health
February 4, 2026
Mediterranean diet can reduce risk of stroke by up to 25%, long-term study suggests
Two-decade study indicates a diet rich in foods such as olive oil, nuts and vegetables can cut risk of every type of stroke
TL;DR
- A Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of all types of stroke by up to 25%.
- The diet is characterized by high consumption of olive oil, nuts, seafood, whole grains, and vegetables.
- The study, published in Neurology Open Access, followed 105,614 women for an average of 21 years.
- Participants were scored based on their adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
- Those in the highest adherence group were 18% less likely to have a stroke overall, 16% less likely to have an ischemic stroke, and 25% less likely to have a hemorrhagic stroke.
- Experts see significant potential in dietary changes for stroke prevention, especially for the severe hemorrhagic type.
- Limitations include the study focusing only on women and self-reported diet data.
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