Nutritional factors may have an important role to play in incidence and treatment of stroke. Many epidemiological studies report that people who eat a relatively large quantity of fruits, vegetables and grains have a lower risk of death, particularly from cardiovascular disease. Some of these studies consistently revealed an association between increased risk of stroke and low plasma concentrations of antioxidants. There is also strong indirect evidence that free radical production appears to be an important mechanism of brain injury after exposure to ischaemia and reperfusion. The role of free radical formation in the pathogenesis of ischaemic brain damage and the neuroprotective effect of antioxidants are not definitely established and need further studies.