Raspberries and apples (Photo: ShutterStock)
Eating fruits like apples and blackberries may help reduce the chances of frailty, a new study suggests. What does this actually mean? Well, frailty syndrome is characterized by weakness, slowness and even decline About 10 percent of people over the age of 65 live with it, and this figure rises between 25 and 50 percent for those aged 85 and over.
The study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that flavonoids called quercetin, found in apples and blackberries, may be most important in preventing the body from weakening. Researchers found that for every 10 mg of flavonols per day—about one medium-sized apple—the odds of the syndrome were reduced by 20 percent.
Not just protein
Current dietary recommendations to prevent brittility primarily focus on protein intake. But researchers say there are plenty of other foods that may have health benefits.
"Our findings suggest that for every higher intake of 10 mg of flavonols per day, the chances of fragility were reduced by 20 percent," the researchers said. "People can easily consume 10 mg of flavonols per day because one medium-sized apple has about 10 mg of flavonols."
The authors from Harvard Medical School, and the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Research on Aging added, "Although there was no significant association between total flavonoid intake and fragility syndrome, higher flavonol intake was associated with lower chances of developing frailty.
"Specifically, higher intake of quercetin was the flavonoid that had the strongest link to preventing fragility," the researchers said. "These data suggest that there may be certain subgroups of flavonoids that have the greatest potential as a dietary strategy to prevent frailty."
- health
- nutrition and diet
- Preventive nutrition
Tags
- fruit
- Aging
- Muscle