Hello everyone; I would like to ask for your thoughts. Just got over a bout of "norovirus" and my system was purged clean of everything inside of me. For three days I watched what I ate, went on the "brat" diet and I've got to say I felt really good, no afib at all while sick,then I started to get back to eating normal and just had a fried eggplant sandwich cooked in 100% xtra virgin olive oil and I'll be darned if I didn't go into afib almost immediately after eating it. This morning I had an avocado sandwich on sourdough bread but everything was OK. I was afib free for seven days which is great for me and all of a sudden wham! back again. Can someone please tell me if you think it was eating fried food, or the olive oil or maybe eating too much? If it is what I ate I'm going back on the "brat" diet, what a difference it made in how I felt! Thank You
fried foods and afib: Hello everyone; I... - Atrial Fibrillati...
fried foods and afib
oh my goodness, how perplexing! I know that if I eat too much, my heart starts to flutter. But I’ve never been able to peg it to any particular food. I know some people get upset stomachs from eggplant, perhaps it was that rather than the olive oil? Sorry you’ve had a rough few days with that nasty virus. 😢
Hello lovetogarden, thank you for your reply but I've decided to go back on the "brat" diet (banana, rice,apple sauce and toast). This must have been a sign to let me know which direction I should go as far as eating is concerned. Best Wishes to you and have a Blessed Day.
After a massive diet and lifestyle adjustment, I’ve been pretty much afib free for over 12 months … touch wood! Last month I went on my first long haul flight and I was fine until we neared Heathrow and they brought breakfast around. I had what I thought was the healthy choice, an eggplant bagel, and although I didn’t go into full afib, I felt short of breath, very uncomfortable and my heart was definitely dancing around a bit. That was within minutes of eating it so, whilst I can’t say for definite the eggplant was responsible, I definitely won’t be having any more anytime soon! Sorry you’ve had a bad time, glad you’re on the mend now 😊
I would say eating too much. I made eggplant yesterday lightly brushed with olive oil. I’ve never had problems with fried food, but always had trouble if I eat more than I should have. I think fried food is hard to deal with anyway and try to keep away from it along with processed as much as I can please feel better.
Just had one sandwich and a banana.
Bananas are also heavy. How is your potassium etc. I just read something about bananas and I can’t remember what it was about not eating them. If I find it, I will send it to you.
Haha! I’ve been reading up about potassium because my husband’s BP is a tad high these days and trying to see if we can bring it down by eating more potassium rich foods and cutting down the salt. Bananas are indeed a source of potassium, as are avocados, but many fruits and vegetables are also good sources of potassium. Always pay attention to your blood work, however. Especially your electrolytes. You also need to take into consideration your kidney function as this plays an important role in electrolyte balance, and kidney function is also relevant to right ventricular function. I’m no expert, but all our bodily systems work as a whole. If your kidneys are functioning well and your blood work is showing electrolytes in the normal range then your body should deal with foods containing potassium with no problem, and your BP could benefit if that’s an issue for you. The fact is, if you have AF the cause wasn’t eating an aubergine or an orange or whatever and the treatment isn’t avoiding those food either. We can drive ourselves mad if we play food detective for every symptom. It’s probably better to keep a food diary and repeat any potential offending food. If it doesn’t happen on repeat, and on further repeats, why restrict your diet unnecessarily? If it does… there’s your answer.
PS don’t forget as you said you were cleaned out as well. I would’ve use that as a stepping off point to try to keep eating clean. I also know when I am not eating carbs, fried foods, etc.. if I eat them again, they do a number on me not with the a fib but my entire system like you just had with the virus. Very heavy, very rich foods have always done that.
Hi Dawn, I thought eggplant was healthy and I've been a vegetarian for 60 years. Never too late to learn I guess. Glad you're doing better since pace maker put in, remember GOD's watching over you. Have a Blessed night
I think eggplant is good for you. I absolutely love it. Do you have a George Foreman grill or anything it’s really good grilled or baked or even air fried. I don’t think it was the eggplant. I have a feeling it was the bug and what it did to you. Don’t be afraid of eggplant. It’s delicious as you know. Try it without the olive oil like I mentioned I’ll bet you’re fine. Thank you for the kind words. Yep going on three weeks. It’s been up-and-down. I had a few scary times because I didn’t quite know everything that I should have. I’m still a little sore under my ribs. I may end up getting an ultrasound because I have a tendency to get pericarditis whenever I have a procedure. I have a bad feeling I have it again but it’s not that big a deal. I have the meds and all you do is take one a day for 30 days we all have some type of weakness, and that one might be mine. Just like when I get a cold, by the next day or two, I have bronchitis 😵💫😞. I hope you feel better. I have a friend that just came back from a cruise and both she and her little girl got the virus as well.
