Reduce heart disease risk by eating fruit

And as long as we have our hand in the fruit bowl

In yesterday’s e-Alert (“‘Round and ‘Round and ‘Round | and ” 3/8/04) I told you how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopausal symptoms has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease – the disease that kills more women than any other.

So here’s some important news for all women (whether or not they’ve ever taken HRT): Three apples a day may keep the cardiologist away.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota examined the outcomes of 10 dietary studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe. The dietary habits and medical records of more than 330,000 subjects were followed for an average of six to ten years.

The combined results of these trials show that heart disease risk may be reduced by more than 25 percent among those who eat 10 or more grams of fiber each day. And those 10 grams are easy to get. As I said above, three apples does it. But if you don’t care to eat apples morning, noon and night, you can also get 10 fiber grams with one apple, two slices of whole wheat bread (make sure it really IS whole wheat) and a stalk of broccoli.

We already know that a diet with ample amounts of fiber (especially soluble fiber) is necessary for good health. But it never hurts to reinforce that message with sound evidence.

So do your heart a favor – enjoy an apple or two, or a grapefruit, or a tomato, or a melon, or an orange you get the idea.

Sources:
“Fruit Reduces Heart Disease Risk” BBC News, 2/27/04, news.bbc.co.uk