新鲜水果对身体好处多多

 WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- There seems to be some truth in the old saying: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

A new study in the Chinese population said Wednesday that people who eat fresh fruit on most days are at lower risk of heart attack and stroke than people who rarely eat fresh fruit.

The findings, published by the New England Journal of Medicine, came from a seven-year study of half a million adults in China, where fresh fruit consumption is much lower than in countries like the U.K. or the United States.

Researchers from the University of Oxford¹ and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences conducted a large, nationwide study of 500,000 adults from 10 urban and rural localities across China, tracking health for seven years through death records and electronic hospital records of illness.

Fresh fruit may significantly cut risk of heart attack, stroke: <a href=http://www.hxen.com target=_blank class=infotextkey>study</a>

The participants did not have a history of cardiovascular diseases or anti-hypertensive treatments when they first joined the study.

The study found that eating fruits, mainly apples or oranges, was strongly associated with many other factors, such as education, lower blood pressure, lower blood glucose², and not smoking in China.

But, after allowing for what was known of these and other factors, a 100-gram portion of fruit per day was associated with about one-third less cardiovascular mortality and the association was similar across different study areas and in both men and women.

"The association between fruit consumption and cardiovascular risk seems to be stronger in China, where many still eat little fruit, than in high-income countries where daily consumption of fruit is more common," study author Huaidong Du of the University of Oxford said.

Also, fruit in China is almost exclusively consumed raw, whereas much of the fruit in high-income countries is processed, and many previous studies combined fresh and processed fruit, said Du.

Senior author Zhengming Chen, professor at the University of Oxford, noted³ that it's difficult to know whether the lower risk in people who eat more fresh fruit is because of a real protective effect.

"If it is, then widespread consumption of fresh fruit in China could prevent about half a million cardiovascular deaths a year, including 200,000 before age 70, and even larger numbers of non-fatal strokes and heart attacks," Chen added.

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。