Not smoking, being active, eating enough fruits and vegetables and drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol can increase lifespan by an average of 10 years and can cut your risk of stroke by about 80 percent compared to those who don’t have such healthy habits.

The purpose of a new study was to give ordinary people and health professionals some clear straightforward information about healthy behaviors and their likely impact on preventing coronary heart disease and diabetes. The findings are published in the Aug. 26 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.  

The study found that those who didn’t smoke, exercised 30 minutes or more a day, drank moderate amounts of alcohol, had healthy eating habits, which mean a higher intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, soy, nuts and more lean meat, along with taking a multivitamin for at least five years, had about an 80% reduced risk of ischemic stroke compared with those who had none of these lifestyle factors.

“Our results suggest that a low-risk lifestyle that is associated with a reduced risk of multiple chronic diseases, including coronary disease and diabetes, also may be beneficial in the prevention of stroke, especially ischemic stroke,” the researchers said.

Researchers concluded that 52 percent of ischemic strokes in men and 54 percent in women may have been prevented through a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Paul Cullis, chief of neurology at St. John Hospital in Detroit, said that “for total stroke, 47 percent of cases in the women and 35 percent of cases in men may have been prevented.” In United States, stroke is killer no. 3 and a major cause of permanent disability.