According to a study, an apple a day keeps the vulnerability away.
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Research suggests that eating foods that contain certain nutritional components — such as blackberries and apples — may reduce your chances of becoming frail and frail in old age.
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Known as flavonols, these are associated with a variety of health benefits and can be found in a range of fruits and vegetables.
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To investigate a possible link between flavonols and frailty — which affects 10 percent of adults over age 65 — researchers analyzed the diets and frailty of 1,701 people over 12 years.
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During the study period, 13.2 percent of participants developed vulnerability. Analysis revealed that for every additional 10 mg of flavonols people ate per day — about the same amount as a medium apple — the chances of developing frailty decreased by 20 percent.
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Research suggests that eating foods containing certain nutritional components — such as blackberries and apples — may reduce your chances of becoming frail and frail in old age
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Blackberries and apples can reduce your chances of becoming frail in old age
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One type of flavonol in particular, called quercetin, had the strongest link to preventing frailty, the team said.
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This is mainly found in apples, dark berries, citrus fruits, onions, parsley and sage.
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“Perhaps there is some validity to the old adage, an apple a day keeps the doctor — or vulnerability — away,” the researchers said.
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Co-author Dr Shivani Sahni, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, said: ‘A higher intake of quercetin was the flavonoid that had the strongest association with the occurrence of frailty.
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“These data suggest that there may be certain subclasses of flavonoids that have the most potential as a nutritional strategy for frailty prevention.”
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According to Age UK, “vulnerability” refers to a person’s mental and physical resilience, or their ability to bounce back and recover from events such as illness and injury.
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Being vulnerable means that a relatively ‘minor’ health problem, such as a urinary tract infection, can have serious long-term consequences for one’s health and well-being.
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It is generally characterized by problems such as decreased muscle strength and fatigue, and can affect up to 50 percent of people over the age of 85.
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Experts recommend regular exercise — such as resistance and weight training — to prevent and reduce frailty, as well as a healthy diet.
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The findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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