Amino acid accelerates narrowing of blood vessels among southern Chinese
Eating a combination of vegetables and meat may help prevent stroke caused by narrowing of blood vessels in the brain, researchers said yesterday.
A joint study by Chinese University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou found elevated levels of a blood protein, homocysteine, was a major risk factor for the high incidence of stroke among southern Chinese.
Homocysteine, an amino acid, is harmful to artery linings because it accelerates narrowing of the blood vessels, said Lawrence Wong Ka-sing, head of the division of neurology at Chinese University's faculty of medicine.
The narrowing of blood vessels in the brain, called stenosis, doubles the risk of stroke. Stenosis is the most common cause of stroke in Hong Kong. Of 20,000 stroke cases each year, between 40 and 60 per cent are due to brain stenosis.
But vitamins in meat and vegetable work together to reduce levels of homocysteine.