Thursday, December 23, 2010

Baby Boomers and Unhealthy Eating in North Carolina

I have discovered that I live in what is known as a "stroke belt state." People living in the “stroke belt” states eat more fried fish than people living in the rest of the country, which may contribute to the high rate of death from stroke in those states, according to a study published in the December 22, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Although we've been told omega-3 fatty acids in fish, especially fatty fish, may reduce the risk of stroke, other research suggests that frying fish leads to the loss of those natural fatty acids.

The study also found that blacks living in the stroke belt eat more fried fish than whites. The stroke belt includes the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. People living in the stroke belt are more likely to die from a stroke than people living in other parts of the country.

The data gathered for this study was gathered using participants across the United States, age 45 or older.

I eat fried fish at least once a month and am over the age of 50.

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