Healthy ways to prevent that stroke

Tell tale signs to look out for

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg. Usually affects one side of the body. Objects you are holding may suddenly fall out of your hand and if you were eating, food or drink may dribble from the side of your mouth.
• Sudden inability to speak properly. This ranges from slurred speech (like a drunk person) to complete speech loss.
• Sudden difficulty in understanding what people around you are saying.
• Sudden onset of dizziness and confusion.
• Sudden severe headache.
• Trouble seeing (everything becomes hazy and unclear).
• Sudden difficulty in walking. This may range from staggering due to lack of balance and co-ordination to total inability to walk.
  If you have any of these signs, seek medical help immediately.

The quickest way to check for truncal obesity is simply by measuring your waist circumference with a tape measure.

If you are a man with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches or a woman with a waist of more than 35 inches, you have truncal obesity.

It usually increases your risk for diabetes and diseases of the heart and blood vessels including heart attack and stroke.

Exercise, diets high in fruits and vegetables and low in unhealthy fat are a good way of fighting off excess weight.

Remember, balance both aerobic type of exercises such as jogging, walking, swimming, cycling and dancing with strength building exercises such as weight training.

The general guideline is that one must exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week.

Aspirin

Drugs such as aspirin and others in its group help prevent the formation of blood clots and thus lower your risk for stroke.

Do not, however, start aspirin without the guidance of your doctor.

Lower cholesterol

Unhealthy levels of cholesterol have been found to contribute to formation of harmful plaques in your blood vessels putting you at risk of stroke.

To keep your cholesterol at a healthy level, eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fibre and lean meats (chicken and fish are good options).

If, necessary, you should consult your doctor about drugs to help lower your cholesterol levels.

Stop smoking

Smoking has been associated with damage to blood vessels and formation of harmful blood clots.