Apples would give a similar boost to cardiovascular health as medicines, such as statins, yet carry none of the side-effects, the University of Oxford researchers say in the BMJ.

They base their assumptions on modelling, not direct scientific study.

Any fruit should work, but getting people to comply could be challenging.

More than two-thirds of adults do not eat the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day, population surveys suggest.

And although nine in 10 of us do manage to eat at least one portion a day, Dr Adam Briggs and colleagues, from the British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University, say we would all benefit from eating more.

By their calculations, if adults of all ages could manage to eat an extra portion of fruit or veg a day, as many as 11,000 vascular deaths could be averted each year.

The Victorian mantra of "an apple a day" to keep the doctor away is particularly important for the over-50s, who are at increased risk of vascular diseases, say the researchers.

They analysed the effect on the most common causes of vascular mortality - heart attacks and strokes - of prescribing either a statin a day, which lowers cholesterol, or an apple a day to people over 50.

Assuming at least seven in every 10 complied with the advice, statin drugs could save 9,400 lives and an apple a day 8,500 lives a year, they calculate.

The data their work rests on comprises a large body of medical trials and observations involving hundreds of thousands of patients.

Dr Briggs said: "The Victorians had it about right when they came up with their brilliantly clear and simple public health advice, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'

"It just shows how effective small changes in diet can be, and that both drugs and healthier living can make a real difference in preventing heart disease and stroke.

"While no-one currently prescribed statins should replace them for apples, we could all benefit from simply eating more fruit."

Dr Peter Coleman, of the Stroke Association, said everyone stood to benefit from eating a balanced diet.

"Apples have long been known as a natural source of antioxidants and chemical compounds called flavanoids, all of which are good for our health and wellbeing.

"This study shows that, as part of a healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruit and veg, a daily apple could help to reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease. "

參考譯文：

牛津大學(xué)的研究人員稱，蘋果可能可以發(fā)揮和他汀類藥物一樣的功效——對(duì)心血管健康有益，且沒有任何副作用。
不單是蘋果，事實(shí)上所有的水果都有類似功效，然而讓人們適應(yīng)飲食上的變化卻是一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)。
調(diào)查顯示，英國(guó)三分之二的成年人沒有遵從“一日五蔬果”的健康建議，盡管其中十分之九的人至少每天吃一種蔬果，但攝入量依然遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠。如果各年齡階段的成年人能夠每天多吃一種蔬果，則全英國(guó)可以減少至少11000例的心血管疾病死亡。
每天多吃一個(gè)蘋果對(duì)50歲以上的人尤其重要，因?yàn)閷?duì)于這個(gè)年齡段的人來說，心血管疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)增加了。
研究人員統(tǒng)計(jì)和分析了最容易導(dǎo)致死亡的兩種心血管類疾病——心臟病和中風(fēng)的相關(guān)死亡數(shù)據(jù)。他們分析了通過服用他汀類藥物用以降低膽固醇的人群以及每天吃一個(gè)蘋果的人群身上可能產(chǎn)生的效果。通過計(jì)算，如果英國(guó)至少十分之七的人接受這兩種健康建議的一種，則通過服用他汀類藥物每年可以拯救9400人，而接受蘋果建議則每年可以拯救8500人。
維多利亞時(shí)代（19世紀(jì)）有句諺語：“一日一蘋果，醫(yī)生遠(yuǎn)離我。”這句簡(jiǎn)單而清晰的公眾健康建議有效地使大眾減小了心血管疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。小小的飲食改變可以讓人們免受心血管疾病的危害，盡管沒有醫(yī)生會(huì)拿蘋果作為取代他汀類藥物的藥方，但我們確實(shí)可以通過簡(jiǎn)單的多吃水果來避免心血管疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

原始來源：http://www.bbc.com/news/health-25413939