Thought ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ was just an old wives’ tale? According to researchers there could be some truth in the adage.
Nutritionists have found that eating an apple or pear daily could half the risk of having a stroke, thanks to a biochemical found in abundance in white-fleshed fruit. The plant compound, quercetin, has been shown to reduce inflammation, which is linked to vascular disease and hardened arteries.
The experiment at Wageningen University in the Netherlands studied 20,000 adults, and found that those who ate more white-fleshed fruit and vegetables were less likely to suffer a stroke over a 10-year period.
They calculated that stroke risk decreased by nine per cent for every 25g of apple or pear eaten each day. As the average weight of an apple or pear is 100 – 125g, that means one a day would reduce stroke risk by between 36 and 45 per cent.
Linda Oude Griep, lead author of the study, published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, said: “To prevent stroke, it may be useful to consume considerable amounts of white fruits and vegetables.
“For example, eating one apple a day is an easy way to increase white fruits and vegetable intake.
“However, other fruits and vegetable colour groups may protect against other chronic diseases. Therefore, it remains of importance to consume a lot of fruits and vegetables.”
Apples and pears not to your taste? It’s not just white flesh fruit and vegetables that contain the magic ingredient. Other good sources include tomatoes, onions, broccoli, red grapes and raspberries.