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.
An apple every other day may be sufficient to keep you in shape and even help you live longer, new research has found
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.