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1. Fascinating findings. A woman who enjoys a plant based
whole food diet, has a lower stroke risk according to a new
study. Even if she has a history of heart disease or stroke,
this way of eating... lots of fruits, vegetables and whole
grains... can reduce her chances of suffering with a stroke.

2. Strokes happen when the blood supply to part of the brain
is interrupted, or reduced, depriving this vital organ of
both oxygen and blood... within minutes the brain cells
start to die. Considered a medical emergency, doctors will
tell you that prompt treatment is vital; acting at once can
minimize the damage to your brain and any complications
you might deal with later on.

3. The good news is that strokes can be prevented, and many
fewer people die of them today than was the case even 15
years ago. Better control of the risk factors (high blood
pressure, smoking, high cholesterol) is one reason for the
decline.

4. For the current work on stroke, the team examined a
group of just over 31,000 women who were heart disease
free and 5,680 who had previous heart problems, both
groups ranging in age from 49 to 83 years old.

5. Researchers measured the amounts of foods rich in
antioxidants that the subjects' ate and drank using a food
frequency questionnaire. Over 11 years later, there had
been over 1,300 strokes among the women who didn't
have heart disease; 1,007 strokes among those who did
have earlier histories of heart disease and stroke.

6. The level of antioxidants consumed in the diet appears to
impact stroke risk. Subjects who didn't have a heart
disease history who ate lots of antioxidants had a 17% less
chance of suffering any sort of stroke in comparison to
those who consumed the least amount of these beneficial
nutrients. These results remained the same even after the
team accounted for things that could impact stroke risk -
like a lack of exercise, being a smoker and other lifestyle
choices.

7. For those who had a history of either heart disease or
stroke, the numbers were even more startling - those who
consumed the highest amounts of foods rich in
antioxidants had a 45% drop in risk of a hemorrhagic
stroke (where bleeding occurs in the brain] than those
who ate a diet with the least levels of antioxidants.

8. We know that antioxidants are thought to sop up free
radicals in our bodies that can cause heart disease, stroke
as well as other serious diseases. Other sources besides
fruits, veggies and whole grains include tea and chocolate.
Making sure you get these beneficial antioxidants from
the foods you eat is an important take-away message from
the research.

9. Most specialists will tell patients to eat more fruits,
veggies, omega-3 fatty acids, nuts - and fewer saturated
fats.

10. While the study shows promising benefits to a plant based
whole food diet, the work does need to be repeated in
men and other female populations. In the meantime,
there are other things you can do to lower your risk of
dangerous, life altering stroke. Stopping smoking is the
most important - the one change that makes the most
difference.

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