Fresh Fruit for Your Heart
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Brightly colored, naturally sweet, and pleasantly crisp—what’s not to love about fresh fruit? Add more fresh fruit to your day and your heart may tick a little longer too, says a 2016 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Chinese researchers looked at the diets of nearly half a million adults and monitored their health for about ten years. Daily fresh fruit-eaters had lower blood pressures, lower blood sugar levels and overall healthier hearts. Compared with those who never ate fruit, people who ate fresh fruit every day were 40% less likely to die from heart disease, 34% less likely to have suffered a major coronary event, and about 30% less likely to have had a stroke. Data suggests that 16% of deaths from cardiovascular disease may be attributed to low fruit consumption.
Adding more fresh fruit to your diet is easy! Here are ten delicious ways to naturally sweeten your day:
- Blend fresh fruit into smoothies. Bananas and pineapple bring tropical flavor. Try the Tropical Green Smoothie.
- Fold berries into whole wheat muffins, quick bread or coffee cake mix.
- Substitute fresh grapes for jelly in a peanut butter sandwich.
- Try grilling fruit like pineapple and peaches. Our Grilled Tropical Split is a delicious dessert.
- Mix blueberries into quinoa, barley or other grain salads.
- Stir ripe banana into oatmeal as a natural sweetener—it adds creamy texture too.
- Add pineapple to chicken and vegetable stir-fry.
- Make a mango salsa to enjoy over grilled fish.
- Enjoy banana “ice cream” for dessert. Pumpkin Spice Frozen Swirl is tasty any time of year.
- Eat fresh fruit as a snack—apples, grapes, berries and bananas are convenient on-the-go.
Published June 1, 2016
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