An apple a day keeps the doctor away – or so we thought.
It actually turns out that one every other day may be enough to keep you in fine fettle and even help you live longer.
Scientists found eating four apples a week can reduce the chances of dying from heart disease by almost 40 per cent.
Bananas are also hugely beneficial – slashing the risk of premature death by just under 30 per cent. And if you eat both fruits three to four times a week it almost halves the likelihood of an early demise.
The study, in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, researchers from Yangtze Hospital in Jinzhou, China, tracked 2,184 middle-aged men and women who had high cholesterol.
Over ten years, those who ate three to four apples a week were 39 per cent less likely to die from any cause than those who rarely ate them. Regular banana consumption had a similar impact.