Take care and get well soon x
Hi,
For me, I don't eat eggplant so can't comment. Eating too much, eating too late in the evening before going to bed, sleeping on my left side all will act as a trigger to some degree or other. Can't eat lettuce but rocket is OK, no soft cheese but hard cheese OK, it goes on and on.
For me any food with gluten, wheat and oats in it can upset, inflame or whatever my vagal nerve. With the aid of a nutritionist back in 2011 I have practiced keeping a food diary ( cause and effect) and after a course of probiotics I maintained the diet over many years. Last year I had a couple of events and this year so far nothing.
Bear in mind it is not necessarily food per se, but the ingredients too. Certain sauces can upset me, particularly if eaten in a Chinese Resturant. MSG ??
At the end of the day its horses for courses I'm afraid. We will all respond differently to a wide range of foods. It is what it is.
Hope you soon settle down.
John
A food diary is a good idea, because we never eat just one food in isolation. Also, as you say, there’s additives and all sorts to consider. Sometimes I wonder if people focus too much on food and neglect other factors like sleep and stress levels, or just not making time for relaxation, mindfulness etc. Another thing is supplements. We tend to think of these as benign and doing good, but we need to be mindful about the ingredients and whether they can upset our electrolytes, especially in older people whose kidney function maybe less efficient than it used to be. Herbal remedies can be very potent and even my cardiologist admitted to developing an arrhythmia after taking a supplement, which went away when he stopped.
You are so right about supplements. Except for vitamin D3 I have not been told to take anything in fact, I was told not to take anything else without clearance from my doctor. I did that with CO Q 10 and turmeric, I was told the first might actually make me feel better.
Now, my cousin must have 100 bottles of everything they sell. Long story short two weeks ago his blood pressure made him almost black out. I’ll cut to the chase here and say he went to my Cardiologist the other day and brought all of the supplements. he has been told to stop taking them. Besides that he had two medication‘s by the GP and one is only meant to be taken once every three days the other he has been taken off of. He was there Monday today. His blood pressure is almost perfect. It has been coming down day by day this week , maybe you call this is too much of a good thing. He eats really good much better than I do with the right fish etc.. He is a good weight and active. If we all need these supplements then why are we all not put on them? They are a money maker remember that. Remember when it used to be something like once a day the daily vitamin? Some of us might need iron. We are all different and we may have other health issues depleting us. Let your doctor decide. My two doctors are very with it and are not anti-health , but they also are more aware of interactions. I love my GP when I have a sore throat or other minor things, but he is not qualified when it comes to cardiology etc. think before you buy anything because over-the-counter and natural can kill you. Digoxin which I was on is called foxglove in nature, and there are supplements with it. there are many hidden dangers of so-called natural drugs, please be careful I just watch this play out this week. My cousin is very stubborn I’ve been trying to get him to lay off the supplements for a while now. We all want a cure. It just is not there yet, so be careful and be good to yourself.
That is a scary story. If your cousin was eating very well chances are he didn’t need those supplements anyway. You’re so right about how complicated these supplements are now, it’s not just the once-a-day multivitamin any more, it’s all sorts of superfood powders, protein shakes, algae drinks, collagen , chlorophyll, CBD … the list is endless and for most people it’s just a waste of money. If people are convinced they “need” chlorophyll then just eat some green leafy vegetables! I have a friend who was trying to convince someone to have expensive ‘nutrition’ tests because she thought this lady was eating a poor diet, but my reaction was “no, keep that money and spend it on groceries, you can buy a lot of good quality healthy foods for that amount of cash”. I sometimes wonder if people have lost touch with what eating is supposed to be. But I’d also say it’s become increasingly difficult to navigate our current food environment so I don’t blame people for getting so confused with it all.
