Almost everyone knows that eating a balanced diet, including fruits and vegetables, is good for your overall health and well being. Now, new research is showing that increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables — and especially fruits — may have a specific link to reducing strokes.
According to an article in Stroke, a publication of the American Heart Association, an analysis of multiple studies over the last two decades has indicated that consuming as few as two and a half servings of fruits and vegetables daily may decrease your stroke chances by 32 percent for fruits and eleven percent for vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables are valuable to your body because they contain calories for energy, vitamins and minerals, and fiber. They can also lower blood pressure and improve your circulation.
The American Heart Association advised adults to eat four to five servings each of fruits and vegetables daily, including a variety of raw leafy vegetables, cooked vegetables, vegetable juice, whole fresh, frozen or dried fruit, and fruit juice.
So the next time you’re hungry, instead of reaching for that convenient candy bar or bag of chips, take a few minutes longer to wash and prepare some fruit or vegetables. It’s an investment in your health and longevity that is well worth the little effort it takes. And, once you begin eating more fruits and vegetables, you’ll soon find that junk food seems a whole lot less appealing.