Best Diet for AF while on thinners and beta blockers

[Highbur8]

Hi All...Im back again looking for some answers on something that has me going around in circles for the past few days.What is the best diet for AF ....with the meds that goes with it....a lot of information of what not to eat but not much on what you can eat...thanks all

[BobD Volunteer]

The general consensus is a reduction of reliance on meat and processed foods and a more plant based diet. Aiming for a BMI of 25 or less is also good. There are few foods you mustn't eat but obviously low salt and avoid MSG where possible.

[Highbur8 in reply to BobD]

Thanks so much for this!!

[Suanna in reply to BobD]

BobD, which foods should be avoided for AFib, please?

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

But that’s the diet I’ve had for many years and my only mistake was the coconut oil in vegan cheeses which I’ve cut out now! It sadly hadn’t stopped me getting paroxysmal AF or apparently high cholesterol! And I used to exercise regularly too until the fatigue made it almost impossible most days!

[Hidden]

Only thing my EP said when I was diagnosed was no alcohol, heart healthy diet and exercise, weight loss. I see an Integrative doc and he is big on Mediterranean diet, heavy on veggies, heart healthy fats especially olive oil, nuts, avocados. Fish twice weekly, like salmon.

[Jonathan_C in reply to Hidden]

when the cardiac nurse called me to prep me for my ablation she told me "you do know red wine is good for the heart don't you".....She is awesome.

[Finvola]

This is my personal version of good eating, Highbur:

Increase your intake of fresh vegs and fruit, fish, especially oily fish like mackerel and salmon.

Keep well hydrated - al least 2 litres of water daily.

Substitute ‘real’ food for processed, sugary stuff - eg porridge instead of any cereal, butter instead of spreads like Flora.

If you need to sweeten something, avoid artificial sweeteners and use a small dab of honey.

I love chocolate so I substituted the 85% cocoa variety for normal chocolate.

Become a label reader - once you have decided what to avoid, check the ingredients label.

You’ll find it gets easier as you experiment and find what you like and, more importantly, what suits your heart.

[Buffafly]

'Eat food, not too much, mostly plants'.

[Hidden in reply to Buffafly]

Love that

[Buffafly in reply to Hidden]

It is a quotation but can't remember who said it - a famous health expert.

[Hidden]

G'day Highbur8,

My first approach was to cease playing guessing games. The digestive system - recognised by some medical circles as the bodies second brain - is very complex and needs consideration from a form of specialist beyond the world of the general purpose family doctor or Cardiac consultant or EP. If you were to speak to someone you'd be better off talking to a Gastroenterologist. I didn't do that either - I consulted a Nutritionist who carried out some basic tests and recommended cutting out anything with wheat, gluten and or oats.

She clued me up on how to keep a food plan diary.

Its no quick fix process, requires a lot of patience and dedication. But the rewards are well worth it. Do understand though that "one mans meat is another mans poison" (these old adages do have some meaning). All our digestive systems are unique to us, as our reactions to different medications are too, there is no one size fits all solution for calm ing the digestive system.

If you click on my user name you may be able to go back to some of my old posts which you may find helpful.

John

[JanettePearson]

I changed my diet drastically and feel so much better for it. No caffeine and only a little alcohol occasionally. Basically you can eat anything except junk. Lots of fruit and veg, porridge, very lean meats, lots of fibre, nuts and protein from eggs, cheese etc. but in moderation. And lots of water. Changed my exercise to more walking and and swimming too. Apart from losing over a stone, my heart is behaving itself so much better and the resting rate has dropped and nowhere near as many ectopics. I do still treat myself and have chocolate sometimes and cake but not every day like before. Well worth the changes.

[Hidden]

Nothing processed if you can avoid it ,limit red meat ( I only have it these days as a treat if I eat out) aim for a good seven or eight portions of fruit and veg lots of variety, nuts in moderation,oily fish, limit booze as well, plenty of pulses are ok, no crap like McDonalds KFC and all that dreadful stuff (mostly vile) and finally quality over quantity!

