“An apple and artichoke a day keeps your stroke risk at bay?”

Yet more evidence this week about the importance of fruit and vegetables in our diet- this time specifically related to risk of the most common type of stroke. 

Yet more evidence this week about the importance of fruit and vegetables in our diet- this time specifically related to risk of the most common type of stroke. This is known as an ischaemic stroke ( is-k-ee-mick) and occurs when a blood clot causes a blockage in some of the blood vessels in your brain. These types of strokes affect more than 100,00 people in the UK each year and having high blood pressure is known to be a risk factor. A team of researchers looked at data from over 400,000 people over 12 years across 9 European countries and found that  “higher consumption of fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre was associated with lower risk of ischaemic stroke”

So what is it about fruit and veggies that might cause this brain healthy effect? The key players could be fibre content as well as possibly the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) - particularly potassium and folate - which have been shown in some other studies to reduce blood pressure. 

So pile those veggies high! 

Source: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa007/5748325