An apple a day may keep stroke at bay, new study findings suggest. According to a report in the May issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 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. 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 present in apples,'' lead author Paul Knekt from the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland, said in an interview with Reuters.
Phenolic acids are a class of antioxidants, or compounds that quench free radicals.
These unstable molecules are byproducts of normal metabolism that clog arteries and cause changes to DNA that can lead to cancer and other diseases. Whatever the reason, lower risk of stroke does not appear to be the result of quercetin, an antioxidant found in apples. Previous studies have reported a link between intake of flavonoids, a group of antioxidants that includes quercetin, and decreased risk for several chronic diseases. 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. The suggestive protective effect of apple intake may thus be due to some other substances in the fruit or simply to lifestyle associated with apple intake,'' they add.