An apple a day keeps a stroke away, new research has discovered. Eating just one apple or pear every day nearly halves the risk.
The ‘white’ fruits and vegetables have a special protective quality against stroke, say researchers. For every 25 grams of white fruits and vegetables you eat, there is a nine per cent lower risk of stroke – and as an average apple is 120 grams, eating one a day almost halves the risk.
Researchers from Wageningen University in Holland discovered the stroke-protective qualities of ‘white’ fruit and vegetable when they tracked the health profiles of 20,069 adults for 10 years. Although the three other types of fruit and vegetables – the green leafy vegetables, the orange/yellow citrus fruits, and the red/purple vegetables – had a zero effect on stroke risk, apples and pears had a positive effect.
The researchers did not include potatoes in their ‘white’ vegetables classification.
Apples and pears are rich in quercetin, a flavonoid, and researchers think this has the protective effect against stroke.
(Source: Stroke, 2011; doi: 10.1161/strokeaha.110.611152).
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