Fruits and vegetables may decrease risk of stroke

Increasing the number of fruits and vegetables in your diet may decrease your risk of stroke. However, it is not known how these foods may protect you from stroke. It may be simply that people who eat more fruits and vegetables have a healthier lifestyle in other areas as well.

• Research suggests that people who eat more fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains (for example, brown rice) may have a lower risk of stroke than people who eat lots of red meat, processed foods such as lunch meat, and refined grains (for example, white flour).¹
• A study of women showed that eating whole grains helps reduce the risk of stroke.²

Although you get vitamin C from fruits and vegetables, research does not currently support using it to prevent stroke.

Citations

1. Fung TT, et al. (2004). Prospective study of major dietary patterns and stroke risk in women. Stroke, 35: 2014–2019.

2. Liu S, et al. (2000). Whole-grain consumption and risk of ischemic stroke in women. JAMA, 284(12): 1534–1540.