International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | July 2022 | Vol 9 | Issue 7 Page 3040 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Manorenj S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2022 Jul;9(7):3040-3045 http://www.ijcmph.com pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040 Review Article Diet a modifiable risk factor for stroke: linking diet and stroke; an Indian perspective Sandhya Manorenj*, Reshma Sultana Shaik INTRODUCTION According to the Indian Stroke Association December 2019, the burden of stroke has increased to 100%. The incidence is higher in rural areas (194-215 per 100,000 population) as compared to the national average (119-145 per 100,000 population). Stroke in India claims 119-145 deaths in every 100,000 population. Every year in India 1.8 million people suffer stroke. Diet and stroke are interrelated. Health of an individual depends on the diet consumed. Healthy dietary habits play an important role in prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) as established in the Framingham heart study.1Modification in dietary habits and lifestyle changes can reduce risk of stroke by 60%. 2 However the scenario is different in India as there is no uniform diet or average diet followed by Indians. There exists diversity in dietary pattern in different parts of the country due to varied cultural, regional and religious practices. Hence developing and implementing dietary guidelines in India is a prodigious task. 3 This review summarizes the dietary habits, pattern of diet consumed by Indians and linking them to stroke by reviewing the Indian studies. A descriptive review of the references were reviewed by searching the literature for the articles published in PubMed and Medline in English language using the ABSTRACT Stroke is the second leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The incidence of stroke in India has increased to hundred percent in past few decades. It was the Framingham heart study trial in 2001 which has first identified the role of dietary habits for prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Majority of secondary prevention strategies for Ischemic stroke are directed towards pharmacotherapy with antiplatelet and statins, while dietary modifications are not projected. However dietary and lifestyle modification can reduce stroke risk by 60%. Hence Diet and nutrition play an active role in prevention of stroke. This review summarizes the dietary intake, dietary patterns and risk of stroke among Indians and provides clinicians with pragmatic guidance to their management. We searched Pub Med, MEDLINE, for articles about diet and stroke in India published in English till May 2021. Diet plays a major role in pathophysiology of stroke. Modification of dietary pattern is the major non pharmacological treatment for the primary and secondary prevention of stroke. Indian traditional diet should be modified according to dietary pattern followed in each region. As a whole reduction of rice consumption, higher protein consumption and lower fat consumption should be encouraged at macronutrient level, while higher intake of fruits and vegetables are advised at micronutrient level. Dietary guidelines should be customized and tailor made based on the regional customs and annual income in various subsections of the society. Keywords: Food, Nutrition, Salt, Stroke, Indian cuisines, Traditional diet Department of Neurology, Princess Esra Hospital, Deccan College of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Telangana, India Received: 01 June 2022 Accepted: 16 June 2022 *Correspondence: Dr. Sandhya Manorenj, E-mail: drsandhyamanorenj@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20221779