High blood pressure and salt

Edwardia

GP nags my mother about her cholesterol being high, my mother cuts down on the dairy, cholesterol lowers to a level acceptable to GP, my mother then starts eating them all as before. And no, she refuses to take a statin as my late father was on those and they gave him muscle wastage and nightmares.

I don't think she really takes much notice of GP. GP advised bereavement counsellor so did I. She's and extremely stubborn woman !

If she could fit anything in her freezer, literally, batch cooking would be a good idea, but it is stuffed to the gills.

Fire_Fox

Edwardia wrote: »

GP nags my mother about her cholesterol being high, my mother cuts down on the dairy, cholesterol lowers to a level acceptable to GP, my mother then starts eating them all as before. And no, she refuses to take a statin as my late father was on those and they gave him muscle wastage and nightmares.

I don't think she really takes much notice of GP. GP advised bereavement counsellor so did I. She's and extremely stubborn woman !

If she could fit anything in her freezer, literally, batch cooking would be a good idea, but it is stuffed to the gills.

Nutrition for mental health: long chain omega-3s, B complex vitamins (esp. animal products) and magnesium. Limit sugar and white/ refined carbs, aiming to keep blood sugar stable.

In many cases there is nothing wrong with refusing statins, they are overprescribed in place of addressing the underlying lifestyle issues IMO. With dietary fats and cholesterol the balance of the different types are very important - omega-3s to omega-6s, saturated to unsaturated fats. She should be eating reduced fat dairy for bone health, but the calcium must be balanced with other minerals and the saturated fats balanced with healthy fats, especially omega-3s. She also needs the protein in the dairy if she isn't eating much meat or fish.

Soluble fibre is beneficial particularly from oats, beans and lentils - could she switch to an oat/ barley based muesli or make up her own mix? Most commercial ones contain wheat or rice. Cherries or berries may contain beneficial compounds, frozen berries are no effort and dried sour cherries are great in muesli.

Intake of sugars and white refined carbs or a carb heavy diet are also highly relevant here. They are known to affect the production of cholesterol and damage the lining of the blood vessels, allowing the cholesterol to adhere. It also puts the body into a state of stress and causes systemic inflammation which are also implicated in cardiovascular problems. As you can see what comprises a optimally healthy diet is pretty consistent for a wide variety of different health issues. The mistake many people make is focussing on what to cut out of the diet instead of what to add in.

What is the freezer full of? How would she take you going in and defrosting her freezer, removing some of the worst offenders as you do so? Ditto the kitchen cupboards, I wonder how much is out of date? When I am feeling lazy or struggling with my mental health I eat a lot more nuts and unusual dried fruits - nutritious, tasty without salt, longlife and no preparation.

~Chameleon~

Fire_Fox wrote: »

She should be eating reduced fat dairy for bone health, but the calcium must be balanced with other minerals and the saturated fats balanced with healthy fats, especially omega-3s......

May I ask why, as a health professional, you're advocating the use of reduced fat dairy when studies and research have shown that full-fat dairy is more beneficial to health and lower in dietary sugar?

Fire_Fox

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

May I ask why, as a health professional, you're advocating the use of reduced fat dairy when studies and research have shown that full-fat dairy is more beneficial to health and lower in dietary sugar?

What sugar are you referring to? Lactose is treated as distinct from non-milk extrinsic sugars in dietetics. Anything with added sugar would be be subject to the 'not more than 10% of daily calories' recommendation (UK government and WHO). Are you talking about health benefits in the general population or in those with diagnosed hypertension, osteoporosis or hypercholesterolaemia?

cyclingyorkie

when weaning the eldest (now21) my health visitor told me not to use stock cubes, but recommended Vecon - because it is low in salt.

It is still the only stock I use - and it is full of good stuff.

I weaned us off salt on veg years ago - OH took a while to get used to it but he doesn't moan any more. The same is true of cooking pasta - if I want to zing it up I'll put some lemon juice in the water...

Fire_Fox

cyclingyorkie wrote: »

when weaning the eldest (now21) my health visitor told me not to use stock cubes, but recommended Vecon - because it is low in salt.

It is still the only stock I use - and it is full of good stuff.

I weaned us off salt on veg years ago - OH took a while to get used to it but he doesn't moan any more. The same is true of cooking pasta - if I want to zing it up I'll put some lemon juice in the water...

The Kallo and Heinz stock cubes we were talking about are low salt.

kitschkitty

cyclingyorkie wrote: »

when weaning the eldest (now21) my health visitor told me not to use stock cubes, but recommended Vecon - because it is low in salt.

It is still the only stock I use - and it is full of good stuff.

I weaned us off salt on veg years ago - OH took a while to get used to it but he doesn't moan any more. The same is true of cooking pasta - if I want to zing it up I'll put some lemon juice in the water...

Salt in Pasta (and rice) is more about making the water boil faster then adding any flavour (imho). I only normally add salt to potatoes, but my mum will not stop adding it to anything she boils (not helped by the fact she tends to overcook) I much prefer the taste of veggies without salt - luckily my hubby doesn't even notice salt!

kitschkitty

Oh and another vote for marigold low salt, I bought it when it was recommended to me as a hot drink option - it's very nice.

Sambucus_Nigra

Edwardia wrote: »

Yup, vegetarian..

My mother does sneak the occasional piece of salmon fillet as she loves it.

Hi - just a little bugbear of mine but if she eats fish she is not vegetarian. It also allows for supplements that vegetarians won't touch.

Edwardia

Er no, my mother would be highly offended if I delved into her freezers :eek:
I know that she freezes local fruit to use in fruit pies and crumbles during the winter but other than that, noo idea. Unlike me she doesn't keep a record of what's in the freezer .

She used to make up muesli for my father so she may have quite a few things already. There's a Buy One Get One Half Price on all food and drink just started in Holland & Barrett so I'll mention that. She can have the frozen blackberries in my freezer too to start her off as unfortunately they spike my BG

Her diet does have too many carbs of the refined variety, I tell her this. But getting her to cut down is a question of bashing away at granite block with head really.

I was a lacto-ovo-vegetarian for fifteen years myself so I do understand the niggle. Although my mother likes salmon, she's only eating it because nagged by her GP to have it. She didn't eat it when my father was alive because he didn't approve.