That’s what the Dutch scientists say. In a recent study published in the journal Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers concluded that high intake of apples and pears reduces the risk of stroke by 52%.

The scientists at Wageningen University, Netherlands conducted the study on 20,169 adults for over 10 years. Researchers examined the link between the color of fruits consumed and stroke incidence. In the beginning, all participants were free of cardiovascular diseases and they were required to complete a detailed questionnaire about their eating habits and lifestyle.

On tracking the health of participants, the researchers calculated that every 25g of apple or pear a day reduced the risk of stroke by 9%. An average apple weighs anywhere between 100g and 125g, i.e. one apple a day would lower the stroke risk by 36-45%.

Researchers reported no link between stroke occurrence and green, orange/yellow or red/purple fruits and vegetables. The color of the fleshy portion of fruits indicates the presence of important phytochemicals such as caretenoids and flavonoids.

The white flesh fruits, apples and pears, are rich in flavonoid quercetin, which has been proven to reduce inflammation. And inflammation is directly linked to hardening of arteries – cardiovascular disease.

Linda Oude Griep, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in human nutrition, said it might be useful to consume lots of white flesh fruits and vegetables to prevent the stroke.

“Eating one apple a day could be an easy way to increase the intake of white fruits and vegetables,” she added. "However, other fruits and vegetable color groups may protect against other chronic diseases. Therefore, it remains of importance to consume a lot of fruits and vegetables."

Linda advised that the results of study should be adopted into everyday practice only after confirmation of the findings through additional research. Further, “the results could be due to generally healthier lifestyle of people consuming  a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.” commented Dr.  Heike Wersching, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Münster, Germany.

Dr. Sharlin Ahmed from The Stroke Association said that eating fresh fruits and vegetables is good for our health and it’s interesting that the fruits with white flesh can reduce a person’s stroke risk. “However, this should not deter people from eating other colors of fruit and veg as they all have health benefits and remain an important part of a stable diet,” Dr. Ahmed added.