Eating at least one piece of fruit a day cuts risk of heart attack by 40 per cent

September 2, 2014  22:49

Eating just one or two pieces of fruit every day cuts the risk of a heart attack or stroke by up to 40 per cent, according to new research.

A seven-year study of nearly half a million people by Oxford University found that those who always included fruit in their daily diet had far lower rates of heart disease and the two main types of stroke, The Telegraph reported.

Consumption of fruit was recorded into five categories: never, monthly, one to three days per week, four to six days per week, and daily.

The more often people ate fruit, the more their risks fell.

Researchers found that compared to people who never ate fruit, those who ate it daily cut their rates of cardiovascular disease – which causes heart attacks and heart failure – by 15 per cent.

Rates of for ischaemic stroke – the most common type of stroke -fell by 25 per cent among those who ate fruit daily, and cases of haemorrhagic stroke reduced by 40 per cent.

Those who consumed fruit daily also had significantly lower blood pressure, according to the research, presented to the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona.

The study did not examine whether health improvements increased depending on how many pieces of fruit people ate per day.

But among those who ate it daily, the average intake was 1.5 portions – far short of Goverrnment recommendations to eat five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day.

Over the seven year follow up period there were 19,300 cases of heart disease and 19,689 strokes.

The study found that those who ate fruit daily had “significantly lower” blood pressure – with 3.4/4.1mmHg lower systolic/diastolic blood pressure than those who never ate it.

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