Foods Rich In Magnesium Reduce Your Chance of Stroke

Eating foods rich in magnesium really matters when it comes to reducing your chance of stroke. A new study finds that the risk of one particular type of stroke is lower in those whose diets contain more of the nutrient magnesium.

The most commonly seen type of stroke, known as an ischemic stroke (where one of the blood vessels in the brain is blocked by a clot causing damage to cells), saw a reduction in risk of 9% for every 100mg of magnesium consumed each day.

Regularly eating foods rich in magnesium also offered a modest reduction in the chances of all types of stroke. For every 100mg of magnesium each day, subjects reduced their chance of suffering a stroke by 8%.

To study stroke and magnesium, the Swedish team examined data from seven already published studies on magnesium and stroke. These projects were conducted between '98 and 2011, with over 240,000 adults over 34 years old.

The subjects were followed for from 8 to 15 years, and during this period, 6,500 of them had a stroke. The average intake of magnesium in the participants was from 242 to 471 milligrams a day.

As a point of reference, the U.S. dietary guidelines call for a magnesium intake of 420 mg per day for men over 31; 320 mg a day for women of the same age.

The researchers found that subjects who had greater volumes of magnesium in their diet also had a reduced risk of stroke. This held even after the team accounted for other factors that might impact the results - blood pressure, age, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol levels, how active a subject was, vitamin supplementation and other factors in the diet, alcohol consumption and even other family members with heart disease. And still the magnesium levels were related to stroke risk.

No one knows why this might be. The Swedish research team believes that the mineral may be helpful in bringing down blood pressure. A diet with lots of magnesium has also been found to bring a lower diabetes risk, and since diabetes is also a stroke risk factor, this may well play a role.

And while no one is ready to call for magnesium supplements to bring down stroke risk, added magnesium rich foods to your diet can only help you. If you're at a greater risk for stroke, you'll certainly want to make an effort to get more natural magnesium in your diet.

The best places to get magnesium...

- Whole grains - one cup brown, long grain rice, one cup raisin bran cereal

- Green leafy veggies like spinach

- Nuts - one ounce of dry roasted almonds or cashews

- Beans - half cup cooked soybeans, blackeye peas

The latest research comes with an accompanying editorial that suggests it is time to conduct a large trial to see if taking magnesium supplements might be helpful for adults at risk of stroke and/or heart disease. Keep your eyes open for such research, and its results - in the meantime, continue to eat healthily and enjoy lots of good for you foods.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to discover more on how to minimize your chance of stroke and heart disease.

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Chocolate Health Benefits May Prevent A Stroke

Just two bars of chocolate per week is all it takes, according to some new research out of Sweden, for a woman to bring down her stroke and possibly prevent a stroke. This latest work builds on earlier findings in both men and women, but also provides us with some new information on stroke type and chocolate health benefits.

A team of researchers from Sweden examined 33,372 subjects taking part in a large study who were from 49 to 83 years old, for a period of ten years that ended in 2008.

The participants completed questionnaires about how regularly they ate chocolate along with 95 other foods throughout the previous year. The subjects were broken into 8 categories depending on how much chocolate they ate. The categories ranged from an astonishing "never" to a far more reasonable "3 or more each day."

Throughout the follow-up period, 1,549 strokes took place, and of that number, 1,200 were brought on by clots or another disturbance of the blood vessels. Burst vessels caused another 224, and the reason for the last 125 was not specified. But even after making an adjustment for stroke risk factors, the team saw that chocolate was protective. This may be because it helps to lower blood pressure, a major risk factor for stroke.

Stroke protection began at over 45 grams (almost 1.5 ounces) of chocolate a week, the group that ate the largest volume chocolate got the greatest benefit, cutting their stroke risk by 20%. The average intake in this group was almost 2.3 ounces of chocolate per week. And while earlier studies have shown a link between chocolate eating and stroke risk, this project uncovered a small difference in the protection in terms of the type of stroke.

