The Mediterranean Soul Food Diet Intervention After Stroke, a Feasibility Study in the Stroke Belt

Abstract

The Mediterranean diet has positive effects on primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease including stroke, yet dietary counseling to stroke patients is under-utilized. This study aimed to develop a culturally adapted Mediterranean diet and introduce it to patients admitted to the hospital for acute ischemic stroke with at least one metabolic risk factor (type 2 diabetes mellitus [DM], hypertension [HTN], high low-density lipoprotein [LDL], low high-density lipoprotein [HDL], and/or body mass index [BMI] > 25). Dietary adherence and nutritional knowledge were measured at baseline and 30, 90, and 120 days post-stroke. Weight, hemoglobin A1C [HbA1C], and triglycerides [TG] were assessed at baseline and follow-up. The study enrolled 54 participants, 50 of whom had sufficient data for analysis. Dietary adherence and nutritional knowledge scores increased in 76.4% of participants, with a statistically significant median increase for each. Additionally, participants had significantly lower weight, HbA1C, and TG at follow-up than baseline. This study showcases the potential to introduce a culturally appropriate Mediterranean diet at the point-of-care, and significantly influence dietary adherence and nutritional knowledge and multiple stroke risk factors.