Nutrition Expert Reveals the #1 Food Swap To Reduce Stroke Risk

A nutrition expert reveals which foods to eat and which to avoid to help lower the risk of stroke.

You might not remember what you had for breakfast yesterday, but your body does. Every meal, good or bad, leaves its mark. Your dietary habits are reflected in your bones, gut, heart, blood, and brain. Over time, what you eat influences key health indicators like cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar.

These three markers not only help assess your risk for heart disease, but they also play a major role in determining your risk of stroke. Strokes, whether caused by a blocked or burst blood vessel in the brain, are closely linked to diet. The good news: making healthier food choices can significantly reduce your stroke risk.

“Dramatically changing your diet is difficult, so you should take it one step at a time,” says José M. Ordovás, senior scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) and a professor at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. “It’s like that Chinese proverb, ‘the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ The same applies to changes in the diet: it has to be gradual, but every step counts.”

Potassium: Salt’s Mighty Antidote

“Salt is one of the leading culprits behind strokes,” Ordovás says.

Sodium, a key component of salt, helps regulate fluid balance in the body. More salt causes the body to retain more fluid, which bloats our blood cells and raises our blood pressure. High blood pressure can burst a blood vessel like an overloaded pipe or it can make it easier to clot and travel to the brain. Cue stroke.

Potassium is the counterweight to sodium; it helps relax our blood vessel walls and dials down the blood pressure. However, this doesn’t mean we can eat all the salt we want as long as we load up on potassium.

Ordovás recommends that, if you want to start changing your diet to reduce your risk of stroke, start with reducing salt. At the same time, he understands that salt is a major reason why our food tastes so good, and we all deserve to enjoy what we eat.

Fresh herbs and spices pack a wallop of flavor when added to just about anything. They add brightness or heat or zing that more than makes up for the lack of salt. Processed foods are the major culprits of salt in our diets, so he recommends swapping a processed snack here and there with your favorite fruit. You can build on these habits as you develop new taste preferences and routines.

While something like a potassium supplement can help increase your intake, Ordovás says they will never provide all the benefits of eating whole food.

“When you eat foods rich in potassium, you’re equipping your body with more tools to fight stroke—not just through potassium itself, but also through other beneficial compounds like antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients,” he says.

Luckily, grocery stores and markets are brimming with foods packed with potassium. Bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and spinach are just some of the many foods high in this mighty antidote to our salty nemesis.

Fats and Fibers: The Cholesterol Combatants

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that does many good things for the body, but too much of it can increase stroke risk. High cholesterol can cause plaque buildup inside our arteries, narrowing them and making blood clots more likely to form. If a clot reaches the brain, it can cause a stroke.

Healthy, unsaturated fats can help combat cholesterol. These fats remain liquid at room temperature and are found in foods like extra virgin olive oil, nuts, avocados, and fatty fish rich in omega-3s. Replacing processed snacks high in saturated fats with these healthier alternatives is a simple yet effective swap.

Fiber is the other cholesterol rival, but is often in short supply in the typical American diet. It binds to globules of cholesterol, removing them from your body so they don’t end up in your bloodstream. Ordovás notes that fruits, vegetables, and whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and oats all contribute to a heart-healthy diet.

Ultra-Processed is the Problem

“A popular concept these days, if you want to increase the amount of the good things and decrease the amount of the bad things, is to avoid ultra-processed foods,” Ordovás says.

Roughly 70% of the U.S. food supply is made up of ultra-processed foods. These are foods that are often high in sugar, salt, and fat and have added ingredients like preservatives, artificial flavors, and colors.

Substituting some of the ultra-processed foods in our diet with healthier foods can be a great way to start changing our health outcomes. Instead of canned soup or frozen pizza, have homemade chili or pizza night instead. For dessert, swap a bowl of ice cream every now and then with a few squares of dark chocolate. Eating for stroke prevention doesn’t mean total restriction.

Precision Nutrition

Advances in nutrition science are making health recommendations more personalized than ever. A holistic approach that considers genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors is crucial for effective stroke prevention.

Ordovás and other researchers are identifying genes linked to a higher stroke risk. His studies suggest that the Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and whole grains is one of the most effective ways to prevent someone’s first and recurrent strokes. Even for older, high-risk people, dietary changes can lead to meaningful improvements.

“Brainfood, superfood — there is no magic bullet,” Ordovás says. “The Mediterranean diet might be a ‘superdiet,’ but strokes are complex. The solutions are complex, too.”

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