the Central Districts branch of the association decided to get 250 apple varieties tested for anti-cancer properties.
Modern commercial varieties rated far lower than the best seedling and heritage varieties, while Monty’s Surprise topped the lot.
Scientists in France and Australia as well as in this country are involved in further studies into the health benefits of the Monty’s Surprise apple.
‘‘Everyone’s been excited by the initial results of the studies and it seems that a very small amount is effective in inhibiting the growth of cancer cells,” Mr Christensen said.
He is the research director of a charitable trust that has been established to carry out further apple studies.
By this winter, the trust will have grown and given away 5000 Monty’s Surprise apple trees.
In a joint venture with Wanganui health authorities, the trust has been working to distribute the variety as widely as possible and to get stocks grafted to meet expected future demand.
Modern apple breeding programmes appeared to focus on ‘‘superficial” criteria, such as looks, handling and storage, forgetting that good flavour was often an indication of the nutritional value of the fruit, Mr Christensen said.
The initial research showed that older apple varieties and fruit from seedlings ‘‘packed more of a punch” than newer commercial varieties when it came to triggering ‘‘cell suicide” in tumour cells.
‘‘Cancer is in your body for a long time before it gets to the point where there are enough cells for it to be detected,” he said.
The trust is also carrying out similar research into the antioxidant properties of heirloom tomatoes and studying a natural extract from a desert plant that may delay the onset of Huntington’s disease.
By Lynda Van Kempen on Thu, 3 Apr 2008
The News – Lakes District & Central Otago
6 Comments
Hi,
I just wanted to point out the unfortunate practice of grafting and rootstocks which very likely affects the nutritional content and phytochemicals present in the fruit.
I have seen reports o Monty’s Surprise showing the levels of these compounds in the fruit and I wonder whether or not the levels would be the same or close to for fruit grown from grafted rootstocks.
It’s good to put Monty’s Surprise and other seedling and heirloom varieties out in the world, but what’s the point when if they’re going to use the same system that destroyed the nutritional content in regular supermarket apples?
Here’s a link to a site that further discusses this apple, and others as well as the grafting problem.
http://www.treecrops.org.nz/resrch/apple/applecanc06.html
Hi, thanks for your post. A fascinating topic. The nutritional content of supermarket fruit is not destroyed altogether and at this stage I believe it better to eat a supermarket apple than a bag of chips, but certainly growing from seed and organically is by far the most desired method. Interesting to note that the word “nutrition” actually means the process of light. All the more reason to plant fruit trees in our yards so we can eat fruit picked fresh from the tree.
Hi Dana,
I agree that it is better to eat a supermarket apple as opposed to something like a bag of chips but the article is pointing out the comparitively high levels of disease fighting phytochemicals, etc. in Monty’s Surprise compared to regular supermarket apples. Indeed, the entire interest regarding Monty’s Suprise is because of the high levels of nutritional content present in Monty as opposed to supermarket apples which research is indicating is a result of the tree (Monty’s Surprise)growing on it’s own roots.
As a side note – I think you are confusing the word nutrition with photosynthesis. Nutrition or rather nutrient comes from Latin meaning to suckle, nourish or foster whereas photosynthesis is the process by which a plant uses light energy (photo) to create carbohydrates (energy).
Hi Lea, no not confused, the prefix “nut” means light and the word nutrition really means to nourish yourself with light. Yes photosynthesis is the process of using light to create energy so we can eat it in the form on fruit, green leaves etc, how amazing is that!
What I understand is that sometimes to grow a type of fruit in another region using different root stock makes that possible, no not ideal, but certainly a step in the right direction.
LOL, not to drag this out, but I can’t find anywhere saying nutrition (or the prefix nut) means light. It’s almost always to suckle, noursh, foster and “nut” frequently is nucleus, seed and wait for it…testicle. LOL. Since Nutrient or Nutrition is from Latin, I would think that the prefix nut would also be so but I can’t find any Latin prefix “Nut” meaning “light” and of course in Latin, “Light” is not “Nut”. The smallest word from Latin for Nutrition or Nutrient I could find is Nutre or Nutra, and this is a root word not a prefix. Can you provide a reference for nut=light because I just can’t find it anywhere. Thanks.
Btw, the use of rootstocks is more for propagation/breeding purposes for fruit that do not grow “true from seed”, which is most of the hybridized supermarket apples, and also (supposedly) for disease resistance though Monty’s Surprise for example was found to be largely disease-free.
I think there is evidence to suggest that apples grown from seed, almost regardless of what species it is will have far more beneficial properties than those that are not on there own roots or otherwise over-bred and selected to make growers and grocers happy as opposed to the health or nutritional needs of the consumer.
Hiya, I cant find the exact source of my research but htis may help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_(goddess) And really when we look at light, it is the source of all food, and nutrition comes from eating that in which transforms light into real food! Thanks for the great chat!
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