Apples Lower Heart Disease Risk!

Eating a couple of apples a day may significantly cut heart disease risk, according to a new study of the health benefits of fiber consumption - suggesting that such high-fiber carbohydrates should be embraced, not avoided, experts say.

To estimate the association between dietary fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease, researchers evaluated data from 10 prospective cohort studies in the United States and Europe involving 91,058 men and 245,186 women that measured the amount of fiber in participants' diets over a period of 6-10 years. Nine of the 10 studies reported an inverse association between fiber consumption and heart disease risk. For every 10 grams of fiber consumed per day, the risk of developing heart disease decreased 14 percent, and the risk of dying from heart disease decreased 27 percent. Fiber from fruits such as apples appeared to be slightly more protective than cereal fiber, lowering the risk of coronary disease death by 30 percent. Results were similar for men and women, researchers reported.

"Our results suggest that dietary fiber intake during adulthood is inversely associated with coronary heart disease risk," authors wrote in yesterday's edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Coronary risk was 10 to 30 percent lower for each 10-gram per day increment."

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