Bananas help women prevent stroke and prolong life

Recent studies have shown that women during the postmenopause are useful to regularly eat bananas, which can reduce the likelihood of a stroke.

In the course of a long experiment, scientists determined the amount of potassium consumption, strokes in the past, and the death rate due to stroke in volunteers.

The study lasted 11 years, during which more than 90,000 women aged 50 to 79 years were examined. It is known that in bananas there is a lot of potassium, which makes it possible to reduce the chance of developing a stroke by about 1/4 (in an average banana contains 430 mg of potassium).

At the beginning of the study, none of the women had a stroke in the past, potassium consumption averaged 2.6 mg per day. The World Health Organization recommends that women consume 3.5 mg of potassium per day, but only 16% of the participants in the experiment consume the required amount of potassium.

As a result of their observations, scientists determined that in women who consumed the highest amount of potassium, strokes occurred 12% less frequently (ischemic stroke 16% less), compared with the group of women that consumed the least amount of potassium.

Among the group of women who did not suffer from hypertension and consumed enough potassium, the probability of ischemic stroke was lower by 27%, and all other types of stroke - by 21%. In a group suffering from high blood pressure and consuming large amounts of potassium, scientists noted the lowest mortality rate, but in this group, the level of calcium in the body did not affect the probability of a stroke.

As a result, experts concluded that regular consumption of potassium is more beneficial until the development of hypertension. At the same time, scientists have established that regular consumption of potassium will help to reduce the risk of death as a result of a stroke by 10%.

Kaliam is rich not only in bananas, this microelement is also found in potatoes, sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes), white beans. However, scientists warn that an overabundance of potassium in the body can trigger heart disease.

Stroke is an acute disorder of the cerebral circulation, as a result of which a person has problems with movement, speech or memory.

Recently, studies of specialists from Stanford University have shown that stimulating the part of the brain that controls movement will help accelerate the recovery process after a stroke. Experiments of scientists were conducted on laboratory rodents. As a result, those mice whose brain was exposed to light were more active than the rest. Thanks to this discovery, experts suggest, it is possible to determine how the recovery process after a stroke occurs and to develop effective methods of treatment.

After a stroke, death of brain cells is observed due to the cessation of oxygen and glucose intake (as a result of the formation of a thrombus). Currently, the treatment is based on rapid recovery and minimizing the possible damage, but treatment can last for several months, since the brain is practically starting to work again.

According to experts, optogenetic stimulation of the brain (light exposure to specific neurons in the brain), which was tested on rodents, will restore the brain after a stroke, thanks to the formation of new compounds between the brain cells.

Now, scientists are testing the effectiveness of optogenetic stimulation for other parts of the brain, which will allow them to develop effective patterns of intervention in the brain that will be tested in future clinical trials.

At present, it is impossible to use optogenetic stimulation in humans, because genetic modification of target cells is required, but experts have no doubt that this problem will be solved in the near future.

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