Embracing a plant based Mediterranean diet

I'm new here & have joined after my blood cholesterol was raised. I have to admit diets have never been for me in any shape or form. I love food & have always felt cheated/got at if I have to watch what I eat. However, I had a scare last year with my gall bladder being removed, recent high blood pressure pills & now raised cholesterol. I guess I'm not doing too well at 50. Luckily I do enjoy pasta, vegetables but I'll have to fight to cut out red meat & sweet things.

[TheAwfulToad]

Before you panic too much, I'd recommend reading up on the biological role of cholesterol, the aetiology of high blood pressure, and suchlike. If you don't have a science background this will be hard going, but it's worth making the effort to understand it. There's a lot of foolishness written about diet, and unfortunately the only way to get to the bottom of it all is to know more than the dieticians do.

Blood cholesterol rises naturally as you get older. It doesn't mean you're going to have a heart attack (that's particularly true if you're the woman in the picture: correlation between CVD events and raised cholesterol, for women, is basically zero).

Red meat. Sigh. I don't even know where to start with that one. Suffice to say, I suppose, that it isn't the cause of heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, ingrowing toenails, or anything else. There is ample research on the subject, and all of hypothetical links with disease have been comfortably dismissed.

Anyway, you'll probably do just fine with "Mediterranean". There are certainly far worse diets. Just try to focus more on the veg and the olive oil than the pasta. And don't be afraid of meat

[Hidden]

Hi Hidden welcome to the group and I'm sorry about your health issues, you know what you have to avoid now you've had your gall bladder removed and if you make healthy natural choices rather than processed foods you're onto a winner some great advice by TheAwfulToad and I'd take it one day and one meal at a time and tweak your diet so you still enjoy your food.

Well done for introducing yourself and I hope that you enjoy being a member of HE as we're a friendly bunch of foodies. And we have lots of Topics to suit all diets.

Jerry 😊

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Unfortunately, I don't really know what to avoid after gall bladder removal. The surgeon said I had to be careful before the operation but there was no dietary advice after. I did research it at the time but it's a bit mind boggling especially with IBS complications.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Hidden I believe that you want to avoid fatty foods and eat more roughage which could also help your IBS. One of my friends had their gallbladder removed and felt so much better.

Here's a link that may interest you:

healthline.com/health/gallb...

And good luck. 😊

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, Jerry. That was a very helpful article. I struggle with bread that is other than white as it seems to upset my IBS. I have to admit I prefer white pasta & rice but I must endeavour to try others again.

[Penel in reply to Hidden]

My husband had his gall bladder removed some years ago. Although he limited fat for a while, he is now able to eat foods like bacon and eggs, full fat yoghurt etc. His cholesterol levels are good. It’s very much a question of finding what works for you.

If you have IBS problems, eating more fibre may not be a good idea for you. I tried to introduce more fibre last year and it was a bad idea for me. I found the Low Fodmap diet very useful in working out which foods to avoid and which to limit. I bought a cook book to help me get it right.

healthline.com/nutrition/lo...

[Zest]

Hi Hidden

Welcome to the Healthy eating community, and I hope you'll enjoy participating here.

Zest

[Cooper27 Administrator]

I think the best thing overall would be to increase your veg intake, cutting back on processes foods. I'd note that a plant based diet can include a lot of processed foods these days, and these won't be better for you, just because they're plant based.

There isn't a link between dietary cholesterol and body cholesterol - that's a debunked theory, that's just never quite disappeared from our memories.

I believe you do need to watch fat intake, but a moderate fat intake is ok? Experiment a little to find what amount of fat is acceptable for you. Listen to what your body tells you, and not what we tell you though - your body will know what's acceptable for it.