High Fat Diet Does Not Raise Stroke Risk


New research suggests that eating a high-fat diet does not increase the risk of having a stroke. Dr Ka He of Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues examined data obtained from 43,732 healthy middle-aged men over a period of 14 years. The researchers were not able to find any link between dietary fat and stroke risk, thus leading them to conclude that blood cholesterol is probably not an important indicator of stroke. The most important risk factor for stroke is high blood pressure, thus eating healthily maintaining a normal body weight, and getting plenty of exercise are the best ways of reducing stroke risk. The American Stroke Association estimates that 700,000 US citizens have a stroke each year.

SOURCE/REFERENCE: BMJ 2003;327:777-782.