Of course, you knew already that you should eat right, exercise regularly, not smoke, and not drink too much alcohol. Now a new study from Germany found even more evidence that you are well advised to follow these guidelines. In fact, your life could depend on it. Among countless other health benefits, people who maintain a healthy lifestyle have a significantly reduced risk of stroke, the study concluded.

A stroke occurs when one of the arteries carrying blood from the heart to the brain is either blocked or bursts. As a result, part of the brain does not get the blood it needs, and starts to die. When this happens, the brain either temporarily or permanently malfunctions, depending on the severity of the damage that has been caused.

While previous studies honed in on individual risk factors for stroke, this one looked at the effects of an overall health-promoting lifestyle. Conversely, by analyzing the combined risks from less health-conducive behavior, a more complete picture emerges of what may actually lead to a stroke and how it could be prevented, the researchers suggested.

After reviewing medical data from nearly 24,000 people, and analyzing each person’s stroke-related risk factors, the researchers found that improving diet and lifestyle choices could significantly lower the number of strokes that occur every year.

“Our combined risk factor analysis indicated that about 38 percent of primary stroke occurrences could have been prevented in our study population if all study participants had maintained the healthiest risk profile,” said Kaja Tikk, an epidemiologist at the Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg, Germany, and lead author of the study report, to Reuters.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 800,000 people suffer a stroke per year in the United States alone.

The most significant contributors to stroke-related risks were found to be smoking and weight problems. Fortunately, these are areas in their lives where people have a great deal of control, said Ms. Tikk. Weight loss and smoking cessation can be done successfully by the individual, and taking such steps has almost immediate benefits.

For instance, while smoking effectively doubles the risk of stroke compared to not smoking, most ex-smokers can return to risk levels similar to lifetime non-smokers after a relatively short period of time.

The same is true for weight loss. Staying within (or returning to) a normal weight range, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly to keep the weight off rank among the best measures for stroke prevention, according to the CDC.

In terms of healthcare, prevention of stroke should be considered a priority. And, as this study shows, it can be achieved by maintaining a healthy lifestyle pattern, Ms. Tikk said.

Timi Gustafson R.D. is a registered dietitian, newspaper columnist, blogger and author of the book “The Healthy Diner – How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun”®, which is available on her blog and at amazon.com.  For more articles on nutrition, health and lifestyle, visit her blog, “Food and Health with Timi Gustafson R.D.” (www.timigustafson.com).