Diets Higher in Protein May Lower Stroke Risk

Moderate dietary protein intake may lower the risk of stroke, according to a new study in the journal Neurology. Researchers in China found that people with diets higher in protein—particularly fish—may have a lower stroke risk than those with diets lower in protein. 

“Studies have shown that dietary protein may reduce stroke risk via its favorable effects on blood pressure,” says study author Xinfeng Liu, MD, PhD, professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Jinling Hospital in Nanjing, China. “In addition to lowering blood pressure, the (higher) protein diet also significantly lowered triglycerides, total cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol.”
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To evaluate the relationship between dietary protein intake and stroke risk, Liu and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of 7 prospective studies that involved 254,489 participants who were followed for an average of 14 years.

Those with the highest amount of protein in their diets were 20% less likely to develop a stroke than those with the lowest amount of protein in their diets. And the researchers found that for every additional 20 grams of protein that participants ate per day, their risk of stroke decreased by 26%.

This reduced risk of stroke was more evident for animal protein than vegetable protein—but Liu suggests that patients may want to reach for fish rather than red meat.

“Red meat is a source of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol,” he explains. “Studies have indicated that a high intake of saturated fatty acids increases plasma total cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, which could increase the risk of stroke.”

But fish, on the other hand, contains long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which Liu says have been demonstrated to have anti-atherosclerotic and anti-thrombotic effects.

“In light of our findings, patients at risk of stroke should increase dietary protein intake moderately,” he says. “According to the result of our study, the patients with intracerebral hemorrhage would benefit most from these dietary changes.”

Liu is currently conduction research to investigate the nutritional epidemiology of stroke.

—Colleen Mullarkey

Reference

Zhang Z, Xu G, Yang F, Zhu W, Liu X. Quantitative analysis of dietary protein intake and stroke risk. Neurology.  2014 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print].