People who follow a healthy diet rich in the nutrient magnesium are considerably less likely to experience a stroke, says a large international study.
A review of several studies including about 250,000 people showed that those who ate healthy and magnesium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans and whole grains were at a lower risk of stroke.
For every extra 100 milligrams of magnesium a person received via diet per day, the risk of an ischemic stroke, the most common form reduced by 9 percent, says the report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Dietary magnesium intake is inversely associated with risk of stroke, specifically ischemic stroke,” concluded scientists from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Led by Susanna Larsson, the team did not recommend people consume magnesium supplement because their study just focused on the nutrient in food.
There might also be other possible food factors involved in their findings such as nutrients like sodium and high potassium, which had been found effective in reducing stroke risk during previous investigations.
In their previous review, Larsson and her team had found that stroke risk decreased as people's reported potassium intake went up.
She suggests that more sophisticated studies are needed to confirm whether the magnesium was the main cause of the reduced stroke risk among the studied people.
Many studies have suggested that following a Mediterranean like diet full of fruits, vegetables and fish, and also avoiding alcohol may significantly reduce the risk of death caused by stroke and heart attack.
SJM/TE