Two common diet factors stand out in a new study on stroke. One may surprise you, and the other may challenge you. The good news is, they’re entirely preventable. And you can start reversing their harmful effects today with a few simple lifestyle changes…
Pain or numbness in one arm may be the first sign of a potentially fatal stroke…
There’s been a lot of publicity about links between the ‘Western’ daily diet and cardiovascular dis-ease (CVD). But two nutritional factors remain among the top concerns of the folks who monitor strokes…
A stroke epidemic
A ‘landmark’ study published in the most recent issue of the medical journal The Lancet Neurology reveals a shocking rise in the incidence of stroke since the dawn of the 2000s. And it also, alarmingly, reports a dramatic rise in the number of fatal strokes during that period. Specifically, between 1990 and 2021, the number of strokes in the UK rose 70 per cent. And the number of fatal strokes increased 44 per cent.
In the UK, stroke is currently the fourth most common cause of death and disability among people of all ages. More than 100,000 Britons suffering a stroke annually. That’s an average of one every five minutes. Of those, 38,000 result in death.
Almost 800,000 people in the US are struck down each year, causing 137,000 deaths. That’s propor-tionally in line with the UK results, and just as alarming.
What they found
The researchers analysed massive data bases recording a wide range of average Britons’ health re-cords over long periods of time. And they came up with solid associations between certain lifestyle factors an the incidence of stroke.
Overall, they identified air pollution, high blood pressure, smoking, sedentary lifestyle and high cho-lesterol as key among the 23 most important factors contributing to the runaway escalation of the condition. Nothing new, there.
But two other issues among the top two dozen influences pushing the rise of stroke surprised some folks. One in particular.
Entirely preventable
Like many of the other, more familiar causes of stroke, the two new factors were labeled has easily remediated. But there’s the usual catch. People tagged as headed for a stroke or early death have to get off their duffs and make li9festyle changes to compensate.
Omega 6 fatty acids
It may come as a surprise to some that many stroke victims are still reporting they don’t get enough omega 6 fats in their diets.
Once the link between omega 6 and vascular health was confirmed, back around the turn of this cen-tury, there followed massive publicity. And virtually all medical authorities were recommending folks – especially middle-aged and older people with a history of CVD in their families – should hasten to add more of these almost magical nutrients to their daily intake.
Fortunately, that’s really quite simple. As we reported just a couple of days ago, you can get signifi-cant amounts of omega 6s simply by adding fatty fish, tofu or eggs to your diet.
And for those who don’t fancy fatty fish, such as salmon, the egg option is now considered entirely acceptable – even healthy. For vegans and vegetarians, tofu is ranked almost as beneficial for omega 6 supplementation as eggs.
Fizzy drinks
One ‘sleeper’ on the 23-most-wanted list of stroke causes was a surprise even to me. Fizzy drinks, the study explains, have been consistently linked, albeit indirectly, with increased risk of strokes.
“Sugary drinks and processed meats are the only two ultra processed foods associated with a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes [than other foods], Harvard researchers have discovered,” the Daily Mail notes.
Reducing or completely eliminating fizzy drinks from your diet may be harder than it might initially sound. A huge number of European, American and UK residents have been consuming high volumes of sugary beverages (not all fizzy either!) most of their lives. They’re hooked on the sugar.
But there are other beverages that are far healthier for you. And a good place to start, for the sugar-addicted would obviously be low- or no-sugar soft drinks / soda.
As we’ve noted more than once in this space, coffee has recently been found to be beneficial to heart health. Just drink it in moderation – max two or three cups a day, ideally without sugar or dairy additions – for best results.
My take
It seems new studies on the leading health scourges of the 21st Century come out every couple of weeks. And we risk becoming desensitized to them and their often important findings.
I hope you’ll join me in looking beyond your ‘study fatigue’, in this case, particularly. And resolve to make a couple of really important changes to your diet that could save your life!
~ Maggie J.