- Cruciferous vegetables like spinach and kale have especially shown potent health benefits including heart health, cancer prevention, and eye health, just to name a few.
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- Eating more organic fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of stroke throughout the world, according to research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.
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- The team of researchers took a look at 20 studies that have been published over the last 19 years in order to analyze the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables on the reduction of stroke risk worldwide. With all the studies combined, 760,629 men and women who had 16,981 strokes were analyzed.
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- According to the analysis, the risk of stroke was reduced by 32 percent with every 200 grams of fruit eaten per day and 11 percent for every 200 grams of vegetables consumed per day.
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- “Improving diet and lifestyle is critical for heart and stroke risk reduction in the general population,” said Yan Qu, M.D., director of the intensive care unit at Qingdao Municipal Hospital, professor at the Medical College of Qingdao University in Qingdao, China, and senior author of the study.
- “In particular, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is highly recommended because it meets micronutrient and macronutrient and fiber requirements without adding substantially to overall energy requirements,” Qu added.
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- Macronutrients such as carbs, fats, and protein help provide calories and energy. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals
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- The researchers analyzed studies showing that high fruit and vegetable consumption can provide many health benefits including lower blood pressure, weight loss, lower cholesterol, anti-inflammatory benefits, and antioxidant effects.
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- The stroke reduction effects were consistent with men and women, stroke outcome, and type of stroke. The team did not observe a significant difference in age.
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- The researchers also analyzed six studies from around the world, and found that fruit and vegetables consumption is low worldwide, especially with low and middle-income countries.
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- The World Health Organization states that eating 600 grams more of fruits and vegetables per day could lower the risk of stroke by 19 percent worldwide.
- Stroke is the leading cause of death in China, and is number 4 in the United States.
- Take a healthy step an include organic foods in your diet.
