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12 DAYS CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN: CITRUS FRUITS

Citrus fruits (including oranges, clementines, satsumas, lemons and limes) are best in season around Christmas time. But citrus fruits are not only delicious but they've also been proven to lower women's stroke risk, especially oranges and grapefruit, may lower ischemic stroke risk. 



The research published in the journal Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association looked at how consuming flavones subclasses affects the risk of stroke. Flavonoids are a class of compounds present in fruits, vegetables, dark chocolate and red wine. Women who ate high amounts of the flavonoids had a 19 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who consumed the least amount.

Within their experiment, the flavanones came mainly from oranges and orange juice (82 percent) and grapefruit and grapefruit juice (14 percent). However, researchers recommended that consumers increase their citrus fruit intake, rather than juice, due to the high sugar content of commercial fruit juices.

The National Institutes of Health (USA) funded the research. However the scientists still need to research flavone consumption and its association with stroke risk, to further gain a better understanding about why the association occurs, the authors said.


References:
1- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120223182638.htm

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