According to BS.CKI Le Ngoc Quynh Thu, Head of Nutrition and Diet Department, Binh Thanh District Hospital, a reasonable diet combined with exercise and stress management is the "key" to help reduce the risk of disease.
According to Dr. Quynh Thu, to prevent stroke, first of all, lifestyle changes are needed. Prolonged stress is one of the factors that increases the risk of stroke. Therefore, everyone needs to balance work and life, avoid prolonged pressure affecting health.
In addition, maintaining regular physical exercise helps improve endurance, improve circulation and protect the cardiovascular system. Each person should build a balanced diet between carbohydrates, protein and fat, and diversify foods in each meal with plenty of meat, fish, green vegetables and fresh fruits.
Notably, doctors recommend that young people should not skip meals because this habit not only affects digestive health but also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke.
One of the important nutritional principles for disease prevention is to reduce the amount of salt in the diet. According to Dr. Quynh Thu, Vietnamese people currently consume salt 2-3 times higher than the recommended level. Eating too salty increases the risk of high blood pressure - the leading risk factor of stroke.
People should limit foods high in sodium such as salted fish, dried foods, fish sauces, pickled vegetables and processed foods. Instead, it is necessary to increase green vegetables and potassium-rich fruits to support blood pressure regulation. When preparing dishes, spices should be reduced, prioritizing methods such as boiling, steaming, braising or stir-frying with less grease.
For people who have had a stroke, controlling cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors becomes even more important. In addition to maintaining a regular routine and exercising at least 5 days a week, patients need to build a full diet of four food groups including starch, protein, vegetables and nuts. When using nuts, you should prioritize fresh or salt-free roasted nuts to limit the amount of sodium introduced into the body.
