Japan and Strokes

I was reading a blog recently proposing the reason the stroke rate is so high in Japan directly relates to the consumption of soy sauce. Soy sauce is roughly 25% salt and imposes a huge sodium chloride load to the body. However, the Japanese have long record of longevity with the average male living into his late 70's and the average female living well into her 80's. It seems to me the older you get the more risk you have for a cerebrovasuclar accident.

In addition to longevity and soy sauce consumption, the rate of cigarettee smoking is high in Japan. The reltationship between smoking and stroke is known, the relationship between soy sauce and stroke is not. The incidence rate of stroke in the United States is 269 new cases in 100,000 adults annually. In Japan that number is 105 per 100,000.