Soy, chickpeas, legumesThe goodness of the dietary supplements like soybeans, chickpeas, legumes and clovers and foods with isoflavone for stroke patients has been discovered by researchers. The chemical substance isoflavone has been found to improve artery function in stroke patients as per the research.

Also, the isoflavone has also been found to improve the brachial FMD, that is the flow mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery (the main artery in the arm), thereby acting against the cardiovascular diseases as well.

Professor Hung-Fat Tse, William MW Mong Professor in Cardiology and Academic Chief of the Cardiology Division in the Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) and his team conducted the research.

Professors also found that isoflavone is responsible for reducing the systemic inflammation caused due to high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and vascular endothelial dysfunction in patients who had suffered an ischaemic stroke (a stroke caused by blood clots or other obstructions). The inflammation is an independent predictor of cardiovascular-related events. “These findings suggested that isoflavone treatment alleviated vascular inflammatory stress and was an important component that mediated the reversal of endothelial dysfunction in this group of patients,” wrote the authors.

Having found the advantages of isoflavone for human health, researchers advise that a balanced diet is always a top priority in promoting health. “Diets with higher soy content might be beneficial due to the isoflavone contents. These food products also, in general, have higher contents of polyunsaturated fats, fibre, vitamins and less saturated fat.”

The study has been published in Europe’s cardiology journal- The European Journal on Wednesday, 24th September.