I’m more with you on AF doing whatever it’s going to do, and stressing over one food being the trigger of an AF episode rather than a random coincidence is only going to encourage hyper vigilance and unnecessary anxiety — which isn’t good for anyone’s AF. It’s always going to happen just after having eaten something because we all have to eat several times a day. Even if we stick to ‘safe’ foods, it is not going to prevent AF. If someone was to record every food and every ingredient consumed every day, how could anyone possibly identify THE trigger? Why pick just one out of many? On what criteria? What if it’s none of these things? What if it’s nothing to do with food at all? Although I do believe in following a healthy diet pattern as far as possible, I don’t think it’s psychologically healthy to micromanage every morsel we eat, or convince ourselves we need a ton of supplements to be healthy.
I agree with everything you said. You can’t live your life where are you in about every single thing as I said I believe it does what it wants to do no matter what you eat, drink do, etc. even with my pacemaker there are going to be days where it’s not all perfect or even close. we talk about a fib but what about flutter and I have a typical flutter that is not helped by the pacemaker. Honestly, it never bothered me that much. I felt it the first week but I believe I was stressing myself out thinking I should feel better. I have a lot of adjustments to make , but nothing devastating. Today is possibly the best I have felt yet. I woke early and mentally and physically I feel so good. My strength is still not there or my stamina. It will be a year in April when I really got to the point where I could not walk prior to that was not much better. Now, to forget some thing some thing in the other room and be able to just hop up and go back for it is amazing. Prior to this I would just do without rather than drag myself back to get it. The little things in life can be so amazing.
I think people should try to live normally as possible. I do understand when you have the pain and everything you cannot do that but don’t waste your good days worrying about when the next bad one will be or how to stop because you can’t.
I am just so happy today to feel normal 😊 keep in touch thank you for the support and right back at you
That’s great news! It’s a great feeling to be just ‘normal’, it’s something to appreciate.
absolutely 😊. I was on the phone the other day and realized mentally how much better I felt about everything. We don’t realize how much circulation controls. Since Wednesday things have been pretty good. One day at a time but that’s how life is. anyway, we never know what is coming up next no matter what the plan is.
John I think with or without a fit we all have those issues. If they sneak MSG into some thing, you will see an instant reaction on me turning bright red from my chest to my hairline. It’s good to know things, but sometimes I have a feeling, we all pay much too much attention. Stress is a big trigger and the more you concentrate on all these medical terms, etc.. I think the more stressed you become. At the end of the day a fib will do what a fib wants to do. I have had a horrible year after a procedure. I was barely eating I couldn’t really walk, etc. and I had some of the worst a fib I have ever had. Not once have I had anything even mentioned about the vagal nerve. We have to just except that just like the electric or your plumbing in your house. We have brakes in our system. Having just gotten my pacemaker, etc. less than three weeks ago, I started feeling really lousy. The thing is you really just need to know what is normal to feel especially after procedure. Some people are lucky and have no issues. My first to ablations were like that. For a year and a half I felt good and didn’t even think about having a fib. When it came back, it’s a whole different monster this time, and nothing was helping. It seems many of us overthink about some thing we cannot do that much about other than follow doctors orders, if you are not getting any results you need to talk to your doctor or find a new one. PS a lot of men do not like eggplant. I don’t know why. My dad did not even want to look at one when it wasn’t cooked. Lol. Best of luck. Sadly I think we need to learn to roll with a fib and remember they’re trying to help us day by day. Yes, I have my pacemaker now with special things for my type of a fib but don’t think for a minute I don’t think about it at times. I’m learning to live with it because I have no choice and for the most part I can forget it is there it is doing what it needs to do. I am still early in the healing phase. I will say if I feel this good now I cannot wait to be about six months down the road. Best of luck. You really should try eggplant lol it’s just squash you know unless you don’t like any squash. I use Italian breadcrumbs and cheese and bake it. You can also lightly sauté to get it crispy. Tomato sauce if you can eat it. Oh Yum. Provolone and mozzarella or a hard cheese sprinkled over it you can’t won’t believe what you’re missing until you try it.
Hiya DawnTX,
I followed the advice on diet of my Nutritionist over 11 years, maybe more and although it has taken a long time I have reached a point this year, so far, where I have had no AF or arrythmia issues that I know of ( I tend to be asymptomatic). Even last year only two .......... so why would I want to try a food/product which is totally unappealing and take a risk on upsetting things. I have tried eggplant in my younger days long, long before AF and it is as appealing as a bread and butter milk pudding sprinkled with nutmeg!
