Stroke Busters

After recently hearing that soy protein won’t help prevent heart disease and omega-3 fatty acids don’t help you avoid cancer, we’re in need of some good news. This comes with a new analysis from UK that reinforces the data on the benefits of fruits and vegetables. Pooling the results of 8 studies, researchers found that people who ate more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day reduced their risk of having a stroke by 25%, compared with those who ate fewer three servings a day. Interestingly, both major types of stroke – ischemic (artery blockage by a clot) and hemorrhagic – were reduced by eating fruit and vegetables at this level.

If 5 servings a day seem too much, 3 to 4 servings will reduce your stroke risk by 11% - a step in the right direction. But it will only reduce your ischemic stroke risk. On average, American adults only eat 3¾ servings of fruit and vegetables a day.