{"id":1774,"date":"2020-10-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betternutrition.com\/2020\/10\/01\/the-road-to-stroke-recovery\/"},"modified":"2020-10-30T11:02:58","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T17:02:58","slug":"the-road-to-stroke-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betternutrition.com\/conditions-and-wellness\/the-road-to-stroke-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road to Stroke Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, an often deadly condition that occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. Roughly 25 percent of stroke patients have suffered a stroke before.<\/p>\n

Proper nutrition, exercise, and other healthy lifestyle factors are central to avoiding these brain attacks\u2014especially for stroke survivors. \u201cStroke can be a life-changing event,\u201d says Amytis Towfighi, MD, an associate professor of neurology and the James and Dorothy Williams Stroke Scholar at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. \u201cOver the years, I found that patients were often surprised to hear that four out of five strokes could be prevented through changes in lifestyle and blood pressure control. Yet, knowing what to do is only half the battle. The far more difficult task is making changes to highly ingrained habits, particularly when life gets in the way. This has become the focus of my research.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Towfighi has teamed with seasoned health writer and dietitian Laura Stevens\u2014who reached out to the neurologist after experiencing a stroke herself\u2014to coauthor the comprehensive new book What You Must Know About Strokes: How to Recover from a Stroke and How to Prevent Another Stroke<\/em> (Square One Publishers, 2020). \u201cI was thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with her,\u201d says Towfighi of Stevens, and \u201cto provide people with advice and tools to help them prevent a stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone Wants to Know \u2026<\/h2>\n

BN: <\/strong>How important are diet and related health conditions in preventing strokes?<\/p>\n

AT: <\/strong>Four out of five strokes are caused by five key factors: blood pressure, smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, and abdominal obesity.
This means that most strokes can be avoided. Other stroke risk factors tied to diet include diabetes and cholesterol abnormalities.<\/p>\n

BN: <\/strong>What are some essential lifestyle tips that can help keep us stroke-free? <\/p>\n

AT: <\/strong>Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity. Get up and move throughout the day. Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Don\u2019t smoke. Drink alcohol in moderation\u2014one drink or less per day for women and two drinks or less per day for men. And maintain a normal body mass index (i.e., 18.5-25 kg\/m2).<\/p>\n

BN: <\/strong>Which foods\u2014and diets\u2014are key to stroke prevention? <\/p>\n

AT: <\/strong>The Mediterranean diet has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke in a large trial. Key components of this famous diet include:<\/p>\n