A large apple a day really can keep the doctor away, study of a million Chinese suggests
Consumption of fresh fruit associated with lower risk of heart attack and stroke, seven-year study in rural and urban China shows
A large apple a day can help keep heart attack and stroke away, according to a seven-year study of half a million adults in China by researchers from the University of Oxford and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The nationwide study, which covered 10 urban and rural localities across China, tracked the health of people who did not have a history of cardiovascular diseases or anti-hypertensive treatments at the start of the study.
It found that fruit consumption (mainly of apples or oranges) was strongly associated with many other factors, such as education, lower blood pressure, lower blood glucose, and not smoking. But, after allowing for what was known of these and other factors, a 100 gram portion of fruit per day (about one large apple) was associated with about one-third less cardiovascular mortality and the association was similar across different study areas and in both men and women.
“The association between fruit consumption and cardiovascular risk seems to be stronger in China, where many still eat little fruit, than in high-income countries where daily consumption of fruit is more common,” says study author Dr Du Huai-dong of Oxford.
Senior author Professor Chen Zheng-ming adds: “It’s difficult to know whether the lower risk in people who eat more fresh fruit is because of a real protective effect. If it is, then widespread consumption of fresh fruit in China could prevent about half a million cardiovascular deaths a year, including 200,000 before age 70, and even larger numbers of non-fatal strokes and heart attacks.”
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
