United States: A recent study revealed that consuming plenty of Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and Brussels sprouts cuts the risk of stroke or heart attack among older people.
More about the news
Research on the elderly female populace admitted that those who often ate cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli and cauliflower, were least prone to arterial blockage.
This is a common and often fatal condition that mostly stays undetected. It has also been called a ‘ticking timebomb’ due to poor diets.
A higher level of artery hardening or atherosclerosis was recorded in participants with low cruciferous vegetable consumption, said researchers.
Findings of the study
They had a 0.05-millimeter increase in the thickness of their carotid arteries compared to the high-consumer group.
They are two blood vessels in the neck that flow from the heart to the brain.

According to Lead author Lauren Blekkenhorst, who is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia in Crawley, “That is likely significant because a 0.1-millimeter decrease in carotid wall thickness is associated with a 10 percent to 18 percent decrease in risk of stroke and heart attack,” SurreyLive reported.
As the team mentioned, each half-an-ounce (10 g) per day of cruciferous vegetable – or approximately one Brussels sprout – was also linked to 0.8 percent lesser average carotid artery wall thickness.
The team reported no relationship between other types of vegetables and arterial wall thickness.
What more have the experts reported?
According to Ms Blekkenhorst, cruciferous vegetables have a presence of certain nutrients and plant – or ‘phyto’ – chemicals that are specifically beneficial for blood circulation.
She added, “After adjusting for lifestyle, cardiovascular disease risk factors including medication use as well as other vegetable types and dietary factors, our results continued to show a protective association between cruciferous vegetables and carotid artery wall thickness.”

This is due to the deposition of fatty materials in the blood vessel wall. This can give the person a heart attack or stroke, high blood pressure, or can even lead to early death.
“This is one of only a few studies that have explored the potential impact of different types of vegetables on measures of subclinical atherosclerosis – the underlying cause of cardiovascular disease,” Ms Blekkenhorst added.
Her published study in the Journal of the American Heart Association came from food frequency questionnaires completed by 954 Australian women aged 70 and above.
Other types were leafy greens, beans, onion, garlic, leek or shallots, and yellow, orange, and red-like peppers. Carotid artery wall thickness was assessed by using sonograms, and whole carotid “trees” were evaluated to determine the intensity of the clot-forming plaque.

Ms. Blekkenhorst said that due to the nature of the study being observational, the cross-sectional study could not prove the cause-and-effect relationship between the omission of cruciferous vegetables and the occurrence of atherosclerosis.
Diets that include a high amount of fruits and vegetables, known as the Mediterranean diet, are believed to lessen artery disease.
“However, the effect of vegetable intake alone, and relationships to specific types of vegetables containing different phytochemical profiles, is important. Cruciferous vegetables are recognized to be a good source of several nutrients and bioactive phytochemicals,” Ms. Blekkenhorst.
“This observational cohort study provides evidence of a vascular protective effect. If supported by other studies, dietary guidelines should highlight the importance of increasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables for protection from vascular disease,” she continued.