8 Easy Diet Tips To Take Care Of Your Health After Stroke

Our sedentary lifestyle, lack of regular exercising, eating unhealthy food stuffs, smoking and alcohol addiction and lack of positive mental attitude has given rise to lifestyle diseases. This term has developed in the last two decades as our ancestors used to have a long life and number of natural deaths were high. Nowadays, the maximum number of deaths are caused by lifestyle diseases. Moreover, the life span has decreased from 85 years to 65 to 70 years. The mortality rate due to diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, heart attack, thyroid and even stroke is high in the age group of 35 to 50 years.

One of the rising disease is the brain stroke and once occurred, then chances are high that it may be experienced again. If you are diagnosed with stroke, then you must have a deep discussion with your doctor and understand your reason for stroke. You must also gather information about what kind of diet must be taken to keep your heart healthy and at the same time sideline the effect it leaves on your body. So you must customise your diet and stick with your diet regimen to prevent re-occurrence of stroke and help your body deal with its after effects.

Before choosing what to include in your diet, you must know that maintaining a good health condition is mostly related to healthy body mass index. You must have healthy weight proportions as per your height and age and therefore, you must start counting your calorie intake. Being overweight or obese is also one of the major causes of stroke. If you maintain a healthy diet routine, then you will also keep off diseases such as heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. To know what you should consume after stroke, then read these 8 easy diet tips to take care of your health after stroke:

1. Reduce Salt Intake

After stroke, you cannot proceed with your diet that you followed before the stroke. You need to be extra careful when it comes to eating salt as any increase in salt intake can increase your blood pressure, which can further cause damage to your health condition. You must eliminate taking salt in your salads, avoid eating salted chips, pickles and prefer less salt in your food. Completely avoid eating canned and processed foods that have excess salt used as preservatives. You need to maintain a normal blood pressure so that you prevent stroke from re-occurring.

2. Incorporate Fish & Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Fish is a great source of lean protein and vitamin A, D and E. It is an important source of omega 3 fatty acids that are essential for keeping our heart and brain in great health condition. Our bodies don’t produce omega 3 fatty acids and we must consume fish to give our body a good dosage of these unsaturated fats. Prepare a weekly diet chart and consume fish at least twice a week and instead of frying and making it unhealthy for your body, try baking, steaming or grilling cooking methods to keep its nutrient levels intact.

Recommended: 8 Lifestyle Changes That Can Prevent Heart Diseases

3. Limit Consumption of Meat & Dairy Products

You will find high amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol in meat and dairy products. Instead of red meat, purchase white meat and consume it two or three times a month if you want to give yourself a treat for sacrificing your favourite delicacies. Also eat the white part of the egg and avoid consuming the egg yolk that contains high cholesterol and fats. You must switch to consuming skimmed milk instead of the full cream ones to give yourself a fitness boost. Similarly, limit consumption of cheese, butter and milk cream to keep your heart and brain healthy.

4. Count Your Calories

An adult male requires around 1800 calories while an adult female requires around 1200 calories on an average per day. Keeping in mind that you have suffered from stroke, you must limit your calories to maintain a healthy body mass index. While preparing your diet chart, you must have information about how much calories each meal has and that they are not high on cholesterol too. Each meal of yours should not exceed 450 calories in case of male and 300 calories in case of female and you must pre-determine your quantities too.

5. Eat More Fruits & Vegetables

Eating more fruits and vegetables will ensure that you get enough dosage of fibre, vitamins, minerals, proteins, iron, magnesium and other nutrients. The fruits and vegetables will help you to lower your body weight and will ensure that your body gets adequate anti-oxidants to strengthen your immunity system. It will also help in detoxifying your body while keeping it well hydrated. So whenever you crave for having a fried and unhealthy snack, just lay your eyes on your refrigerator and chop your favourite fruits and vegetables and relish an awesome and healthy salad.

Also read: 12 Foods That Take Great Care Of Your Heart Health

6. Eat More Pulses, Lentils & Sprouts

Even your doctor will advise you to eat more of pulses, lentils and sprouts. Pulses, sprouts and lentils are rich in proteins and helps you in providing lots of energy. They are low in calories and they make your stomach feel full by eating small quantities. After stroke, you need to keep your body energetic so it is advised to include one pulses or lentil preparation once a day. Also you must have a breakfast of sprouts that are even healthier and helps in maintaining ideal health.

7. Eat Small Proportions At Regular Intervals

Once you have stroke, you must be very cautious while eating. You must not have a king’s meal each time. You must not skip meals or have two meals at one time. You must in fact, divide your meals into six parts and set a time for eating those small meal proportions. You must not keep yourself hungry for long or overeat. You must take responsibility of what you eat, when you eat and how much you eat and ensure that you are doing your best to avoid any further damage to your body.

8. Stop Smoking & Alcohol Consumption

It might be a matter of pride for you to celebrate your small or big achievements by consuming one glass of alcohol. But after suffering from one stroke, you must not invite another by consuming any kind of alcohol on the pretext that small quantity is good for health. Smoking too has a negative impact on your health. Smoking augments the formation of plaque in the blood vessels while increasing the rate of heart beat. Quitting smoking and alcohol is the best way to keep your heart and brain healthy.