For a treat: Chocolate
Certain population studies have found that people who eat chocolate on a regular basis appear to lower their risk of experiencing a stroke. However, not just any chocolate will do. It’s only high-quality chocolate, free of common additives used by many manufacturers, that we’d recommend eating regularly.
And the sugar and dairy content in chocolate can undo any benefit you experience, so choose only dark chocolate with at least 60% cacao. If you’re used to milk chocolate, it can be a bit of an adjustment. But like many culinary tastes, once you make the switch, you may find that milk chocolate tastes unbearably sweet.
In the end, following a stroke prevention diet is mostly common sense. You don’t have to put too much thought into it, but instead just follow the basic adage offered by food author Michael Pollan: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” That’s it.
It can be tricky to break the dependence on our Western diet, full of convenience foods with a huge number of unpronounceable ingredients. But if you take a moment to think before making a choice, you are more likely to grab that banana instead of a tube of sugary, colored yogurt. Remember too that meat can work perfectly well on the side of your plate, rather than the center.
As you make gradual shifts toward a diet based on whole foods, your stroke risk will shrink – and your waistline will, too.
