Hi, I’ve been eating wholemeal bread (as a sandwich) daily since going vegan recently after my heart problems last month and wanted to know if that’s ok, or do I have to cutout “all” bread?
Also, I’ve been seeing a lot of people saying they had cut out sugar all together.
Should I do this? Or can I still eat something high in natural sugars, like say a portion of fruit a day?
Hi GABarcus - I'm guessing there are a lot of different opinions re. the best diets for people generally and more specifically re. specific health complaints. It may be worth you putting a search in on these sites for posts relating to diet - a lot of results should come up.
It would generally appear that sugar is being seen as a major contributor to obesity and various health conditions - particularly relating to the heart and circulatory system. Bread and other very carby foods (simple carbohydrates) do tend to turn to sugar really quickly - I believe the starch in bread starts turning to sugar in your mouth.
However, I think that drastic diets and total exclusion of carbohydrates is probably not so good for anyone - the 'Mediterranean diet' appears to be the one supported by many - lots of veg, olive oil, some bread, some fish and meat (although not in your case!!).
I'm not an expert - just spend too much time on this site and generally researching things that may affect my heart arrhythmias. Hope you find the answers you are looking for.
Thanks for your reply.
So is fruit bad then? I’ve been having a few apples/plums etc a day, sometimes a portion of Mango. My daily Special K cereal has a little sugar in but nothing too bad.
Fruit is now the only thing I’m eating daily that has what could be considered as having a “high” amount of sugar.
unfortunately answers aren't that easy - you need to research this yourself on this site - you could also try you tube videos by yorkcardiologist who is very good and a cardiac consultant. One of the biggest things is to keep a diary of what you are eating and what results it appears to have on your health.
You could ring the heart nurse support on this site if you are very worried.
Hi. Fruit is generally seen as OK (but not fruit juice). Take a look at this from the BHF: bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...
The BHF is also a good starting place for general stuff on diet. bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...
Thanks!
Is fruit juice that’s “no added sugar” with sweeteners the better option?
That’s what I use to mainly drink as I’ve always struggled to drink just water. I end up only drinking a bottle or two of water tops, and the rest I just assume I get from my fruit and veg etc.
Fruits aren’t bad per se but they do contain fructose (fruit sugar - but still sugar). Berries contain less carbs and therefore less sugar. Generally, the sweeter the fruit, the more sugar. It may be worth your while using a carb counting app to help identify the best fruits in terms of sugar content.
Likewise, “above ground” green veg is lower in carbs (kale, cabbage, spinach etc).
In my experience anything that says “no added sugar” generally means lots of sugar already so no need to add any!
I bought a portion of cut up Mango just now from Sainsbury’s.
It has nothing added but the sugar content is 13g naturally occurring.
ditchthecarbs.com/carbs-in-...
I guess it depends how much sugar you want to cut out of your diet and why. This link contains a breakdown of carb in various fruits. I try to eat below 60g of carbs per day to control my blood sugars and weight.
I only really want to be getting sugar from my cereal, vegan snacks and fruit.
The snacks (roasted chick peas and fava beans) are 0.5g of sugar per bag (I eat one a day) and the cereal is 4.5g that I eat one small bowl a day.
The only thing high is the fruit where I will rarely ever eat more than 15g of sugar from.
That’s it, I don’t really want anymore sugar in my diet than that.
I won’t be eating chocolate, or anything like that again. The same goes for meat or anything remotely high in saturated fats.
What about having a green apple you know that old saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away I myself prefer a red apple and perhaps if you like juice you could dilute it by adding water and a good squirt of lemon to it or lime or just add these to your water( without the already made bought type juices)
Hi. I drink no added sugar orange squash. I was referring to drinks like Orange juice which are loaded with sugars (and which I used to drink far too much of!)
Yes, that’s what I use to drink, but I’ve read that sweeteners are not good either.
Cereal is a highly processed food, I would quit that before fruit. Fruit has fibre which helps to slow the digestion of the sugars they contain. This is my opinion.
Yes I know, but I need something I can enjoy in the morning of that variety or else I would just skip breakfast altogether. I was never a breakfast person initially.
It’s also one of the better ones and is high in fibre. I only eat Special K, Bran flakes and Oat flakes. I wouldn’t dream of going near the really bad ones.
I use to be heavily critical of them even before my heart issues occurred.
Hi GABaracus, wholemeal bread for a sandwich is ok, and if the sandwich has a protein based filling then even better, as the combination slows down the digestion and conversion of carbs to sugar.
Fruit is good in its natural form as it contains fibre too. Fruit juices or mashed/blitzed fruit is altered and releases its sugar more quickly into the bloodstream. The fruit acids from juice are more likely to damage tooth enamel too.
The sugars that occur naturally in foods are generally ok, it’s the added sugar that is an issue.
Very concerning information.
Worried about the lack of information
heart disease and anxiety, why no anxiety at all until about 9 months after the heart event? 
Blood pressure 
Collapsed vein -another thing to fret about? 
