Research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2013 on Feb. 7, 2013, indicates that eating a Southern diet increases the risk of stoke in all populations and particularly in Afro-American people.
A Southern diet was characterized by the researchers by a high intake of foods such as fried chicken, fried fish, fried potatoes, bacon, ham, liver and gizzards, and sugary drinks such as sweet tea. In addition to being high in fat, fried foods tend to be heavily salted.
Previous research has shown that Southerners are about 20 percent more likely to have a stroke than the rest of Americans.
Comparing the dietary habits of more than 20,000 black and white adults, researchers found:
Stroke frequency was directly proportional to how much Southern food participants ate.
People who ate Southern foods about six times a week had a 41 percent higher stroke risk compared to those who ate it about once a month.
Eating a Southern diet accounted for 63 percent of the higher risk of stroke among African-Americans above that of their white counterparts.
Those people whose diets were highest in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains (eaten about five times a week) had a 29 percent lower stroke risks than those whose diets were the lowest in these foods (eaten about three times a week).
All right you all (nobody says ya’ll). This research does not mean that you should not eat what is characterized as a Southern diet but that you should moderate the consumption of certain foods.
The reasons are your own health, your own life span, the increased costs of medical care for people with stokes, and the cost that your children will pay for your illness.
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