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Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables with white flesh, such as apples and pears, may protect against stroke, according to a new study.

Researchers examined the link between fruits and vegetable colour group consumption with 10-year stroke incidence in a population-based study of 20,069 adults, with an average age of 41.

The participants were free of cardiovascular diseases at the start of the study and completed a 178-item food frequency questionnaire for the previous year.

How good eating may prevent a stroke

During 10 years of follow-up, 233 strokes were documented. Green, orange/yellow and red/purple fruits and vegetables weren`t related to stroke.

However, the risk of stroke incidence was 52 percent lower for people with a high intake of white fruits and vegetables compared to people with a low intake.

Each 25-gram per day increase in white fruits and vegetable consumption was associated with a 9 percent lower risk of stroke. An average apple is 120 grams.

`To prevent stroke, it may be useful to consume considerable amounts of white fruits and vegetables,` said Linda M. Oude Griep, M.Sc., lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in human nutrition at Wageningen Uninversity in the Netherlands.

`For example, eating one apple a day is an easy way to increase white fruits and vegetable intake.

`However, other fruits and vegetable color groups may protect against other chronic diseases. Therefore, it remains of importance to consume a lot of fruits and vegetables.`

The study has been published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Source: ANI
Image: Flickr/creativecommons davedehetre