Academic Journal
Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Stroke; Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 05 Dec 2011 - 0:00 PST
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Females who consume lots of fruit, vegetables and grains have a lower risk of stroke, even if they have a history of cardiovascular disease, compared to women who don't, researchers from the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, reported in Stroke.
First author, Susanne Rautiainen, said:
"Eating antioxidant-rich foods may reduce your risk of stroke by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation. This means people should eat more foods such as fruits and vegetables that contribute to total antioxidant capacity."Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance between the production of free radicals, which damage cells, and the human body's ability to neutralize them or repair the subsequent damage, which results in blood vessel damage, stiffening and inflammation.
Oxidative stress can be inhibited by antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C, flavonoids, and carotenoids - antioxidants scavenge the free radicals. Flavonoids, for example, can help improve endothelial function, blood pressure, inflammation, and reduce blood clotting.
According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary:
An antioxidant is an agent that inhibits oxidation; any of numerous chemical substances including certain natural body products and nutrients that can neutralize the oxidant effect of free radicals and other substances.
Rautiainen and team gathered data from the Swedish Mammography Cohort and identified 31,035 women who were free of cardiovascular disease and 5,680 others with a history of cardiovascular disease in two counties. They were aged from 49 to 83 years. Among the cardiovascular-disease free women they identified 1,322 cases of stroke, and 1,007 cases in the others.
With the use of a food-frequency questionnaire, they gathered data on the women's eating habits. They determined the women's TAC (total antioxidant capacity). TAC measures the free radical-reducing capacity of all antioxidants in the diet and takes into account the synergistic effects substances might have on each other. The women were then categorized according to their TAC levels - there were nine groups, five among those with no history of cardiovascular disease and four with a history of cardiovascular disease.
Fruit and vegetables contributed to about half the TAC for women in the highest quintile. Other key foods included whole grains at 18%, tea 16% and chocolate 5%.
Those in the highest quintile of dietary TAC had a 17% lower risk of developing stroke compared to those in the lowest quintile - the authors described this as a "statistically significant difference".
The risk of hemorrhagic stroke was from 46% to 57% lower among the women in the highest three quartiles of dietary TAC compared to those in the lowest quintile.
A diet high in fruit and vegetables can protect against stroke
Rautiainen said:
"Women with a high antioxidant intake may be more health conscious and have the sort of healthy behaviors that may have influenced our results. However, the observed inverse association between dietary TAC and stroke persisted after adjustments for potential confounders related to healthy behavior such as smoking, physical activity and education."
Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Susanne Rautiainen, Susanna Larsson, Jarmo Virtamo & Alicja Wolk
Stroke. 2011;published online before print December 1 2011, doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.635557 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:
MLA
8 Dec. 2011.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
posted by zohre on 3 Dec 2011 at 10:17 pm
I am waiting for all to convert their unjust, cruel diet of animal eating to a vegan way of life. The only way to eradicate diseases is to feed on plants onnly.
Hope for ethical approaches to feed our selfish faces!
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posted by Ryan Parker on 3 Dec 2011 at 11:48 pm
Hi there,
I believe this isn't just true for females but also for males of any age group too. Heck, even animals excluding carnivores. Its already been proven since some time ago that eating fruits and veges is great for health in general. Thanks for the info anyway.
Ryan
Zdiets.net - Lost 170lbs - Hypertension GONE! - High Cholesterol GONE! - Pre-Diabetes GONE!
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posted by Toxins on 4 Dec 2011 at 3:09 pm
Antioxidants are beneficial for MANY things including significantly increasing lifespan.
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