Eating Plant-Based and Stroke Risk

Introduction

Stroke?

Can eating plant-based impact on stroke risk?

Did you ever imagine seeing people in the deep rural areas of KwaZulu Natal and the dry and patched lands of the Northen Cape?

Soni, a childhood friend, passed on a few months ago. He was attacked a few days before by a stroke.

We grew up together in a village surrounded by indigenous trees and natural fauna. When you cast your eyes northwest, you face the rondavel-type mountain top.

Beyond the mountain are kudu, springboks, and various birds under the management of Intsikeni Game Reserve.

On both sides of the village are rivers teeming with fish. 

On the mountain are a plethora of wild berries, umsobo, and many natural edible wild plants.

Can a person growing up in this area with abundant plant-based foods suffer from stroke?

Unbelievable. But true.

The prevalence of stroke in South Africa is 316 per 100,000 persons. It is also affecting people of younger age and in rural areas.

Globally, stroke is becoming the leading cause of disability and death.

However, it is incredible how, when we change our diet, it also affects our health outcomes.

What is Stroke?

A stroke results from a blood clot inside the brain artery or a lump formed anywhere in the body that travels to the brain.

Stroke also results from a chronic inflammatory process that causes arterial damage. 

Type of Strokes

There are three types of strokes.

Ischemic Stroke

Ischemic stroke results from a blood clot that forms inside the brain’s artery (thrombotic stroke). At other times, a clot forms somewhere in your body that travels to the brain (embolic stroke).

Thus, Ischemic stroke happens when the brain’s blood vessels become narrowed or blocked. Thus causing severely reduced blood flow (ischemia).

Thrombotic stroke happens because of unhealthy blood vessels becoming clogged. Blood vessels become clogged with a buildup of fatty deposits. And also calcium or blood clotting factors such as fibrinogen, homocysteine, and LDL-cholesterol.

Haemorrhagic Stroke

Haemorrhagic strokes occur when an artery ruptures, causing bleeding in the surrounding brain.

Haemorrhagic stroke may involve an artery within the brain (intracerebral haemorrhage). It can also apply to an artery on the brain’s surface (subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Haemorrhagic strokes include a variety of causative factors:

• Unbridled hypertension
• Overuse of blood thinners.
• Bulges in your blood vessel walls (aneurysms)
• Traumatic situations (such as a car accident)
• Protein deposits in blood vessel walls. Leading to weakness in the vessel wall (cerebral amyloid angiopathy) and
• Ischemic stroke leads to bleeding.

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

A transient ischemic attack is a ministroke. It is a temporary period of symptoms like those in a stroke. This stroke doesn’t cause permanent damage.

A transient Ischemic Attack is when there is a temporal blockage of blood flow to the brain. In this type of stroke, the artery becomes unblocked quickly. Sometimes, a new path opens, and regular blood flow resumes, so symptoms disappear.

When TIA occurs, it is a warning that a full-blown stroke may occur.

Symptoms of Stroke

You may experience the following symptoms if attacked by stroke:

• Immediate numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg. These usually happen on one side of the body.
• Experience of sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
• Having trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• You experience severe headaches out of nowhere.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, and lack of coordination.

Causes and Risk Factors of Stroke

Pexels: Chokniti Khongchum

What caused my friend Soni to be attacked by a stroke and die? Did he notice some risk factors leading to a stroke attack?

Look out for the following causes and risk factors of stroke.

• Several cardiovascular diseases or irregular heart rhythms.
• High cholesterol.
• Smoking has been linked to fatty buildup in the carotid artery. The carotid artery is the main neck artery supplying blood to the brain. The blockage in this artery is the leading cause of stroke. Smoking tends to thicken the blood and makes it more likely to clot.  
• Overweight or obesity.
• Being physically inactive
• Heavy or binge drinking. Or when you use illegal drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
• Obstructive sleep apnea.

Several other factors prone to a higher risk of strokes:

•  Age — People aged 55 or older have a higher risk of stroke than younger people.
• Race or ethnicity — Some ethnicities are prone to a higher risk of stroke. 
• Sex – Males have a higher risk of stroke than females.
•  Hormones — Using birth control pills or hormone therapies, including oestrogen, increases risk.

Most risk factors are modifiable lifestyle factors. These risk factors are affected by modifiable lifestyle factors, thus leading to the understanding that confident lifestyle choices may significantly impact stroke risk. 

Diet and Stroke

The INTERSTROKE Study findings show that plant-based eating may reduce several risk factors linked to stroke.

These risk factors include hypertension, diet quality, cardiac causes, waist-to-hip ratio, and lipid profile.

Hypertension is the most significant factor in stroke.

Effects of Foods and Other Dietary Patterns

Studies of various foods about stroke show that consuming fruits and vegetables is protective.

 The protective relationship is slightly more robust with fruit than with vegetable consumption.

There is consistency in several studies on the benefits found with fruit and vegetable consumption. 

Research shows an inverse correlation between consuming various nutrients in fruits and vegetables. These nutrients include folate, vitamin C, flavanol, and fibre.

Studies show whole grains to be protective against cardiovascular mortality.

Generally, vegetarian and vegan diets are unlikely to yield maximal benefits. These foods are far higher in processed foods (added fats, refined grains, and added sugars) than the whole-food, plant-based diets. Whole food, plant-based diets may halt or reverse atherosclerotic heart disease. 

Evidence suggests that a healthy plant-based diet lowers the risk of stroke. A plant-based diet is associated with a modest risk of the common ischemic stroke.

However, evidence also shows no association between a healthy plant-based diet and reduced risk of haemorrhagic stroke.

Veganism and the Risk of Stroke

Several warnings concerning veganism and stroke abound.

Many consumers shy away from plant-based foods, fearing an attack of stroke.

A healthy, plant-based diet facilitates lowering your risk of stroke. Nonetheless, not all vegetarian diets are created equal, significantly reducing the risk of stroke.

Suppose you follow a whole foods plant-based lifestyle to promote brain health. It is critical to eat whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid refined grains, added sugar, and fats.

Conclusion

Plant-based diets are associated with lowering the risk of stroke and related cardiovascular diseases.

However, there are concerns about the nutritional adequacy of vegetarian diets. Eating whole foods plant-based is crucial to lower your risk of stroke.