New evidence supports what your mom always told you – eat your fruits and vegetables, they’re good for you! Although we’ve known for years that fruits and veggies help prevent a number of diseases, only recently have researchers identified an inverse relationship between having a stroke and the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed. That is, the more fruits and veggies you eat, the lower your risk for having a stroke.
Can Vitamin C Lower Stroke Risk?
A large study of men and women involving 20,000 participants was published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in January 2008. In this study, the researchers examined the amount of vitamin C levels in the blood and compared this to the amount of fruits and vegetables eaten. (The researchers did control for the intake of vitamin C supplementation by the participants.)
The study spanned almost 10 years, by the end of which there had been 448 strokes out of the 20,000 participants. Researchers found that the individuals who had higher levels of vitamin C in their blood from fruits and vegetables were less likely to suffer from a stroke.
It has long been known that eating a variety of lots of fruits and vegetables has a positive effect on our health, but now we can also add potential stroke prevention to the long list of benefits.
For more information: “Plasma vitamin C concentrations predict risk of incident stroke over 10 years in 20,649 participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer–Norfolk prospective population study.” Myint PK, Luben RN, Welch AA, et al, Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, vol 87, Jan 2008.
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