Health Tidbits

The Best Food to Stave Off Stroke

Another startling finding was that eating a Mediterranean diet including extra servings of nuts trims stroke risk by a whopping 46 percent, compared to eating a low-fat diet. “That’s a huge risk reduction,”says Dr. Bale. “It’s truly astonishing to see such a powerful effect from one food.”

The group who ate extra nuts also had a 30 percent lower rate of heart attacks, compared to the low-fat group, but the drop wasn’t large enough to be statistically significant. Overall, both groups who ate a Mediterranean diet had about a 30 percent reduction in major cardiovascular events.

In earlier studies, nuts have been shown to have several protective powers, adds Dr. Bale. “We known that nuts are particularly effective at reducing high blood pressure, which is the number one risk factor for stroke, and can also improve the health of the endothelium (blood vessel lining),” making arteries more resistant to plaque buildup.

In addition, nuts have powerful antioxidant properties, adds Dr. Bale.“This study gives a very strong signal that people can significantly reduce stroke risk by eating nuts. The study design is impressive because the researchers controlled for all sorts of cardiovascular risks and also used lab tests to make sure people were eating the assigned diet.”

Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The group who ate a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra servings of extra virgin olive oil had a 34 percent drop in stroke risk, compared to the low-fat group. Heart attack risk fell by about 30 percent in the two groups who ate a Mediterranean diet, but the reduction wasn’t large enough to be statistically significant.

“Extra virgin olive oil contains a compound called oleocanthal that is both a powerful antioxidant and also has an anti-inflammatory effect similar to NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like aspirin or ibuprofen,” says Dr. Bale. Based on scientific research, the European Food Safety Authority has approved the claim that olive oil protects LDL (bad) cholesterol molecules from oxidative damage.