Health
World Brain Day: Why you should eat green leafy vegetables daily
Daily consumption of green leafy vegetables may significantly reduce the risk of stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, a Professor of Neurology and Precision Medicine at the University of Ibadan, Mayowa Owolabi, has said.
In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Healthwise to commemorate World Brain Day today, the neurologist said findings from studies conducted among Nigerians showed that people who ate green leafy vegetables every day were less likely to suffer a stroke, and that even when they did, they had a better chance of survival and recovery.
World Brain Day is commemorated on July 22 every year to raise awareness about neurological disorders and promote brain health.
The theme for 2026 is “Brain Health: Access for All”
PUNCH Healthwise earlier reported that at least one Nigerian develops a stroke every minute, with the country having about 400 neurologists, inadequate infrastructure, and diagnostics to prevent, diagnose and treat neurological disorders.
Continuing, the precision medicine specialist added that regular consumption of the vegetables also lowered the risk of hypertension and high cholesterol, describing them as affordable, widely available, and effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases.
“One of the things we found in the studies we did, even among Nigerians, was that people who consume green leafy vegetables every day are unlikely to have a stroke. Even if you have a stroke, you’re not likely to have a bad stroke, and then you are not likely to die from it.
“We also found that you are not likely to have high cholesterol, and you are not likely to have hypertension if you consume a lot of green leafy vegetables, which are really almost everywhere and not expensive,” Owolabi said.
The brain health expert also warned that the increasing consumption of processed or ultra-processed food, fast foods and Western diet and beverages was contributing to the rising burden of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and other metabolic diseases among young Nigerians.
The Academy Secretary of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Nigeria, further said that many traditional African foods possess medicinal and disease-preventing properties that are gradually being replaced by unhealthy processed alternatives.
“Many of our natural foods, African diets, dishes, they are not only nutritious, but they are also actually medicinal and preventive. But some of the things that we eat nowadays, and that’s why we call it the commercial determinants of health, many of them drive people to develop diabetes, obesity and hypertension at a very early age,” he said.
Owolabi further dismissed the long-held belief that moderate alcohol consumption was harmless, insisting that current scientific evidence showed that no amount of alcohol was safe for the brain.
“In the past, we used to say, ‘Oh, a little bit of alcohol,’ but the truth of the matter is that the evidence has shown now that no amount of alcohol is safe for the brain. No amount of alcohol.
“Alcohol causes a lot of damage to the brain, can cause stroke, can cause dementia, can cause things we call Wernicke encephalopathy, cerebellar degeneration and so on and so forth, apart from damaging the peripheral organs,” he said.
The professor also cautioned against sedentary lifestyles, describing prolonged sitting as “the new smoking” because of its harmful effects on the brain and overall health.
He explained that physical inactivity reduced brain perfusion and increased the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other metabolic disorders.
“Some people say, what is the new smoking? The new smoking is sitting down. So sitting down and not being active is part of what may not allow blood to flow sufficiently to the brain, may not ‘exercise’ the brain sufficiently, apart from the fact that it also increases the risk of metabolic problems, like diabetes, like obesity, like even hypertension.
“Exercise is extremely good, physical exercise, mental exercise, these are things that help to protect the brain,” Owolabi added.
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