The subjects who consumed the highest volume of chocolate had a greater protection from strokes due to hemorrhage than those brought on by obstructions like blood clots. No one is sure why this difference in protection might be.

Chocolate, besides tasting divine, is loaded with beneficial flavonoids that are a natural part of the cocoa and act as antioxidants once inside the body. They help protect our cells from free radical damage that can be especially troublesome for the cardiovascular system.

An intriguing quirk of nature means chocolate has eight times the antioxidants that are a natural part of strawberries.

Also important, the study used Swedish milk chocolate and this variety has around 30% cocoa solids, while the milk chocolate usually found in the U.S. probably has much less than this amount. Dark chocolate naturally has higher amounts of cocoa and is lower in sugar, lower in fat and has fewer calories as well.

What's more, only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is known to be bad for you.

This is just another bit of research that finds chocolate health benefits, but before you tuck in, make a wise and informed choice in order to get the benefits (without the nasty calories, adding pounds) to your body. Many experts recommend chocolate with a minimum 70% cocoa, based on earlier research that found the higher concentration of cocoa lowers the risk of heart disease and may prevent a stroke.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to discover more top tips to help prevent a stroke.

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What You Should Know About Heat Stroke and TIA Stroke

Heat stroke and TIA stroke are disorders that are highly preventable if you know how to take care of yourself. Prevention starts by learning about what diseases are such as their causes, signs and symptoms and the particular treatment methods. When you are aware of these information, then you will be able to avoid these disorders.

Heat stroke or also referred to as sun stroke is a medical condition that is life-threatening, brought about by increased body temperature that eventually causes damage to the different organs of the body. According to statistics, there are about 700 people who die yearly of heat stroke in the United States. Heat stroke happens when the temperature of the body goes beyond 40.5 degree Celsius and when the cooling system of the body stops working. This is a medical emergency that needs to be promptly treated since it can lead to death.

There are two ways in which heat stroke happens. The first one is when the cooling mechanisms of a person are impaired and the other is when a person does strenuous activities in a very hot environment. Those who are at risk of developing sun stroke are infants, athletes, the elderly and those who work outdoors. The signs and symptoms of heat stroke include nausea and vomiting, fatigue and body weakness, headaches, dizziness and muscle cramps. There is also the absence of perspiration and extremely high body temperature, rapid pulse, flushed and red skin, difficulty of breathing, confusion, disorientation and seizures.

To treat heat stroke, rehydration is very important to ensure that the blood flow within the body is still normal. Oral fluids are important such as cool sports drinks with less glucose. If oral fluids are not tolerated, then IV fluids should be used. The person should also be staying in a cool environment and adequate rest is required. There are different methods of making the body cool down, including evaporation, immersion and placing ice packs under the armpits and the groin. However, the temperature should be brought down and maintained at 38.5 - 39 degree Celsius so as not to make the body too cold.

On the other hand, transient ischemic attack or TIA stroke is a neurologic disorder caused by a blood clot in the brain, spinal cord or the retina. This is also called mini stroke since tissue death does not happen even if there is a disruption in the cerebral blood flow. It should not be taken lightly since when it is not treated, worse attacks can happen that will eventually lead to ischemic stroke.

The manifestations of TIA stroke include weakness and numbness that occurs in the face, the arms or the legs that happens suddenly, and is usually localized on one side of the body. There can also be confusion, slurred speech, blurring of vision, inability to maintain balance and coordination, dizziness and headache. These symptoms can occur rapidly and can last for only a short time. However, you should seek for immediate treatment since this can lead to a major stroke. The treatment is focused on lowering down the blood pressure, the cholesterol and lipid levels. There will be medications given to you such as aspirin to help dissolve the clot and prevent further clot formation. There will also be blood pressure lowering medications, anti-platelet drugs and medicines that lower down your cholesterol levels.

If TIA stroke and heat stroke are not treated immediately, there are several complications that can happen. But you can always avoid them when you know how to avoid having these disorders.

For more information on Different Types of Diseases, Symptoms and Diagnoses, Please visit: Heat Stroke and TIA Stroke.

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