Extra groenten en fruit tegen beroertes.*
Uit een analyse van acht studies over de relatie tussen groenten en fruit en beroertes blijkt dat voldoende groenten en fruit per dag het risico op een beroerte flink kan verlagen. Vijf porties groenten en fruit per dag geven een vermindering van 26%. Het zijn de antioxidanten in de groenten en fruit zoals vitamine C, bčtacaroteen en niet te vergeten de kalium die voor deze verbetering zorgen. Kalium zorgt ook voor een lagere bloeddruk. En waarom niet meer groenten en fruit, ze zijn caloriearm, bevatten weinig of geen vet, veel vezels en volop antioxidanten.
Extra
fruit and veggies will cut down the risk of strokes
According
to British researchers by eating more than the recommended five portions of
fruit and vegetables a day people can further reduce the risk of suffering a
stroke.
Professor
Graham MacGregor of St George's medical school at the University of London,
carried out an analysis of eight studies that looked into the impact of fruit
and vegetables on stroke.
He
says the analysis shows for the first time a quantitative relationship between
fruit and vegetable consumption and stroke, and that the more healthy foods
people consumed, the less likely they were to have a stroke, which is a
leading cause of disability and death.
MacGregor
says it was always thought that eating healthy food such as fresh fruit and
vegetables helped prevent strokes but it had not been proven to what extent
they did until now.
The
research involved more than 257,500 people from Japan, Europe and the United
States, and the scientists found that people who ate more than five servings
of fruit and vegetables a day had a 26 percent reduction in stroke compared to
individuals who consumed less than three servings daily.
MacGregor
says the finding is important because it really shows that the quantity of
fruit and vegetables you should be eating is more than five a day.
Strokes
are caused by a blockage in an artery leading to the brain or bleeding in or
around the brain, and as many as 17 million people die each year of
cardiovascular diseases, particularly heart attacks and strokes.
High
blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, raised cholesterol, obesity and lack of
exercise are risk factors.
Fruit
and vegetables are full of nutrients such as vitamin C, beta carotene and
potassium as well as plant proteins and dietary fiber.
The
researchers suspect that potassium is an important factor in preventing stroke
and MacGregor acknowledges that it is already known that potassium lowers
blood pressure.
MacGregor also points out that fruit and vegetables also are less calorie-dense, have very little fat and contain antioxidants which may also be beneficial. (Februari 2006)
