Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet may help to reduce stroke risk in adults at high risk for CVD, especially women older than 40 years, according to a study published in Stroke.

“We found that following a Mediterranean-style diet may reduce stroke risk by 22% in women over 40 years of age,” Ailsa A. Welch, PhD, professor of nutritional epidemiology in the department of public health and primary care at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K., told Cardiology Today. “In men and women at high risk of cardiovascular disease, the Mediterranean-style diet also reduced risk of stroke. This means that following a healthy balanced diet is important for everyone both young and old.”