Research just published in the June 11th issue of the medical journal Neurology shows that people whose diets are higher in protein, (but not higher in red meat) may be less likely to have a stroke than those whose diets are lower in protein.
Analysis of dietary protein intake and stroke risk was undertaken via the technique called a Meta Analysis. In a meta analysis many studies are put together and analyzed so that the number of study participants is much larger , giving more strength to the evidence that is found. In this case there were seven studies analyzed with a total of 254,489 participants. They were studied for an average of 14 years.
Overall, the participants with the highest amount of protein in their diets were 20 percent less likely to develop a stroke than those with the lowest amount of protein in their diets.
A very important item to note, however, is that consumption of red meat has been associated with increased stroke risk. The researchers make it clear that “These results indicate that stroke risk may be reduced by replacing red meat with other protein sources, such as fish,”
The research also found that the reduced risk of stroke was stronger for animal protein than vegetable protein. One mechanism that may be involved with lowering stroke risk is that a higher protein diet may lower blood pressure, as does the Omega-3 fatty acid content found in fish.
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