A new medical study suggests that diet may play an important role in reducing the risk of stroke in women.
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Heart+Stroke, stroke affects women disproportionately.
“More women than men die from it; they have more serious after-effects than the latter after a stroke; more of them live with the consequences of a stroke; and the challenges they face during their recovery are greater,” reads the organization’s website.
One way to reduce the risk of stroke in women would be to opt for a Mediterranean diet, according to a new study published Wednesday in the Neurology Open Accessa journal of the American Academy of Neurology, whose findings were reported by CNN.
The Mediterranean diet prioritizes vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and fish as well as olive oil and light alcohol consumption.
Conversely, this type of diet limits the consumption of dairy products and meat.
The study related to stroke began in 1995 with the participation of 105,000 women, all teachers, administrators or members of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.
After studying and analyzing their eating habits (type of food, portion size, etc.), the researchers established the participants’ adherence rate to the Mediterranean diet.
After following up for just over 20 years, researchers found that women who followed the Mediterranean diet had a lower risk for all types of stroke.
According to the data collected “these women were 18% less likely to suffer a stroke, with a reduced risk of 16% for ischemic stroke (caused by obstruction of blood flow to the brain) and 25% for hemorrhagic stroke (resulting from bleeding in the brain)”.
Dr. Sophia Wang, lead author of the study, told CNN that the reduction in the risk of hemorrhagic stroke “was particularly surprising.”
Dr. Wang also highlighted the study’s relevance to aging women. “The risk of stroke in women increases at menopause and remains high thereafter. Our study shows that there are ways to minimize this risk, such as adopting a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet,” she explained.
This is not the first time that a study has shown that the Mediterranean diet would be beneficial for health and could help reduce the risks of dementia, gum disease, depression, breast cancer and diabetes.
“We’ve known for a long time that this is a healthier diet,” Dr. Andrew Freeman, a preventive cardiologist and director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, told CNN. He did not participate in the study.
While there are some limitations to the study – including that the researchers did not track changes in diet or olive oil consumption over time – Dr. Freeman believes it is among other quality research demonstrating that a diet consisting primarily of whole, low-fat, plant-based foods “is one of the best ways to prevent a wide range of diseases, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.”
