Scientists in China say that increasing the amount of protein in a person’s diet appears to lower their risk of suffering a stroke.
As little as one chicken breast or salmon fillet – the equivalent of 20g of protein – could reduce the risk of stroke by 20%, say researchers from Nanjing University School of Medicine, who followed 254,489 people for an average of 14 years and monitored their diets and health.
Just as strikingly, the researchers found that for every additional 20g per day of protein that people ate, their risk of stroke decreased by 26%.
Lead researcher Xinfeng Liu said in a news release from American Academy of Neurology: “If everyone’s protein intake were at this level, that would translate to more than 1.4 million fewer deaths from stroke each year worldwide, plus a decreased level of disability from stroke.”
But the researchers say that that choosing the right source of protein is important. They specifically caution against increasing consumption of red meat, itself associated with increased stroke risk. Two of the studies that the Chinese researchers reviewed were conducted in Japan, where people eat less red meat than westerners do and more fish. “These results indicate that stroke risk may be reduced by replacing red meat with other protein sources, such as fish,” Liu said.
