Diet: I'm waiting to see the surgeon... - British Heart Fou...

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Diet

willsie01 profile image
18 Replies

I'm waiting to see the surgeon who carries out bypass procedures to see what he thinks about my suitability for this, following the cardiologist who performed my angiogram recommending this as the best way forward for me.

No one has talked to me yet about changing diet or lifestyle. Should I consider changing diet yet or wait till I get into the treatment stage?

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willsie01 profile image
willsie01
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18 Replies
ChicagoGirl1961 profile image
ChicagoGirl1961

I would be proactive and focus on a healthful diet for your heart. I advocate a very low fat plant based diet as I've had great success with it, but it's not for everyone because it's difficult for most people to adhere to because it is very restrictive.

Padayn01 profile image
Padayn01 in reply toChicagoGirl1961

Have you got a bit more info on plant based diet like a link or something? Many thanks

willsie01 profile image
willsie01 in reply toPadayn01

I was given this term to search on: "Forks Over Knives" there’s a video and a website.

Padayn01 profile image
Padayn01 in reply towillsie01

Thanks for that

jimmyq profile image
jimmyq in reply toPadayn01

I use the book and cookbook "How Not To Die" by Dr Michael Greger. I have just bought "The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook" by relations of Dr Caldwell Esseltyn. Dr Esseltyn was part of the China Study, medical dietary research, including a massive study of 800,000 Chinese people. I haven't tried any of these recipes yet. My wife made a "pizza" recipe from it at weekend, which turned out well, although it didn't have any cheese (not even vegan) on it. Pizza without cheese? Hmmm!

Padayn01 profile image
Padayn01 in reply tojimmyq

Will purchase a one ( the book not the pizza) lol thanks for the message I see the book for £6 on eBay

MichaelJH profile image
MichaelJHHeart Star

You can never start a healthy (Mediterranean) diet soon enough! It will benefit you whatever the final treatment plan becomes!

willsie01 profile image
willsie01 in reply toMichaelJH

I like the sound of the Mediterranean diet from what is said about it. Thanks.

willsie01 profile image
willsie01 in reply toMichaelJH

So, you guys following a plan do you allow yourself some red meat now and again? And is chicken ok in normal amounts? Or is all meat going to be a thing of the past for me?

MichaelJH profile image
MichaelJHHeart Star in reply towillsie01

My diet (which GP and cardiologist are happy with) is mainly fish and chicken, but once a week I have a lean steak (local butcher happy to trim excess fat). Also the occasional spag bol with carrots and other veg in it. I make this with extra lean mince. I did try a vegetarian diet years ago but it did not work for me. Really it is a question if moderation. I generally avoid pork and lamb.

The other thing I should mention about OHS is that it is useful to build up core strength as you will be unable to use your arms to get up.

willsie01 profile image
willsie01 in reply toMichaelJH

My core is not great but not bad as I’ve been doing Pilates for some years for back issues. Still working on it.

willsie01 profile image
willsie01 in reply toMichaelJH

$64,000 question: what about cakes and chocolate :)

MichaelJH profile image
MichaelJHHeart Star in reply towillsie01

Basically only as a very very occasional treat. Plain dark chocolate is best as it contains antioxidants - enjoy with a small glass of a good red! :)

emjay18 profile image
emjay18 in reply toMichaelJH

What diet are you referring to ? There are low carb, low fat, low sugar diets to name but a few. Beef is being ostracised in some areas because cows ruminate and produce large amounts of methane that are believed to add significantly to global warming. (vide Cowtastrophe etc ) Add to that Paleo, keto , and whatho diets and where do you go ? Highly refined grain is also suspect as is soya oil and maize products.

MichaelJH profile image
MichaelJHHeart Star in reply toemjay18

The Mediterranean diet:

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

The cow problem has only come about because the world is becoming out of balance by overpopulation. Limiting everyone to a maximum of two offspring regardless of the number of relationships would help significantly!

ChicagoGirl1961 profile image
ChicagoGirl1961

I certainly agree that there may be other diets that exist which can lead to halting CAD progression. I never stated that being vegetarian was the only way to go. Yes, veggie diets have lots of carbs, but complex carbs are not prone to elevating blood sugar as other carbs so prevalent in in the American diet do. Lastly, people eating a vegan or healthy vegetarian diet have lower rates of heart disease than omnivores.

ChicagoGirl1961 profile image
ChicagoGirl1961

Actually, when all is said and done, diabetes is not as prevalent in vegans/vegetarians as it is in omnivores.

MichaelJH profile image
MichaelJHHeart Star in reply toChicagoGirl1961

I read something on this quite a few years ago (lifelong Type 1 and on committee of support group for a decade). The issue I had was that it seemed to be vegetarian vs "burger" person (think it was a US piece of research) and the recommended Mediterranean style diet did not come into it. One problem with the high sugar/high fat lifestyle is that it can lead to a fatty liver another precursor to Type II diabetes.

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