Cholesterol Lowering Diet for Cardiac Patients and Diabetes Diet Information

By | November 5, 2008

Can you please tell me the foods that can be given to cardiac and diabetic patients?

Taking care of your heart becomes particularly important when you have insulin resistance or uncontrolled diabetes. Diabetes can cause many long term complications like retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, heart diseases and stroke. However you can protect your blood vessels and heart by eating more foods that decreases your blood cholesterol levels and eating less food that increases your blood cholesterol levels. Making wise food choices will not only help to correct your cholesterol profile but also help to maintain your weight and blood glucose levels.

Diet Plan for Heart Patients

Try the following dietary tips for your heart and diabetes –

  • Quality and quantity of fats and carbohydrates are important to saving your heart and maintaining your blood sugar levels, respectively.
  • So choose your fats correctly. Avoid consumption of trans fats as far as possible, whether in the form of bakery products like cakes, pies, donuts and pastries or french-fries. Keep the level of saturated fats and cholesterol in the diet to the minimum. Saturated fats and cholesterol are found in poultry skin, meats, organ meats (liver, kidney, brain), shell fish (crab, lobster, prawns), pork, ham, butter, egg yolk, whole milk and its products like ice cream, cheese, lard, margarine, palm oil coconut oil and shortenings.
  • Choose fats that are heart friendly for cooking like polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats found in canola oil, olive oil, flaxseeds oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil and safflower oil. A combination of oil is also preferred.
  • Eat a serving of fish high in omega-3 fatty acids twice or thrice in a week; fish like herring, albacore tuna, rainbow trout, salmon, sardine, and mackerel are recommended.
  • The quality of fats you consume will not help lower your cholesterol levels if the quantity you consume is in excess of your requirement. Try cooking food with a minimal amount of fat and opt for healthy cooking methods like steaming, grilling, cooking in a nonstick and boiling instead of shallow frying and deep frying. Remember if you use a regular pan for shallow frying you may end up using even more oil or as much as in deep frying. So always use a nonstick pan if you wish to use shallow frying as a cooking mode.
  • Eat foods that are high in fiber. These foods include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, cereals and cereal products, sprouts, pulses, whole beans and legumes. To maintain your blood sugar levels it would be wise to eat certain fruits and vegetables high in simple carbohydrates in moderation or restriction. These fruits and vegetables include mango, sapota, banana, custard apple, jack fruit, potatoes, tapioca, yam and sweet potato.
  • Drink plenty of water and try to maintain an ideal body weight. Lose weight if necessary with the help of a balanced diet and exercise.

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