New research suggests the Mediterranean diet can reduce stroke risk in women, but not in men. Researchers say that, considering the other positive health effects the diet offers women, it is not surprising that its anti-stroke effect is not as strong in men. Photo by Africa Studio/Shutterstock
      新的研究表明地中海饮食可以降低女性中风的风险，但男性不能。研究人员说，考虑到女性能对饮食健康的积极性，而男性并不那么积极，因此这样的结果就不足为奇了。
      Men did not reap the same benefit from the diet, which concentrates on fish, fruits, nuts, vegetables and beans, and avoids meat and dairy products.
      THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 -- The Mediterranean diet may do more than help you reach and maintain a healthy weight: New research suggests that women who follow it also lower their stroke risk.
      But men did not reap the same benefit from the diet, which concentrates on fish, fruits, nuts, vegetables and beans, and avoids meat and dairy products.
      "Simple changes in dietary habits may bring a substantial benefit regarding reducing stroke, which remains one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide," said lead researcher Dr. Phyo Myint. He is clinical chair of medicine at the University of Aberdeen School of Medicine in Scotland.
      Although the Mediterranean diet is considered healthy, this study could not prove that the diet itself caused stroke risk to drop.
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In addition, why men's risk for stroke isn't also lowered isn't yet clear, Myint said.
      But, "it is widely acknowledged that men and women are very different with regard to normal physiology," he added.
      Women have unique stroke risk factors that include using oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy. And during pregnancy, having preeclampsia and gestational diabetes are considered risk factors for stroke, Myint pointed out.
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"It may be that certain components in the Mediterranean diet may influence risk of stroke in women more than in men," he said.
      For the study, the investigators collected data on more than 23,000 men and women, aged 40 to 77, who took part in a large cancer study. The participants were followed for 17 years.
      The researchers found that, overall, those who followed a Mediterranean diet cut their risk for stroke 17 percent. When looking at men and women separately, however, women saw a reduction in risk of 22 percent, while men saw a 6 percent drop in risk. The risk reduction among men, however, might be so small that it is a "chance" finding, the scientists added.
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      Moreover, among those with a high risk for stroke, the risk was lowered 13 percent for those who followed a Mediterranean diet, the findings showed. This association, however, was mainly due to a 20 percent reduction in risk among women