Your stroke risk may be tied to type of fats you eat — not the amount, study finds
A 27-year-long study found it’s not the amount of fat you eat, but rather the type of fat that’s more important in the prevention of heart disease and stroke.
The new research showed people who ate the most animal fat were 16% more likely to experience stroke compared to those who ate the least. Meanwhile, people who ate the most vegetable fat, such as olive and corn oil, were 12% less likely to have a stroke than those who ate the least.
Eating more red meat, processed or not, was also linked to higher stroke risk among the more than 117,000 study participants. Processed meats contain high amounts of salt and saturated fat, both of which have been tied to stroke.
On the plus side, fats from dairy products, including cheese, butter, milk and ice cream, were not associated with a higher risk of stroke.
The findings, to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2021, are observational, meaning fat consumption may not directly increase stroke risk. However, the research can help doctors better understand the link between diet and risk of stroke.
Lack of exercise, excessive alcohol intake, tobacco use and certain health conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure can also increase one’s stroke risk.
Stroke, often called a “brain attack,” is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and a major cause of disability in adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke each year.
“Based on our findings, we recommend for the general public to reduce consumption of red and processed meat, minimize fatty parts of unprocessed meat if consumed, and replace lard or tallow (beef fat) with non-tropical vegetable oils such as olive oil, corn or soybean oils in cooking in order to lower their stroke risk,” lead study author Fenglei Wang, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of nutrition at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, said in a news release.
The study included 117,136 health care workers enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study from 1984-2016 and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study from 1986-2016 designed to examine risk factors for chronic diseases. Nearly 6,190 participants had strokes during the study period. All were clear of heart disease and cancer when initially enrolled.
Every four years, participants, who were an average of 50 years old, completed questionnaires about the amount, source and types of fat in their diets; 97% of the participants were white, so researchers say their findings may not be generalizable to other racial and ethnic groups that are disproportionately affected by stroke.
The risk for a first stroke is nearly two times higher for Black people than for white people, the CDC says. Black people are also more likely to die from stroke than white people. Generally, Hispanic people, American Indians and Alaska Natives also have higher risks of stroke.
Stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts or when blood supply to parts of the brain is blocked. The event can cause chronic brain damage, long-term disability or death.
“This study fits with the prior nutritional science that shows that we should be eating primarily a plant-based diet,” Dr. Michael Miedema, the director of cardiovascular prevention at the Minneapolis Heart Institute, who wasn’t involved with the new study, told NBC News. “The average American diet relies on animal-based proteins, and the sooner we can shift that to more plant-based, the better off we’ll be.”
Researchers say a heart-healthy diet consists of whole grains, lean and plant-based protein, fruits and vegetables. People should limit their salt, sugar, animal fat, processed foods and alcohol intake.
