The recent study confirm that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is a good way to lower your stroke risk. But the main reasons aren’t well understood. The University of Cambridge researchers measured vitamin C levels in more than 20,000 people, who were then followed for roughly a decade. Levels vitamin C in bloods are tend to be much higher in people who consume lots of fruits and vegetables than in people who do not.

The participants were divided into four groups based on vitamin C levels, those with the highest concentrations of the vitamin in their blood were found to have a 42% lower stroke risk than those with the lowest concentrations. The association was seen even after the researchers adjusted for a wide range of stroke risk factors.

But, the findings do not prove that it is the vitamin C in fruits and vegetables that is protective, the researchers note. And most studies have found that taking vitamin C and other antioxidant vitamin supplements is of no benefit for lowering stroke risk. Mark Levine, MD, of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases said that the study is one more indication that eating fruits and vegetables every day may have cardiovascular benefits.

Lead researcher Phyo K. Myint, MRCP, and colleagues suggest that the observed increase in risk among people with the lowest vitamin C levels could have clinical implications. Specifically, vitamin C levels may prove to be a good predictive indicator of stroke risk, independent of known risk factors such as age, smoking history, cholesterol, they write.

Stroke specialist Larry B. Goldstein, MD, was chairman of the committee that revised the American Stroke Association’s guidelines for stroke prevention in 2006. Goldstein said that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is a good way to accomplish both goals.

He says there is no good evidence that taking vitamins in pill form helps lower stroke risk, and even notes disturbing evidence that antioxidant supplements interfere with the action of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs routinely prescribed to patients at high risk for strokes.

via medicinenet

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