Research Roundup

Globally, 85% of cardiovascular disease deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes. This is cited by Wang et al (2022) who state that there is limited evidence on the relationship between a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) and stroke risk. In this prospective Chinese investigation using data from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study, Wang et al (2022) considered the association between low-carbohydrate diet and stroke among a population with relatively high carbohydrate intake. Almost 20 000 participants aged over 50 years without stroke history were included, with low-carbohydrate diet score calculated according to the percentage of energy from carbohydrate, protein and fat. During an average follow-up of 13 years, 1661 stroke events and deaths occurred, including 1255 ischaemic strokes. The researchers found that a moderate level of animal-based low-carbohydrate diet, but not plant-based low-carbohydrate diet, was associated with a lower risk of stroke; and that it is the animal-based protein and fat comprising the low-carbohydrate diet, rather than low-carbohydrate diet alone, that may play a key role in stroke incidence.