Mediterranean diet linked to reduced stroke risk for women

Source: CNN

Reported by: Ntiamoah Bernice Mantebea

February 5, 2026.

A new long-term study has shown that Mediterranean diet significantly reduces stroke risk for women, especially after menopause.

Published on Wednesday in Neurology Open Access, researchers followed more than 105,000 women from the California Teachers Study (ages 38-67 at 1995 start) for 20.5 years. Diets were scored on a 9-point scale for adherence: higher points for vegetables, fruits, legumes, cereals, olive oil, fish, moderate alcohol; lower for meat and dairy.

High adherers had 18% lower overall stroke risk, 16% less ischemic (blocked blood flow), 25% less hemorrhagic (brain bleeding). Center for Disease Control and Prevention says 1 in 5 U.S. women 55-75 will have stroke.

Dr. Andrew Freeman, National Jewish Health preventive cardiologist said, "We’ve known for a long time that this is a healthier type of diet," . He was not involved in the study. He referenced PREDIMED: "It’s really no surprise that another study of a different population shows similar reductions in stroke.

Senior author Dr. Sophia Wang stated, "Lifestyle factors are known to influence ischemic stroke risk, but the dietary benefit for hemorrhagic stroke is a new finding." She added: "Stroke risk for women increases when they reach menopause and is elevated afterward. Our study shows that there are things one can do to minimize that risk, such as adhering to a healthy diet such as the Mediterranean diet."

"It is important to say we continue to get repeat studies showing that a predominantly plant-based diet seems to improve all sorts of outcomes, Dr. Freeman emphasized."