Stay Away from Stroke with These Simple and Effective Strategies

According to the Saed News Health Service, "Andrew Smith," the lead researcher of this study and a professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Galway, Ireland, said: "While high blood pressure is the most important risk factor, the risk of stroke can be reduced through healthy lifestyle choices in diet and physical activity."

He added in a university press statement: "As a physician and as someone who has researched stroke risk, we encourage people to avoid or minimize consumption of carbonated and fruit drinks and to choose water instead."

Switch from Carbonated Drinks to Water:

This advice comes from a global study on stroke risk factors. It included nearly 27,000 people across 27 countries, of whom more than 13,000 experienced their first stroke.

Stroke is a serious condition in which blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted, either due to a blood clot or brain hemorrhage.

New research has linked carbonated drinks—including those containing sugar or artificial sweeteners—to a 22% higher risk of stroke.

The researchers noted that many products marketed as fruit juice are made from concentrate and contain preservatives and added sugars, which may increase the risk of stroke.

Juices Increase Stroke Risk by Up to 37%:

Fruit juices were found to increase the risk of stroke by up to 37%. This risk triples with the consumption of two or more servings of these drinks per day, with women at the highest risk for hemorrhagic stroke related to fruit juice consumption.

Smith says: "This does not apply to all fruit juices. Fresh fruit juices are likely beneficial, but commercial juices made from concentrate, with high amounts of added sugar and preservatives, may be harmful."

He continued: "Our research shows that the likelihood of stroke increases with higher consumption of carbonated drinks."

Stroke Risk Increased 37% After the Fourth Cup of Coffee:

Results showed that moderate coffee consumption is fine, but the risk of stroke increased by 37% after the fourth cup. The news was better for tea drinkers. Drinking three to four cups of black tea per day reduces the risk of stroke by 29%, while the same amount of green tea is associated with a 27% lower risk.

Finally, when it comes to quenching thirst, keep this in mind: drinking more than seven cups of water per day appears to reduce the risk of blood-clot-related stroke.