Mediterranean diet wins again
A new study reinforced that the Mediterranean diet supports both heart and brain health, and fresh analysis says women who follow it may reduce risk of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke—solid fodder for anyone blending fitness and longevity goals (local12.com) (freshpressedoliveoil.com). If you’re tweaking meals, lists of 15 recommended vegetables and Blue Zones guidance give concrete swaps to nudge long-term risk down (diningandcooking.com) (healthworldbt.com).
The Neurology Open Access analysis used 105,614 women from the California Teachers Study (enrolled 1995–1996) with a mean age of 52.5 years and an average follow‑up of 20.5 years, during which 4,083 incident strokes occurred (3,358 ischemic; 725 hemorrhagic). (neurology.org) Women with high Mediterranean‑diet adherence (score 6–9) had lower hazard ratios versus low adherence (score 0–2): all‑stroke HR 0.82 (95% CI 0.74–0.92), ischemic HR 0.84 (95% CI 0.75–0.95), and hemorrhagic HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.58–0.97), corresponding to reductions of ~18%, 16%, and 25% respectively. (neurology.org) Mediterranean‑diet adherence was assessed at baseline using the Block food‑frequency questionnaire to generate a 0–9 MeDi score, and the study’s Cox models were adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle and vascular risk factors. (neurology.org) The paper and the American Academy of Neurology press materials stress the finding is an association, not proof of causation, and list key limitations including recall bias, misclassification from a single baseline diet measure, and residual confounding. (neurology.org) (aan.com) A separate mechanistic study in Frontiers in Nutrition reported that higher adherence to a Mediterranean pattern was associated with elevated circulating mitochondrial microproteins humanin and SHMOOSE and with lower markers of oxidative stress in a cross‑sectional sample, with olive oil, fish and legumes linked to higher microprotein levels. (frontiersin.org) The Neurology Open Access paper was published online Feb. 4, 2026 and analyzed a cohort of US educators/administrators, a demographic detail the authors note may affect how directly the results apply to men or non‑US populations. (neurology.org) (eurekalert.org)
