Cut Stroke Risk in Half with These 2 Fruits
You know how you're always told to fill your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables? Count white as a color. It could cut your risk of stroke in half.
When you think "white," think under the skin (e.g., apples and pears). Bananas, too. Also: cauliflower, onions, garlic, and cucumbers. In an impressive new stroke study, apples and pears were all-stars because they accounted for more than half of the white produce people ate, and the white stuff is what slashed stroke risk. (Watch this video to see why apples and pears also zap belly fat.)
While eating lots of fruit and vegetables has long been linked to fewer strokes, this is the first effort to pinpoint which produce gets the credit. (Cut out this stroke-prevention list and stick it on your fridge.)
An Apple a Day Keeps the Doc Away
Keep that old rhyme in your head! The people in this big, long study (10 years, 20,000 men and women) cut their stroke risk 9% for every 25 grams of white produce they ate. Here's how apples size up (approximately) to some other white produce:
- Medium apple: 180 grams
- Banana: 115 grams (Bananas also do your brain good in other ways.)
- 1 cup of raw cauliflower: 100 grams
- 10 slices of cucumber: 70 grams
You can see why grabbing an apple (or pear) is hard to beat, brain-wise. And yes, eat the skin. It, too, has fistfuls of fiber and plant antioxidants.
Surprisingly, the three big, brightly colored groups (green, orange/yellow, and red/purple) of fruits and veggies didn't affect stroke rates at all, though their colorful pigments protect you from many other diseases, including breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Why is white produce so protective of your brain? That's not clear yet. No need to wait for scientists to figure out the reasons, though. With the exception of rock-hard pears and apples, white fruit can only do your body good.
Eat more apples to lose a few pounds without dieting.
Tap these 5 powerful ways bananas boost your health.
RealAge Benefit:
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that includes 4 servings of fruit per day can make your RealAge as much as 6.1 years younger if you're a woman and 4.4 years younger if you're a man.Colors of fruit and vegetables and 10-year incidence of stroke. Oude Griep L. M., et al., Stroke 2011
An apple a day keeps stroke away? Consumption of white fruits and vegetables is associated with lower risk of stroke. Wersching H., Stroke 2011