Andy

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Interesting Andy. Your post hits what I said about "one man's meat is another man's poison"right on the head. If I had pulses and/or 7 or 8 fruit and veg a day I would spend an uncomfortable day seated in the bathroom. No risk about that. That's why diets/ food plans are such hard work and require a diary to be kept and why they are such a personal and individual challenge. We ARE all different.

John

[CDreamer]

Some good general advice above and here - cardiologistskitchen.com/

Avoid ALL artificial sweeteners is the advice from CardioKit cardiologistskitchen.com/ab...

[Jonathan_C]

lovely thread. I would add emphasis to the exercise. My cardiologist said to me "you will never hear me discourage people from exercise, even high intensity workouts"....but he also said that knowing very well I would never attempt an ultra marathon

[Hidden]

I really love thedoctorskitchen.com/ and thefoodmedic.co.uk/

They really just emphasise the advice given above and have some very tasty recipes.

[Highbur8]

Thanks so much to everyone for the above comments and advice but the common theme throughout all the above is exercise, exercise, exercise! and in terms of what im eating for the next 6 months ...im still a bit unsure so i have installed knivers over forks or vice versa app. on my phone to give me the best range of recipes to choose from plant based foods.....ive also been eating a lot of lettuce and asparagus over the last few days and "Bang" I read last night they are high in vitamin k which contribute to help the blood to clot......CATCH 22....we dont want that happening do we!!??...so the cardiologists kitchen website has some good recipes but needs to be filtered a bit ....OVERALL im still new to all this and its really up in the air what the best strategy is for an AF diet....would that be a fair statement.....???!!!! Please let me know....I work in a hospital myself so 8m going to ask our nutritionist is there a specific diet and see how much more the waters can be muddied or not...

[ILowe]

For over 25 years I have been on Warfarin and self-dosing. I am very very skeptical about the importance of food. My lifestyle is very erratic -- what I eat, when I eat, the quantities I eat. My job means I have to change countries and eat what is available cheaply. Sometimes that is loads of fruit and veg, sometimes it is almost zero. My food is often seasonal. For instance, right now there is very little affordable fruit because of the change from winter to summer fruit. For the second time this year Milk is in short supply. If anyone had cause to be concerned it is me. And I do not care.

Some science:

1. Fact. A significant amount of Vitamin K is made by gut bacteria. One (old) estimate is 50%.

2. Fact. Gut bacteria are sensitive and can increase or decrease Vit K production

3. Fact. Given the amount gut bacteria produce, this functions as a buffer. A buffer is basically a dampener.

Implications:

1/ One off small binges, like eating a load of brussel sprouts once in a while is probably not going to do you much harm, even if in the short term you had some changes for a few days.

2/ Irregular diet does not matter much.

3/ Seasonal patterns and similar do not matter.

When I started taking warfarin in 1993, the smallest tablet was 1mg, and the smallest dose change was 0.5mg. Interesting that later, breakable tablets of 0.5mg came on sale. I have found that a change of 0.25mg (that is half the white half milligram tablet), can mean the difference between being in-range or out-of-range across months of changing diet. If diet was so important, then changes this small would be insignificant.

Now, I freely acknowledge that we are all different. It is quite possible that a steady diet helps some people, but my understanding of the science, and my experience leave me very happy.

[Highbur8 in reply to ILowe]

Thanks I Lowe very interesting.

[cjsabc]

Suggest cut out all digestibles with processed sugar (fruit is fine), and cut right down on oil. My consultant put me on plenty of raw, high protein (but meatless) complex salads and brown rice + exercise. I was 39. The fibrillation stopped after ten days. My heart had been missing up to 15 beats/minute. Everyone is different but it undeniably worked for me.

[Buffafly]

nutrition.org.uk/healthyliv...

Seriously, this is an excellent website for info on nutrition.

[brit1]

raw vegan diet, walk briskly daily, no alcohol/msg etc