Got fruit? You might be doing yourself a bigger favor than you thought

As most runners, I like bananas. Potassium and all.

Now, it seems that I might be doing some stroke prevention work without even knowing it - a study contains clues that fruit every day might help your heart:

Adults who ate fresh fruit, such as apples and oranges, every day had about a one-third reduced risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, compared to those who rarely or never ate fruit, researchers found.

"Fruit consumption is important for your cardiovascular health," said lead researcher Dr. Liming Li, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, in Beijing.

Study participants who ate fruit most often had lower blood pressure and blood sugar than less frequent fruit eaters, which may account for the reduced risk for heart attacks and strokes, Li said.

Due to the nature of the study, however, it could not prove that fruit consumption caused the lower risk of heart attack and stroke, just that there was an association, Li said.

Last week, I joked about eating your vegetables. This week, add fruit!

(Photo from 24oranges via Flickr.)