A Video Tape Premier Years Reg. Turning the conventional medical wisdom on its head, a study found that a diet extremely low in saturated fat may raise the risk of a rare type of stroke in some women. But researchers cautioned that the study does not mean people should stop trying to reduce saturated fat in their diets. People trying to lower their risk of a stroke by reducing saturated fat should try to do it in moderation, said Dr. Meir J. Stampfer, co-author of the study and professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. The researchers analyzed data from the long-running Nurses' Health Study that began in 1980 with 85,764 women.
Hemorrhagic strokes occur when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts.
Of the 690 strokes observed in the study group, only 74, or nearly 11 percent, were intraparenchymal, or occurring within the brain tissue. The increased stroke risk occurred primarily among women with high blood pressure. Stampfer said the extremely low fat intake and high blood pressure may contribute to a structural weakness in blood vessels.