Heart attack happens when a blockage in your coronary artery causes part of your heart muscle to be starved of blood and oxygen - this can have deadly implications. The complication is usually result of an accumulation of unhealthy lifestyle decisions taken over time so the condition is largely preventable if you lead a healthy lifestyle. eating a healthy plays as essential role in warding off the threat.

It is well understood that eating fruit brings myriad health benefits, including protecting the heart, and a new study adds new weight to the classic idiom: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

The research, published in published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, recommends eating two apples a day for optimal benefits.

When 40 people with slightly high cholesterol ate two large apples a day for eight weeks, it lowered their levels of bad cholesterol by almost four percent.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in blood and bad cholesterol, also known as LDL cholesterol, can block your arteries and trigger a heart attack.

READ MORE:Heart attack: Eating this food could help prevent the deadly condition

We believe the fibre and polyphenols in apples are important, and apples are a popular fruit among all ages, which are easy to eat and make great snack foods.' The study asked people aged 20 to 69 to eat two apples a day for two months, taking blood tests before and afterwards.

The study also found that women may benefit more than men from two apples a day when it comes to cholesterol, although more studies are needed to confirm this.

Apples can also be enjoyed as part of a Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to boost heart health.

A Mediterranean diet generally consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, oily fish, poultry, beans, eggs, moderate portions of dairy products and limited intake of red meat.

According to Mayo Clinic, one of the primary benefits of eating a Mediterranean diet comes from healthy fats, which should be eaten instead of unhealthy fats such as saturated and trans fats - major contributors to heart disease.

In addition, olive oil is the main source of added fat in the Mediterranean diet.

Olive oil provides monounsaturated fat - a type of fat which has been found to lower total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol levels, keep the threat of a heart attack at bay.

Furthermore, oily fish - another staple of the Mediterranean diet - is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and helps decrease triglycerides, reduce blood clotting, and decrease the risk of stroke and heart failure.

Continued here:
Heart attack: Eating two of this fruit a day could prevent the life-threatening condition - Express