The last thing I'd do is follow doctors orders - mine is as much use as a chocolate fireguard but you'd have to live in UK to understand that given the state of our godawful healthcare system. I'd prefer to pay to see a nutritionist than have a free visit to my Dr. - which is impossible these days without a telephone appointment to discuss the issues first.
Now that my AF is very highly controlled I don't think of it and certainly I'm not a person who suffers from stress - those family and friends who know me well refer to me as the sort of person who would cause stress or create stress in others.
That's the way it is !
I also made a decision during discussions with my Cardiac Consultant right back in the beginning of this journey in January 2010 .............. no ablation ! I did attend for a Cardioversion but by the time that got organised and I attended I was then back in NSR. So, even a Cardioversion didn't happen. After that I continually slipped in and out of AF until I realised the connection with food. TBH, I couldn't tell you what all the AF terms are hardly pronounce them and usually if a particular post uses any of this stuff I go away and look it up from some resource or other. These terms mean absolutely nothing to me. I have a few devices and if by any chance I feel unwell I use one device or another and see what the results are. For me the most significant is blood pressure ... it was that single thing that alerted my doctor at the time .......... the rest is history. ( my BP dropped from a normal of 136/80 down to 76/50 in a few hours). However, in winter ridden Britain the intense cold ( by comparison to where I come from - Australia) can cause my BP monitor to provide "Fake News" and send my BP soaring like an eagle.
I wish you well on your journey and that each step you take brings more and more of a return to a great quality of life.
John
I understand about eggplant lol I am Italian, so I grew up with everything. You are absolutely right. If you are doing this well don’t risk breaking what isn’t broken. I would’ve done the same thing I like the way you’re handling everything and I hope you continue to do that well. I have seen enough about your health system that I do understand. Because of the ease of our system here unfortunately, some physicians will abuse things like ablation and cardioversion. I have been lucky not to have that kind of a doctor. In fact, mine will not repeat what he considers mistakes if they have not worked. For me, this was a good choice even though I fought it in the beginning. My doctor is a believer in giving us quality of life without wasting time and making the bureaucrats happy making money off of procedures. My previous procedures just the first two cost a quarter of $1 million each US that was just the hospital bill I have no idea with the big one in Houston. Cost my head would probably swim. if you are against something and your doctor doesn’t give you a good reason for it don’t feel bad about asking questions and fussing over it. My doctor gave me the answers before I gave him the questions that is how he won me over. We only get one heart and we need to make sure it’s in the right hands. 🙏🏻
Thank You Dawn, I get free health care thru the VA so money is not an issue, in fact I've been offered an ablation but refused it as I might have one done in 1995 without my knowledge, ( it was a scandle in a lot of newspapers, but the VA won't tell me if I had one or not. There is a lot of things in the medical world we don't know about. Have a great day.
Thank You carnueny, I also have problems with lettuce as well but keep trying to introduce it into my diet and I pay the price the same with bread products, what's left being a vegetarian most of my life and I also have been told I have "gastritis". One thing I have learned that it sucks growing old. LOL
Eggplant or Aubergine if in UK - is a plant within Nightshade family - as are tomatoes, potatoes and whole list more which some people are just really intolerant to.
I think if you do a search you may find quite a few posts related to Aubergine/Eggplant so that would be my first guess. The only way of truly testing is to keep a really accurate Food/Symptom diary. I doubt it is anything to do with the vagus nerve - more gut microbiome related. You will have lost most of your microbes with your illness and unless you provide the food stuffs they thrive on you will continue to have problems. You might think about taking some probiotics and/or prebiotics? Best prebiotic is kale - make a Kale smoothie?
Your ‘brat diet’ sounds a little restrictive and has no veg. Rice - mmmm - I posted a thread about rice a few months ago - depends the source of where the rice is grown as can be toxic as rice absorbs arsenic from the soil so depends on the soil levels.
My suggestion would be is to stick to your ‘brat’ diet for a few days and then introduce one food a day and see how you go?
Good luck.
healthunlocked.com/afassoci...
Thread about danger of high rice consumption- you may find eye opening
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