A review of research by Foroughi, M et al on stroke and nutrition found that a Mediterranean style diet or DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet may reduce ischemic stroke incidence (21). Please see the section on hypertension to review the DASH diet in detail.
Nut consumption and risk of stroke:
Consumption of almond and walnuts instead of more traditional fats, is linked to an 8% to 12% reduction in LDL cholesterol (22). Epidemiologic and clinical studies have reported consistently that Americans who eat five or more servings of nuts per week have a 35% reduced risk of coronary heart disease (44), with some research reporting up to a 50% lower risk (22). Few studies exist on the association of nut consumption with the risk of stroke and more research needs to be performed. One epidemiological study showed no association between nut intake and ischemic stroke, but noted instead that there may be an association of nut intake with hemorrhagic stroke in a “j-type” distribution according to the authors of the study (23).