Stay fit to fend off stroke

Chennai: It's Christmas time, and people have all the more reasons to indulge in packed and processed foods. But, stroke specialists ask people to keep an eye on whatever they take - be it cake, wine or meat. “Often, on festive occasions like Christmas, people consume food with preservatives and buy food from outside that are usually packed. Though the very next day you won't get a stroke (a brain attack), all these accumulate over the years. Prevention of new as well recurrent stroke is possible to a huge extent by lifestyle modifications which include cessation of smoking, eating a balanced diet, maintaining ideal body weight, regular exercise and reducing alcohol consumption,” says Dr Joy Varghese, senior consultant neurosurgeon and stroke intervention specialist of Global Hospitals.

More than 15 lakh people suffer from stroke in a year in India and 1.5 crore people experience a stroke across the world and, of them, 60 lakh do not even survive. For an adult, the daily requirement of sodium is 2,000 mg per day or 1 level teaspoon of salt per day. “Packed foods contain high salt content and a lot of salt goes into our diet unknowingly. Increased consumption of salt leads to increased blood pressure, which is the major risk factor for stroke.

Those with high blood cholesterol should limit foods containing high levels of fat especially saturated fats,” informs Dr Varghese, warning that every minutes, 2 million neurons die if blood circulation is cut off to the brain.“Food products that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils like dalda should be avoided, so also foods that are rich in sodium. More natural snacks like fruits, vegetables and plain popcorn are better.

The fibre content in fruits and vegetables can reduce stroke risk as they contain antioxidants which can help in reducing damage to blood vessels. Green leafy vegetables, broccoli, beetroot, sweet lime, mango and avocado are rich in folic acid, which can bring down the elevated homocysteine levels in blood, thus reducing stroke risk,” says dietitian Bulbin Jose, adding that moderate quantity of nuts like walnuts and almonds every day in diet act as good sources of vitamin E which promote a healthy circulatory system that help the body carry oxygen to the brain.