Simple breakfast helps reduce the risk of stroke

To reduce your risk of stroke, nutritionists recommend starting your morning with a bowl of oatmeal topped with nuts and berries. This simple combination is packed with nutrients that help keep blood vessels healthy and blood pressure stable, both of which are key to reducing your risk of stroke, according to the health news site Eating Well.

Why can such a simple breakfast reduce the risk of stroke?

Here are a few reasons why a breakfast of oatmeal topped with nuts and berries is a great choice to reduce your risk of stroke.

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A potassium-rich breakfast. Oats, nuts such as almonds and walnuts, and berries all provide potassium and can be part of a heart-healthy diet. Potassium is an essential nutrient that helps lower blood pressure. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Heart Association recommend eating foods rich in potassium to lower blood pressure.

Potassium plays an important role in many physiological processes that affect blood pressure. At the same time, increasing dietary potassium can also reduce the effects of sodium by increasing the amount of sodium excreted in the urine.

Professor, Dr. Joan Salge Blake, nutritionist, Boston University (USA), explains: Potassium helps the kidneys excrete excess sodium from the body. Keeping sodium levels low can help lower blood pressure.

Oats are rich in soluble fiber. Dr. Romy Nathan, a nutritionist at Romy Nathan Nutrition Consulting (USA), said: Oats are rich in beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that is good for the heart, binds to bile acids in the digestive tract, helping to remove cholesterol from the body. This helps reduce bad cholesterol levels and prevent atherosclerosis. When less fatty plaque builds up in the arteries, the risk of stroke is lower, according to Eating Well.

Berries are rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients that are good for blood pressure. Nathan says: Berries are rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, both of which can help reduce the risk of stroke. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and reduce inflammation in blood vessels, thereby protecting the lining of blood vessels from damage. Meanwhile, anthocyanins - a type of flavonoid found in blueberries, strawberries and blackberries - can lower blood pressure, improve blood vessel function and reduce inflammation.

Additionally, you can reduce your risk of stroke by eating less processed red meat, adding more anti-inflammatory foods, reducing alcohol intake, and exercising regularly.