UK Stroke Forum 2025 | The nutritional approach to lipid optimization and its role in reducing the risk of stroke
Joseph Kwan, MB ChB, MPhil, MD, Charing Cross Hospital, London, UK, discusses the nutritional approach to lipid optimization and its role in reducing the risk of stroke, highlighting the importance of adopting a Mediterranean diet. Dr Kwan emphasizes the need to cut down on saturated fats, trans fats, and ultra-processed foods, which raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of stroke and heart attacks. This interview took place at the UK Stroke Forum (UKSF) 2025 Conference in Aberdeen, UK.
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Transcript
So the main focus going forward is prevention rather than cure; prevention is better than cure, and the things that we can do as what the public wants to know is how can they reduce the risk of stroke by, you know, their lifestyle, what they eat, and the way they exercise. And there’s a big movement towards prevention. And what they can do is, one of the main things is reducing the amount of saturated fat they eat and replacing it with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat...
So the main focus going forward is prevention rather than cure; prevention is better than cure, and the things that we can do as what the public wants to know is how can they reduce the risk of stroke by, you know, their lifestyle, what they eat, and the way they exercise. And there’s a big movement towards prevention. And what they can do is, one of the main things is reducing the amount of saturated fat they eat and replacing it with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. So that includes things like olive oil, avocado, nuts such as almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and then oily fish. Some people take fish oil supplements, but eating oily fish is a really good way of doing it. And the approach is called the Mediterranean diet. And when you take a Mediterranean diet, as opposed to just a normal low-fat diet, it reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks. So cutting saturated fat is really important, and also nowadays we know that we should be cutting trans fats, which are all the things that make doughnuts and croissants look glistening and make them last forever on a shelf. So those are ultra-processed foods that contain trans fats, which is something that is also really important to cut down because it raises your cholesterol and raises the risk of stroke and heart attacks. And the third thing to cut down is ultra-processed foods. So ultra-processed food is things which don’t really look like food anymore. So things which are, you know, it’s a lot of sweets and things in packets. So the more you eat, the higher the risk of stroke and heart attacks. Cutting those down is really important. And then, so you eat more of the good stuff, vegetables, fruits, high fiber, whole grains, and then cut the amount of red meat, cut the amount of saturated fat, and eat more, have more oily fish and chicken as your protein source. Those will reduce your risk of having a stroke and heart attack.
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