While we rarely praise diets, we have been talking about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for years. The Mediterranean diet is more of an eating style than a true diet, and studies have found it helps blood sugar health and many other aspects of health. A new study has linked it to a lower risk of stroke in women.
A study followed more than 105,000 women’s eating habits for more than 21 years. The results showed that women who strictly adhered to the Mediterranean diet had a significantly lower risk of stroke. They evaluated the women’s diets based on detailed dietary questionnaires that were scored on a scale of zero to nine on how close they were to the Mediterranean diet.
"Participants earned one point for consuming more than the population average of whole grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and fish, as well as for drinking a moderate amount of alcohol. They also earned a point for eating less red meat and dairy than average," the researchers wrote. Around 30 percent of women scored between a six and a nine, while 13 percent were between zero and two.
Over the 21 years the team tracked the women, there were 4,083 strokes. The women who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet were 18 percent less likely to have a stroke than those with the lowest diet scores.
"Our findings support the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is critical to stroke prevention," said lead author Dr. Sophia Wang, from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center.
However, while the study shows a strong association between adhering to the Mediterranean diet and a reduced stroke risk, it does not prove cause and effect. You can’t prove connections in observational studies, just see links.
As the study followed the women for 21 years, it suggests that long-term consistency matters. What we have always praised about the Mediterranean diet is that it’s an eating style without strict rules. That makes it both more approachable and much more maintainable than a diet with rules you have to live by. You can fit foods you like into the diet and make it work for you; you just have to be consistent. People with “moderate adherence to the Mediterranean eating patterns” also see noticeable improvements in heart health markers. It’s not about being perfect; it’s about sticking to it. And, when you stick to it, you can reap real rewards.
