‘Cloudy’ apple juice packs more antioxidantsNEW YORK (Reuters Health) — When it comes to apple juice, “cloudier” may mean healthier, according to a study.In a head-to-head comparison of apple juices, Polish researchers found that pulpy, nonclarified juice carried a greater antioxidant punch than clear juice. Antioxidants are compounds that neutralise free radicals, molecules that can damage body cells and contribute to disease.

Unlike cloudy apple juice, the much more common clear variety undergoes additional processing to remove any apple solids. Manufacturers typically think the public will favour the more attractive, clear juice over its cloudy cousin, and retailers prefer the clear variety for its longer shelf life.

But the new findings suggest that health-conscious consumers should reach for the cloudy variety, according to Dr. Jan Oszmianski, the study’s lead author.

“Cloudy apple juices contain much more antioxidant than clear,” Oszmianski, a researcher at the Agricultural University of Wroclaw, told Reuters Health.

In fact, Oszmianski’s team found, cloudy juice packed up to four times the level of polyphenols, a group of antioxidant plant compounds. And in experiments, cloudy juice was the more effective free radical “scavenger,” the researchers report in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

The findings are based on four juices that the study authors prepared themselves, using two varieties of apple — Champion and Idared. Cloudy juice from Champion apples turned out to be the most antioxidant-rich, but clarification of either juice cut their antioxidant levels significantly.

The process, Oszmianski explained, involves using an enzyme that oxidises the juices/juicers antioxidants, particularly compounds called procyanidins. But while cloudy apple juice may be a healthier choice than clear, it’s still best to get your apples in the form nature made them. “It is better to eat whole apples with skins than drink the juice to get the most antioxidants,” Oszmianski said.‘Gateway’ theory of drug abuse questionedNEW YORK (Reuters Health) — A new study suggests that a tendency towards delinquency or living in a neighbourhood where drugs are readily available are just as important in determining whether a young person will abuse marijuana as whether or not he tries cigarettes or alcohol first.The findings call into question the “gateway” hypothesis — that is, that youths at risk of drug abuse progress from using alcohol and cigarettes to illegal “soft” drugs like marijuana to “hard” drugs like cocaine and heroin, Dr. Ralph E. Tarter of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and colleagues write in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Instead, Tarter and his team say their findings support the common liability model, which proposes that factors such as behavioural deviancy and “genetic risk” can predispose a person to abusing any type of drug, illegal or otherwise. Based on this model, they note, the best way to protect kids from becoming drug abusers is to cope with conduct problems early, before the vulnerable adolescent years.

Tarter and associates followed 224 boys from about age ten to 12 until they reached the age of 22. Ninety-nine of the boys only smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol, 97 used these “legal drugs” before trying marijuana, and 28 tried pot before taking up drinking and smoking.

The boys who had followed the traditional “gateway” path were no more likely to develop alcohol or marijuana abuse problems than those who went in the reverse direction, the researchers found. These findings underscore the need to prevent conduct problems in early childhood to diminish the risk of later illicit drug use.”Women’s education has role in stroke riskNEW YORK (Reuters Health) — A study involving Swedish women indicates that the risk of stroke has a marked inverse correlation with years of education, European researchers report in the journal Stroke.“This study,” lead investigator Dr. Hannah Kuper told Reuters Health, “shows a dramatically higher incidence of stroke in the least educated women compared to the risk among the most educated.”

“Most of the gradient,” she added, “can be attributed to differences in health behaviours such as smoking and alcohol consumption.”

Kuper of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues analysed data from almost 48,000 women aged 30 to 50 years at the outset who were followed for about ten years. Educational level was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status.

The women completed an extensive questionnaire and were traced through linkages to national registries. During this period, there were 200 cases of stroke.