What food will help

[Blondieharry]

I have just been told by my nurse that I have high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure and due to have more blood tests done to check this in a few weeks time. I am also lactose intolerant and have IBS. I know I should be walking more often but have a pinched nerve in my hip from a fall off a step stool 6 years ago which can be very painful. I am 67, retired and have gained 17 kgs since I gave up work 3 years ago. I also suffer with diverticulitis but not that often now. Have been tested for all other digestive issues many times over the years. Need suggestions for a healthy diet while trying to exist on a pension. Many thanks

[Csantaf]

Hi there, I’m Cathy n joined here recently too!

I am in my 50s, have high blood pressure ( on meds) and slightly raised cholesterol too!

From my own knowledge and research here’s what seems to work. I have changed my diet a lot within last 2 months and gone almost vegetarian by replacing meat with soya and quorn substitutes.

Furthermore I cut out all red meat, cakes and biscuits. I have also changed to non dairy milk, almond unsweetened is lovely. I use cholesterol lowering pro active spread and benocol yoghurts . I continue to eat fish especially oily such as mackerel as it contains good cholesterol. I have also added lots of fruit n veg and make green smoothies with added spinach or curly kale etc.

Hope all goes well for you, good luck and do let us know how you progressing!

Best wishes,

Cathy

[Blondieharry in reply to Csantaf]

Hi Cathy, many thanks for getting back to me. I have tried milk substitutes which I don't like at all so am very careful as to how much dairy I take. Will try pro active when I do my shopping tomorrow. Don't eat cakes, biscuits or chocolate but do enjoy meat without fat, salmon and sardines, eat a lot of fruits especially at this time of the year but not any that have seeds which are hard to digest. As there's only me now (my husband passed 3 years ago) I have become rather lazy when it comes to veges so will get back into them again. I have never had a problem with food apart from what I've already mentioned and it's been rather expensive having to buy new clothes to fit, right down to underwear! And yet my friends say I look good, little did I think It would give me health issues. Kind regards Lyn

[Csantaf in reply to Blondieharry]

You’re most welcome, all the best!

[cjdgeorge]

Go "keto" - no sugar (and all things containing sugar which is most stuff in a supermarket) honey etc. no potato no bread most but not all grains and go for a plant based coloured diet with limited amounts of fish and foul for your protein. Eat only two meals a day not more than 8 hours apart so you are not eating for the majority of the day. I have breakfast at 1300 hours and supper / dinner at 1900 hours. Snack on the right types of nuts if you have to.

Take up swimming if you cannot run. I am well over 70 and have lost over two stone on this and over the last two years completed four Ironman events. Burning triglycerides rather than muscle and liver glycogen allows for easy fasting and good endurance

[Blondieharry in reply to cjdgeorge]

Thanks for your reply...No sugar sounds good and working on that as I have to watch carbohydrate sugar levels anyway. Don't think there is a swimming pool where I live (just moved recently to a small town) and I have trouble walking let alone running, even making my bed causes back pain. Have to limit my fibre in take for IBS, too much, I'm in trouble and not enough, the opposite. No carbs sounds cruel to me and two meals a day ? Any nuts which I love and grains also irritate my bowel so will probably go with carrot sticks as a snack and drink lots of bottled water as ours is not drinkable. I'm hoping if I do lose weight it might help my back issue as well as my health problems. Thankfully I still have my "thin" clothes as can't afford to buy them now. Cheers Lyn

[Aingealah]

Hi Cathy

I am 64 with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lactose intolerant and have IBS.

I was told by the hospital I have to lose weight.

I don't drink milk or any substitutes as they make me ill, however I do take calcium tablets from the dr. Meat is very expensive and is not particularly good for us, so I only buy and eat a little. I have three meals a day. I start with porridge with fruit. At lunch time I have salad or soup and in the evening I have a small meal of potato or rice, veg and a protein followed by a piece of fruit. I have lost 1 stone so far. I aim at 1000 cals a day but don't get too upset if I go a little over. You need to consider portion control. That's where I was going wrong. I've found it doesn't cost any more to eat properly but it does need planning.

I've tried the statins but I got headaches and muscle/joint pains. I bought plant sterols and have been using those without any adverse effects.

I was advised to include oily fish like mackerel twice a week. So far so good. I don't fry food or use any marg or butter. I've been told not to drink smoothies. Smoothies allow you to consume too much. It is better to eat individual pieces of fruit. Two pieces of fruit and three portions of veg a day is recommended.

I hope this all helps. Good luck

Aingealah

[Blondieharry in reply to Aingealah]

Hi thanks for your reply. Yes your way of doing things sounds so much better to me as you suffer the same health issues as me. Trying to explain it can become an up hill battle. Because I can't get out and about very often, I find myself grazing all day and I know that's not the way to go about it. Not on meds at the moment and hoping to improve the situation before more blood tests in April...cheers

[sandylo]

Just plenty of fruit and veg and cut out sugar and carbs

[Csantaf]

Thanks Londinium, I note you’re advice