New Proven Way To Prevent A Stroke….

Today's post: Tuesday, 4-7-2015

We’ve posted on several ways to prevent strokes and prevent damage from strokes.

1.  For example, eating one or two pieces of organic fresh fruit a day lowers the risk of BOTH ischemic or obstructive strokes and of hemorrhagic or bleeding strokes significantly.

2.  And, we found a study that said that people who take ginkgo biloba and have been for several weeks before a stroke had significantly less damage from it.  (Of course that means that if you take Ginkgo Biloba regularly as a brain protective supplement and then have a stroke, that protection is already in place.)

3.  And, the Cochrane group did a study that found that for lower high blood pressure, above 140 over 90 but below 159 over 99,

people who made no effort to eat in a healthful way or exercise did have less strokes and heart attacks if they took drugs to lower their blood pressure.

AND, people who DID eat in a healthful way and got regular vigorous exercise ALSO had fewer strokes and heart attacks.

Did those people who ate right and exercised and who also added the drugs to lower high blood pressure do even better?

No.  For people who had moderate high blood pressure and ate right and exercised but took no drugs and those who added the drugs got ZERO added protection.

4.  That said, strokes are really worth avoiding.  They can kill or cause very serious disability.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were another way to prevent strokes?

Thanks to Dr Dharma, I found out recently there is one!

An email I got from him last week had this:

“A new study published in the prestigious JAMA finds that folic acid supplementation is an effective way to reduce the risk of a stroke by at least 21%, especially if you have high blood pressure.  

Past studies looking at the effects of folic acid supplementation for prevention of cardiovascular disease have indicated that it is effective for reducing stroke risk. But this research is the first to make a firm connection between the two. 

As you may know, Folic acid is a B vitamin that the body needs for healthy cell production. A lack of folic acid can lead to anemia and other health complications. It is highly recommended that women increase their intake of folic acid.  

Beyond stroke, people who take Folic acid are also at lower risk of having a heart attack.  

Food is a good start to achieve adequate folate levels, so make sure you eat lots of dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans and peas. “

Folic acid is a substance that your body can make into folate.  Folate is the actual vitamin that you get by eating vegetables and other foods high in it.

We’ve posted on how research now shows that eating 6 to 10 servings a day of organic vegetables has enormous health benefits and protective power. 

It seems that folate increases the length of your telomeres and ensures your DNA copies correctly and well in other ways.

So getting that much folate each day sharply slows aging and has even been shown to help reverse nerve damage.

Folic acid as a supplement also works though not as well.

A research doctor I once met found his patients got the best protective results from folic acid if they took at least 800 mcg a day.

I get 400 mcg in my multi-vitamin and take another 800 mcg a day also.

Conclusion:  So whether you eat a lot of foods each day that have folate or take folic acid, you get protection from strokes; you are less likely to have a heart attack; and you also are likely to recover better from any stroke you do have.