By Barbara Sofer

With stroke the leading cause of disability in the Western world, the importance of prevention can’t be overemphasized. One of the
most potent weapons against strokes turns out to be the humble fork.

“The medical research speaks about the Mediterranean diet as the best way to both recover from and prevent a stroke,” says dietitian Rivka Harari who works with the Pollin Center’s patients to help them adapt their diets accordingly. “The closer a stroke survivor can stick with the diet, the lower the chance of another stroke.”

With plenty of vegetables and fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains and fish and the all-important olive oil, the recommended diet is high in antioxidants and low in red meat and processed foods.

“Processed meats such as frozen kabobs, burgers and hot dogs are filled with so many chemicals, salt and additives,” says
Harari. Other salty offenders include hard cheeses, canned tuna and grocery shelf after shelf of those easy-to-use processed foods. Note to savvy consumers: Restaurants tend to also be liberal with the salt shaker.

“We are all for innovation and finding new and better cures here and we can confidently say we are using cutting edge technology,” adds Dr. Leker. “We also plan to do even more of this kind of research and publish the findings that will hopefully continue to drive the scientific community to achieve better results for stroke victims.”