Mediterranean Diet Cuts Stroke Risk for Women by 18%

Key points

• A new study in Neurology Open Access reports that women who adhere closely to the Mediterranean diet have a substantially reduced risk of stroke.
• Following more than 105,000 women for 21 years, researchers associated greater intake of whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes, olive oil and fish with an 18% lower overall risk of stroke.
• The results add to evidence that a predominantly plant-based eating pattern, with little red meat and saturated fat, may promote long-term cardiovascular health and help prevent stroke.

Mediterranean diet linked to lower stroke risk

The Mediterranean diet has long been celebrated as the "healthiest" approach to eating. It routinely takes the No. 1 spot in U.S. News and World Report's yearly ranking of diet profiles, has featured in countless studies-including one finding that it is best for healthy longevity-and, quite simply, tastes good. Now, a new study offers another incentive to embrace this lifestyle: women who followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had a much lower risk of stroke.

Researchers published the findings in February in Neurology Open Access, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study highlighted the particular benefits for women of a more plant-based diet supplemented with some fish and olive oil, while containing less red meat and saturated fat.

How the Mediterranean diet study was measured

To examine the effects of this dietary pattern, the researchers tracked more than 105,000 women who had no previous stroke history when the research began. Their average age was 53. At the outset, participants completed an in-depth food questionnaire, which researchers used to award a score from zero to nine according to how closely each woman's diet matched Mediterranean diet guidance.

As the American Academy of Neurology explained in a statement, "Participants earned one point for consuming more than the population average of whole grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and fish, as well as for drinking a moderate amount of alcohol. They also earned a point for eating less red meat and dairy than average." The organisation said that roughly 30% of participants received scores of six to nine, whereas 13% scored between zero and two.

The women were subsequently followed for an average of 21 years, giving the team substantial long-term information to assess. During this time, researchers documented 4,083 strokes: 3,358 ischemic strokes and 725 haemorrhagic strokes. After taking other risk factors into account, including smoking, physical activity and high blood pressure, the team found that women with the top Mediterranean diet scores had an 18% lower likelihood of experiencing any stroke than those with the lowest scores. "Their risk of ischemic stroke was 16% lower, and their risk of hemorrhagic stroke was 25% lower," the academy stated.

Plant-based foods, fish and olive oil showed the greatest benefit

In particular, women who ate more plant foods, fish and olive oil, while consuming less red meat and saturated fat, saw the greatest advantages. Their risk was lower across every major type of stroke. "Our findings support the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is critical to stroke prevention," Sophia S. Wang, PhD, from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center and the study's lead author, said. "We were especially interested to see that this finding applies to hemorrhagic stroke, as few large studies have looked at this type of stroke."

One important limitation is that, although the study found a strong link between the Mediterranean diet and a lower stroke risk, it cannot prove that the diet directly prevents strokes. Instead, as the academy explained, it "identifies an association between dietary habits and long-term health outcomes." Even so, the finding remains significant.

"Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, so it's exciting to think that improving our diets could lessen our risk for this devastating disease," Wang added. "Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to help us understand the mechanisms behind them so we could identify new ways to prevent stroke."