Plant-based diet linked to lower stroke risk

Plant-based diets not only ward off heart disease, they also can ward off strokes. 

A Harvard study published online March 10, 2021, by the journal Neurology evaluated the self-reported health data of about 210,000 healthy men and women who periodically answered diet questionnaires over 25 years. 

Compared with people who ate unhealthy plant-based foods (such as white bread, pizza, potatoes, and foods with added sugar), people who ate healthy plant-based foods (leafy greens, whole grains, and beans) had up to a 10% reduction in stroke risk, especially ischemic strokes, which, like heart attacks, are caused by a blockage of blood flow. 

A healthy plant-based diet is just part of the approach to preventing a stroke. This approach should also include lots of aerobic exercise to get your heart and lungs pumping; adequate sleep; stress reduction; blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight control; limited alcohol intake if you drink; and not smoking.

What is long COVID?

What happens after someone has recovered from COVID-19? 

The researchers found that nearly half of COVID-19 patients have lasting health issues.

For many, recovery from COVID-19’s acute phase is just the beginning of the story. COVID-19 can affect the long-term health of a person’s heart, brain, lungs, kidneys and skin. It can also cause a host of lasting symptoms, referred to collectively as “long COVID.”

One 2021 study found that more than three-quarters of COVID-19 patients in a hospital in Wuhan, China, still had at least one symptom 6 months after their discharge from the hospital. 

This is consistent with a 2020 study from Italy that found that 87.4% of COVID-19 patients reported experiencing at least one symptom 2 months after their discharge from the hospital.

A preprint 2020 study found that long COVID is more likely to occur in older adults, people with a higher body mass index (BMI), and females. 

It also notes that individuals who experience more than five symptoms during the first week of illness are more likely to develop long COVID.

The symptoms that people most commonly report in long COVID are: 

• ·        fatigue
• ·        shortness of breath
• ·        cough
• ·        joint pain
• ·        chest pain

People may also experience: 

• ·        brain fog, wherein they find it more difficult to think clearly and focus
• ·        depression
• ·        muscle pain
• ·        headache
• ·        fever, which may come and go
• ·        heart palpitations, or a feeling of the heart pounding

People may also develop long-term complications that affect the organs.

Some possible causes of long COVID may include: 

• ·        a reduced or lack of response from the immune system
• ·        relapse or reinfection of the virus
• ·        inflammation or a reaction from the immune system
• ·        deconditioning, a change in physical function due to bed rest or inactivity
• ·        post-traumatic stress

Some research indicates that the lingering problems associated with long COVID-19 may be the result of injury to multiple organs, including the lungs, heart and brain. COVID-19 may also cause long lasting changes to the immune system, which can affect these organs. These changes, particularly in the lungs, may last longer than the time it takes for the body to remove the virus.

Red meat: Good or bad for health?

Red meat is defined as any meat that comes from mammalian muscle. This includes beef, lamb, pork, goat, veal and mutton.

Red meat contains numerous vitamins and minerals that are essential for a healthful, balanced diet. As an example, a 100-gram portion of raw ground beef contains around 25 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B-3, and 32 percent of the recommended daily allowance of zinc.

Red meat is also high in heme-iron – which is absorbed better than plant-derived iron – vitamin B-6, selenium as well as other vitamins and minerals.

However, more of us are now opting for plant-based foods over meat-based products because we believe that they are more healthful. In December 2016, a position paper from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics claimed that a plant-based diet can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by 62 percent, as well as reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

When it comes to red meat intake, cancer is perhaps the most well-established health implication. 

In October 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report concluding that red meat is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” meaning that there is some evidence that it can increase the risk of cancer.

A high intake of processed meat is associated with a greater risk of colorectal cancer, according to the WHO.

It is thought that cooking red meats at high temperatures – through frying or barbecuing, for example – is what contributes to an increased cancer risk. 

Another issue is kidney failure.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are among the most common causes of kidney failure– whereby the kidneys are no longer able to filter waste products and water from the blood. One study reported a dose-dependent link between red meat consumption and risk of kidney failure. For example, participants who were in the highest 25 percent of red meat intake were found to have a 40 percent increased risk of kidney failure, compared with those in the lowest 25 percent. 

Some studies have also associated red meat consumption with heart disease.

A 2014 study of more than 37,000 men from Sweden, for example, found that men who consumed more than 75 grams of processed red meat per day were at a 1.28 times greater risk of heart failure than those who consumed under 25 grams daily. 

Thus public health guidelines recommend limiting red meat consumption. The American Institute for Cancer Research, for example, recommend eating no more than 18 ounces of cooked red meats each week to reduce cancer risk, while processed meats should be avoided completely.

Is white meat more healthful than red meat?

A new study suggests that eating poultry is just as bad for our cholesterol levels as eating red meat. White meat is just as harmful to cholesterol levels as red meat. 

The study found that consuming both red and white meat raised blood cholesterol levels more than consuming equivalent levels of plant-based proteins. The raised levels of cholesterol did not depend on whether the diets also had high levels of saturated fats (in general, red meat has more saturated fats than white meat and eating foods that contain saturated fats raises the level of cholesterol in our blood. High levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol in our blood increase our risk of heart disease and stroke).

Meanwhile, abstaining from eating meat altogether lowered blood cholesterol much more than researchers had previously believed. Non-meat protein sources, such as vegetables, dairy and pulses, have the most beneficial effect on cholesterol levels.

“The findings are in keeping with recommendations promoting diets with a high proportion of plant-based food but do not provide evidence for choosing white over red meat for reducing cardiovascular disease risk,” write the researchers.