For anyone who has had to encounter having a stroke or knowing someone who has had a stroke, you know that it is not a medical issue to be messed around with. Stroke is something that, in many cases, can be prevented but where can you turn for truthful information? I’ve reviewed several online public videos that have claimed to give answers on way to treat and prevent stroke and researched the information they provide to viewers and compared them to peer reviewed medical journal articles to see how this information holds up to scientific research.
This first video is titled “Natural solutions for Stroke” posted by Dr. John Bergman. This video presents a broad range of topics of what causes stroke and how to improve your changes of avoiding having a stroke by making certain lifestyle changes. This included issues like how much saturated fat is in your diet and how increasing polyunsaturated fats in your diet can almost double your chances of having a stroke. This information is backed by websites like The American Heart Association and by medical and scientific research like ones published in the medical journal Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism from 2017. One area that it reviewed was the use of aspirin as a use to prevent stroke which gave facts similar to the ones in the three videos I chose. While Aspirin has been used as a secondary method of prevention of stroke, there has not been a lot of supporting evidence to show its effects as a primary method of prevention (Rundek, T., & Sacco, R., 2008). This supports the facts that are presented in the videos, especially the one called The Natural Solution for Strokes. It states that the use of aspirin is effective for stroke prevention but there is a fine line between safe prevention methods and having too much aspirin which can lead to liver dysfunction and hemorrhagic stroke.
The video Stroke Treatment with 5 natural Foods claims that eating garlic everyday can maintain a stable blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke. This, according the peer reviewed nursing journal article in the International Journal of Evidence Based Healthcare, is not an evidence-based claim. While garlic has been shown to have a positive effect with lowering blood pressure there is insufficient evidence on how much of an effect it has (Qian, X., 2013). There is also not enough scientifically backed evidence to show that garlic has any effect on the prevention or treatment of stroke, therefore, cannot be recommended as a proven way to prevent stroke.
The information that was reviewed in the video STROKE – How to Regenerate Brain Cells After Stroke which was presented by Dr. Simon Msh. In this video the doctor makes a claim that taking omega 3 fatty acids after a stroke can regenerate brain cells. I could not find any scientific proof that backed this claim up. In the article from the American Heart Association’s Journal Circulation the use of omega 3 fatty acids was reviewed as a method of prevention. Much like using garlic or other herbal supplements there is not enough evidence to show any substantial effect on prevention or as a treatment. Omega 3 fatty acids have been associated with lowering blood pressure but has not had enough research into just how effective it is nor if it has any effectiveness as a prevention method for stroke or as a way to regenerate brain cells (Siscovick, D., Barringer, T., Fretts, A., Wu, J., Lichtenstein, A., Costello, R., Kris-Etherton, P., Jacobson, T., Engler, M., Alger, H., Appel, L., Mozaffar, D., 2018). There is grounds for further research to be investigated for the effects of omega 3 but since there is no viable scientific evidence to back up claims about it as a treatment this information cannot be taken as medically sound advice.
While much of the information can be seen as helpful in prevention, there is no real scientific information to back up claims that these interventions alone will prevent stroke with any guarantee. It is important to understand that while doing research is always a good thing, especially when it comes to improving one’s health, readers must always verify the information they obtain with their primary care physicians to confirm that the advice your reading is good advice!
References
Nettleton, J., Brouwer, I., Geleijnse,J., & Hornstrad, G. (2017) Saturated Fat Consumption and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Ischemic Stroke: A Science Update. Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism. 70(1), 26-33
Rundek, T., & Sacco, R. (2008) Risk Factor Management to Prevent First Stroke. Neurol Clin, 26(4), 1007-1009
Siscovick, D., Barringer, T., Fretts, A., Wu, J., Lichtenstein, A., Costello, R., Kris-Etherton, P., Jacobson, T., Engler, M., Alger, H., Appel, L., Mozaffar, D. (2018) Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (Fish Oil) Supplementation and the Prevention of Clinical Cardiovascular Disease: A Science Advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 135, 1-18
Qian, X. (2013) Garlic for the prevention of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients. International Journal of Evidence Based Healthcare, 11, 83
https://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/