Stroke risk reduced by eating fruits and vegetables
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Eating more than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day can cut the risk of stroke by 26 percent, according to the results of a review of several studies published this week in The Lancet.
Several reports have suggested an anti-stroke effect with diets high in fruits and vegetables, but the extent of this association was unclear, lead author Dr. Feng J. He, from St. George’s University in London, and colleagues note.
To determine how many servings of fruits and vegetables are needed each day to influence stroke risk, the researchers evaluated data from eight published studies that included nine independent groups of patients.
Out of a total of 257,551 subjects, 4,917 strokes occurred over an average of 13 years. The average servings of vegetables and fruits were calculated as 77 g and 80 g, respectively.
Eating three to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day reduced the risk of stroke by 11 percent compared with eating smaller amounts. As noted, consuming more than five servings reduced the stroke risk by 26 percent.
The benefit of eating more than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day was observed for men and women and was noted regardless of stroke type, duration of follow-up or method of diet assessment.
In most developed countries, the number of fruit and vegetable servings averages three per day, the authors point out.
The study findings support current recommendations that at least five servings should be consumed each day. Meeting this goal would substantially reduce the illness and death rate from stroke, they predict.
In a related editorial, Dr. Lyn M. Steffen, from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis, emphasizes the need to encourage healthy eating patterns early in life.
“Because food habits develop in childhood, we must protect young people from developing chronic disease early in life,” Steffen writes. “Therefore, partnerships must be formed between public-health agencies, state and local governments, schools, and the food industry and the media to promote healthy food choices.”
SOURCE: The Lancet, January 29, 2006.
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