Citrus Flavanones Lower Risk Of Stroke In Women

British researchers who analyzed 14 years of data from a nurses study found that those who consumed the highest amounts of compounds known as flavanones – found in citrus fruits – significantly lowered their risk of stroke. The study included 69,622 women who reported their food intake, including details on fruit and vegetable consumption, every four years. Consumption of six main subclasses of flavonoids commonly consumed in the U.S. diet – flavanones, anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, flavonoid polymers, flavonols and flavones – was tracked along with incidents of ischemic, hemorrhagic and total stroke. They found that women who ate high amounts of flavanones in citrus had a 19 percent lower risk of blood clot-related (ischemic) stroke than women who consumed the least amounts.