Food that can prevent stroke
A stroke is a life-threatening medical condition that incurs hefty expenses. In the United States, it’s estimated that health care services for stroke total $34 billion each year. In Nigeria, we spend an average of $1.1 billion (N173. 8billion) as direct cost-of-illness excluding nursing care for stroke victims per annum in Nigeria.
It is pertinent then that we talk more on how to prevent it than its treatment.
Many a time, we place more emphasis on the food that a stroke patient avoid or someone that does not want to have stroke.
We talk less on the available food that we should take so that our body is better prepared and built around fighting the development of stroke. Even the previously documented foods are either too expensive for the general populace or not readily available in our beloved Nigeria. Hence the purpose of this writeup is to bring to you common Nigerian food that can help prevent this condition from developing.
I will be analyzing the basic components that are unique to these foods making them best suited for preventing stroke.
Food for stroke rich in Potassium
Potassium has been found to be an importance mineral in the reduction of Blood pressure. Since high blood pressure has been the major culprit responsible for stroke, eating food rich in potassium will help an individual from developing stroke. Some of the common Nigerian food that is rich in potassium are
- Banana
- Jackfruit
- Plantain
- Guava
- Date
- Grapefruit
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Watermelon
- Potato baked with skin
- Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Cabbage
- Pumpkin
- Carrot
- Eggplant
- Onion
- Cucumber
- Lettuce
- Oatmeal
- Beans
- Walnut
Food for stroke that are rich in antioxidants
Resveratrol and flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that have been observed to be linked with reduction of stroke. While Onion is a powerful source of flavonoids, grape is a very good source of resveratrol. Just like onion is widely available, grape is also present in a glass cup of red wine. Of course, the positive effect of red wine can easily be reversed with too much of alcoholic consumption. So, caution is needed when taking alcoholic red wine.
Those that are rich in vitamin D
Vitamin D provides support for brain, muscles, and bones.
Foods that help protect your brain also boost your stroke prevention efforts. Common sources of such food that gives daily recommended intake are
- Fish
- Egg yok
- Liver beef
Those that are source of omega 3
You can get essential fatty acids from omega-3-rich foods, which help prevent stroke.
Great examples include
- flaxseeds,
- chia seeds
- walnuts
- soybean
- sardine
- oysters
- Cold liver oil
Food that are rich in Probiotics
Probiotics are healthy live bacteria that nurture your gut-brain axis, the pathway where your gut communicates with your brain. This means that improving gut health has a positive, cascading effect on brain health — which is the essence of stroke prevention.
Bifidibacterium which is one of the 2 types of probiotics exists in some dairy products like
- Yoghurt
- Goat milk
These have known to help in reducing high blood pressure and of course reduce chances of getting stroke.
Food that are rich in Prebiotics
Prebiotics are indigestible fibers that help to promote the growth of probiotics
Most legumes, including dry beans, are great sources of prebiotics, which make them an excellent food choice to help prevent stroke.
Of course, you will not say that since you are already consuming the foods that helps prevent stroke gives you the freedom to eat anything in addition to the already listed food. In addition to eating good food, you also need to avoid or reduce the quantity of these food in your diet. These include
- Processed foods that contain trans-fat. This is because trans-fat increases inflammation in the body and can cause many diseases including stroke
- Smoked and processed meat with preservatives. Preservatives found in such processed food contain sodium nitrite which has been linked to increasing the risk of having stroke.
- Processed table salt. Natural salt is not associated with increasing the risk of having stroke but it’s the processed one that has been linked to this condition. So its advisable to reduce the quantity of salt intake generally in our food.
Do you know anyone who has recently suffered stroke? If yes is the answer, we at KABWORLD Physiotherapy offers individualized, best quality and yet affordable services. The good news again is that it can be on home care basis at the comfort of your house. So, if you stay around Ikorodu, Lekki and Mainland of Lagos state, feel free to contact us so we can schedule a consultation with you