The Mediterranean Soul Food Diet Intervention After Stroke, a Feasibility Study in the Stroke Belt

The Mediterranean diet has positive effects on primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease including stroke, yet dietary counseling to stroke patients is under-utilized. This study aimed to develop a culturally adapted Mediterranean diet and introduce it to patients admitted to the hospital for acute ischemic stroke with at least one metabolic risk factor (type 2 diabetes mellitus [DM], hypertension [HTN], high low-density lipoprotein [LDL], low high-density lipoprotein [HDL], and/or body mass index [BMI] > 25). Dietary adherence and nutritional knowledge were measured at baseline and 30, 90, and 120 days post-stroke. Weight, hemoglobin A1C [HbA1C], and triglycerides [TG] were assessed at baseline and follow-up. The study enrolled 54 participants, 50 of whom had sufficient data for analysis. Dietary adherence and nutritional knowledge scores increased in 76.4% of participants, with a statistically significant median increase for each. Additionally, participants had significantly lower weight, HbA1C, and TG at follow-up than baseline. This study showcases the potential to introduce a culturally appropriate Mediterranean diet at the point-of-care, and significantly influence dietary adherence and nutritional knowledge and multiple stroke risk factors.