Eat white-fleshed fruits & veggies to avoid stroke -- study

Some earlier studies linked the vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables, such as orange sweet potatoes, green kale, and bright blueberries, to numerous health benefits ranging from decreased risk of macular degeneration, certain types of cancer, to chronic illnesses.

Now, the latest study conducted by scientists at the Wageningen University in the Netherlands suggests that not only the highly colored fruits and vegetables are healthful, but even the humbly pale-fleshed fruits, apple and pear, for instance, can be highly effective in preventing strokes.

In their research, Linda M. Oude Griep, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in human nutrition at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and colleagues found that consuming lots of white-fleshed fruit significantly reduced participants’ risk of stroke more than other fruits and vegetables.

"To prevent stroke, it may be useful to consume considerable amounts of white fruits and vegetables," Griep said in a statement. "For example, eating one apple a day is an easy way to increase white fruits and vegetable intake."

Study details
For the study, the Dutch researchers enrolled 20,069 adults with median age of 41 and gave them a questionnaire asking them about what they ate over the previous year. All the study subjects were free of cardiovascular diseases at the onset of the study.

The team also categorized fruits and vegetables into four color groups: Green, orange or yellow, red or purple, and white.

Fruits and veggies in the green category included green leafy vegetables, broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbages, and lettuces. Orange or yellow included mostly citrus fruits, carrots, and peaches, while red or purple category included vegetables that are usually red like tomatoes, beets, and cherries. The white group included apple, pears, apple juice, apple sauce, bananas, cauliflower, chicory, cucumber, and mushrooms.

Findings
During the 10 years of follow-up, 233 participants had strokes.

The researchers found that only white fruits and vegetables were beneficial in significantly decreasing the stroke risk.

The findings show that the stroke risk was 52 percent lower for volunteers who consumed a lot of white-fleshed fruits and vegetables, compared to those who didn’t.

Overall, for people who consumed 25 grams of white fruit every day, the risk of their stroke decreased by 9 percent.

Funded by combined grants from Dutch and European public health agencies as well as the Dutch Product Board for Horticulture, the study was published Thursday in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.