Oranges? Can't hurt, really

Watch out for stories about medical research. Just because things seem connected, it doesn't follow that one causes the other. Maybe. Maybe not.

That being said, recent news about the potential connection between an orange a day and stroke prevention is interesting:

Women with the highest levels of flavanone in their diet were 19% less likely to have an ischemic stroke during 14 years of follow-up than those with the least flavanone intake (P=0.04), Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D., of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and colleagues found. ...

Most of the flavanones consumed by women in the study came from orange and grapefruit juice (63%). But eating the whole fruit would likely be a better way to boost intake, the researchers suggested.

"Given the higher flavanone content of citrus fruits and the sugar content of commercial fruit juices, public health recommendations should focus on increasing citrus fruit intake," they recommended in the paper.

Unless you've got a health reason not to eat an orange a day, this isn't a bad idea at all. This research doesn't prove the link, however. (Photo from U.S. Department of Agriculture)