Certain foods have an effect on different types of stroke

Stroke is still one of the health problems of concern in Indonesia. According to Riskesdas 2018 data, the number of patients suffering from stroke reached 10.9 per mile. This disease also ranks the third highest in the financing of the National Health Insurance.

Food can affect different types of stroke

Stroke disease regardless of age, people who are still young can experience it. Therefore, many people are starting to take preventative measures. Some of these include eating healthy foods, exercising, and quitting smoking.

However, it turns out that the prevention efforts carried out may not necessarily work in all types of strokes. Each type of stroke can also have to go through different treatments and prevention.

Recently, a study published in the European Heart Journal on February 24, 2020 found that several foods can have an effect on different types of stroke.

They stated that there is a close relationship between certain food groups with two subtypes of stroke, namely ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.

This study used data from 418,329 patients in nine countries in continental Europe. Patients were asked questions about diet, lifestyle, treatment history, and demographic characteristics. Researchers also consider other things such as physical activity, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

Based on the responses to the questionnaire, researchers used statistical tools to estimate the hazard ratios arising from the consumption of several food groups including meat and their preparations, fish, dairy products, eggs, cereals, fruit and vegetables, and nuts.

After observing it for more than 12 years, it found 4,281 fatal and non-fatal ischemic strokes, 1,430 hemorrhagic strokes, and a total of 7,787 stroke cases.

In the case of ischemic stroke, people who ate 200 grams of fruit and vegetables had a 13% lower risk, while consuming 10 grams of fiber per day had a 23% lower risk.

The risk level was also lower in people who ate milk, cheese and yogurt in moderation.

Research conducted on the food group in the form of fruits and vegetables also showed the same results.

Fruits such as oranges, apples, bananas, fruit vegetables, and root vegetables can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke. However, this result was not seen from the consumption of leafy vegetables and cabbage.

Certain types of food increase the risk of stroke

On the other hand, in this study it was shown that people who ate more than 20 grams of eggs per day had a 25% higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

Consumption of more red meat 50 grams per day also allows an increased risk of ischemic stroke.

In fact, there are no specific foods that can be associated with a high risk of ischemic stroke. But overall, some of the foods that have an increased risk of stroke have little or no HDL.

HDL is good cholesterol which will carry harmful substances such as low density lipoproteins, triglycerides, and other bad fats which will be returned to the liver to be converted into bile and excreted from the body.

In essence, this study has shown that eating a diet high in fiber is very important as a measure to prevent stroke. A fibrous diet can also be used by patients who are still undergoing treatment to reduce the severity of the risk.

However, it should be noted that the above studies did not determine a causal relationship between the foods consumed by patients. Most of the study participants were also people of white race, so this study cannot be used as a general yardstick.

Diet for stroke prevention

When it comes to preventing stroke, things to pay attention to are your weight and blood pressure. As is well known, an unhealthy lifestyle such as eating recklessly and being lazy to move can increase your risk of having high cholesterol levels.

In other words, the food you eat has a big influence on the high or low risk of stroke that lurks you.

The United States Department of Agriculture issues recommendations on what types of food should be on each of your dinner plates. These foods include the following groups:

• Grains, especially some of the types of whole grains such as wheat, corn, and brown rice, have higher fiber levels.
• Vegetables, choose dark green and orange vegetables and nuts. Peas make a good choice.
• Fruits, it is advisable to eat fresh fruit.
• Milk, choose the type of milk that is low in fat or it can be vegetable milk which is plant based.
• Protein, it is better if the type of protein consumed is lean meat, fish, and nuts.
• Good fats, you can find this content in avocado, salmon, and olive oil.

Don't just rely on one diet or nutrient source, add a variety of different nutrients each day. Besides being healthy, you will also not feel bored with the same food menu.