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   Sep 02

An apple and a half a day could reduce your chance of suffering a heart attack by 40%

New study finds the more fruit you eat, the lower the risk of heart disease and stroke compared to eating no fruit at all

Eating 150g of fruit everyday slashes risk by up to 40% researchers found

It is the equivalent to eating an apple and half a banana

Eating a couple of pieces of fruit a day could cut your risk of heart disease and stroke by up to 40 per cent, claim researchers.

A new study shows the more fruit you eat, the lower the risk compared with eating no fruit at all.

However, the maximum benefit in the study came from eating a relatively modest amount every day, around one and a half portions or 150g in weight.

This is equivalent to an apple and half a banana.

Eating a couple of pieces of fruit a day could cut your risk of heart disease and stroke by up to 40 per cent, claim researchers at Oxford University

The findings comes from a huge study of half a million Chinese whose heart health was tracked for seven years by Oxford University researchers.

Lead researcher Dr Huaidong Du of the university’s Clinical Trial Service Unit said: ‘Cardiovascular disease, including ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, is the leading cause of death worldwide.’

He added: ‘Our data clearly shows that eating fresh fruit can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, including ischaemic heart disease and stroke, particularly haemorrhagic stroke.

‘And not only that, the more fruit you eat the more your CVD risk goes down. It does suggest that eating more fruit is beneficial compared to less or no fruit.’

It is thought that eating fruit and vegetables and fruit helps the heart through their antioxidant effects, combating harmful naturally occurring chemicals in the body.

Latest official figures show only one in three Britons achieves the healthy living target of eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

The current study included 451,681 participants without CVD and who were not taking medication for high blood pressure.

They were part of the China Kadoorie Biobank, a study established jointly by the University of Oxford’s Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

The baseline survey took place during 2004 and 2008 in 10 urban and rural regions across China when habitual consumption of fruit was recorded in five categories: never, monthly, 1-3 days per week, 4-6 days per week, daily.

Over the seven year follow up period there were 19,300 cases of heart disease and 19,689 strokes, including 14,688 ischaemic, in which arteries supplying the brain become blocked, and 3,562 haemorrhagic (bleeding in the brain).

The maximum benefit in the study came from eating, around one and a half portions or 150g in weight – the equivalent to an apple and half a banana

Some 18 per cent of participants consumed fruit daily and 6.3 per cent never consumed fruit.

The average amount of fruit eaten by the daily consumers was 1.5 portions, around 150g in weight.

The researchers found that compared to people who never ate fruit, those who ate fruit daily cut their CVD risks by 25-40 per cent.

This ranged from a reduction in risk of around 15 per cent for IHD, 25 per cent for ischaemic stroke and 40 per cent for haemorrhagic stroke.

As the frequency of fruit consumption went up, the risk of CVD went down.

The findings were presented today at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona, Spain.

The researchers also found that people who consumed fruit more often had significantly lower blood pressure (BP).

Eating around 150g of fruit daily was linked with 3.4/4.1 mmHg lower systolic/diastolic blood pressure reading compared to those who never ate fruit.

Dr Du said the beneficial effect of fruit on the risk of CVD was independent of its impact on blood pressure readings.

In a separate analysis, the researchers examined how fruit consumption affected the overall risk of death and cardiovascular deaths in more than 61,000 patients from the China Kadoorie Biobank who had CVD or high blood pressure at the initial survey.

They were re-surveyed every four or five years. They found that compared to those who never ate fruit, daily consumers of fruit cut their overall risk of death by 32 per cent.

They also reduced their risks of dying from heart disease by 27 per cent and from stroke by around 40 per cent.

Professor Zhengming Chen, the principal investigator of the China Kadoorie Biobank, said: ‘Patients with CVD and hypertension should also be encouraged to consume more fresh fruit.

‘Many western populations have experienced a rapid decrease in CVD mortality during the past several decades, especially stroke mortality since the early 1950s, for reasons that are not yet fully explained. Improved access to fresh fruit may well have contributed importantly to that decline.’

Tracy Parker, heart health dietician at the British Heart Foundation, which helped conduct the study, said: ‘This study adds to the growing body of evidence that shows the more fruit and vegetables we eat the better our heart health.

‘Even eating just one more portion a day helped lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, which should give us all that extra incentive.

‘This research only looked at the benefits of fresh fruit, but if you’re struggling to meet your five a day, remember fresh, frozen, dried or tinned in juice all count.

‘Try adding fresh fruit to your cereal, keeping an apple in your bag for a snack on the go, or having tinned fruit in juice for dessert for quick and easy ways to up your intake.’

Source: Daily Mail

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