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Posted on Sep 30, 2002, 6 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
Paul Knekt from the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland and colleagues report that men and women who ate the equivalent of one apple per day had a lower risk of stroke than individuals who did not eat apples. Men who ate more than 54 grams of apple a day and women who ate more than 71 grams of apple a day--the equivalent of about one apple--had a lower risk of stroke than those with the lowest apple intake.
Paul Knekt from the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland and colleagues report that men and women who ate the equivalent of one apple per day had a lower risk of stroke than individuals who did not eat apples. Men who ate more than 54 grams of apple a day and women who ate more than 71 grams of apple a day--the equivalent of about one apple--had a lower risk of stroke than those with the lowest apple intake. While it is not clear why apples appear to lower stroke risk, the authors suggest that lifestyle factors such as good diet and exercise habits, which may be associated with eating apples, or other beneficial compounds in the fruit, may play a role. One speculative possibility is that the effect comes from some phenolic acids, a class of antioxidants, rather than as a result of quercetin, another type of antioxidant found in apples. According to results, men who developed a stroke over the 28-year follow-up period consumed 3.57 mg of quercetin a day compared with just 3.68 mg a day for men who did not have a stroke. Women who went on to have a stroke consumed 4.09 mg of quercetin a day compared with 4.07 mg a day for other women.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000;54:415-417
