White-coloured fruits and vegetables
You know how we're always hearing that we should eat rainbow-coloured salads of fruit or vegetables? Well, count white as one of the colours. It could cut your risk of stroke in half.
While eating lots of fruit and vegetables has long been linked to fewer strokes, this is the first research to pinpoint which type of produce gets the credit. It was the white fruits and vegetables that slashed stroke risk, and apples and pears were the stars because they accounted for more than half of the white produce that people ate. (Note: if apples and pears give you gas/indigestion, click here). Other produce in the white category includes bananas, cauliflower, garlic, onions and cucumbers. Surprisingly, green, orange/yellow, and red/purple fruits and vegetables were not related to stroke incidence. However, keep eating them because their colourful pigments protect you from many other diseases, including breast and prostate cancer.
An apple a day keeps diseases at bay
A major study (1) over 10 years and involving 20,000 men and women, showed that the participants cut their risk of having a stroke by 9% for every 25 grams of white produce they ate every day.
Here are some examples of white produce quantities:
- Medium apple: 180 grams (eat the skin - it is an important part of the fruit, high in nutrients, fibre and antioxidants
- 10 slices of cucumber: 70 grams
- Banana: 115 grams
- 1 cup of raw cauliflower: 100 grams
References
1. Linda M. Oude Griep, W.M. Monique Verschuren, Daan Kromhout, Marga C. Ocke, Johanna M. Geleijnse.
Colors of fruit and vegetables and 10-year incidence of stroke.
Stroke 2011.
2. Wersching, Heike.
An apple a day keeps stroke away? Consumption of white fruits and vegetables is associated with lower risk of stroke.
Stroke 2011.