Heart Healthy for Dummies

You need to meet with the hospital nutritionist, since he's in the hospital it should be a free visit and consult. They will be able to give you all the guidance you need.

I suggest you add oatmeal to his diet. Oatmeal for breakfast, oatmeal cookies, etc...my brother lowered his cholesterol nearly 50 points by adding only oatmeal to his diet.

Just do not use any artificial sweeteners or fake fats. They are unhealthy and can cause many side effects.

I also suggest that you do start using leaner meats and probably using less meat but you don't have to go vegetarian. He can eat normal foods but just in moderation. My dad had many heart issues and did have a stroke that left permanent damage to one of his eyes. His diet wasn't a drastic change suddenly. The docs at the VA hospital here in OKC said that he wouldn't like the new diet and would likely sneak foods if they were restricted and totally taken away suddenly. SO if you do decide together to change drastically consider doing it slightly slower so you can adjust to the new foods.

So sorry to hear about your husband...sending healing thoughts your way!

As was suggested, speak to the nutritionist. It is almost a given he will be on a blood thinner for quite some time...and depending which thinner (and other meds) his diet will be impacted. Leafy green vegetables can interfere with some blood thinners for example (coumadin for instance).

The nutritionist will (or SHOULD be aware of food/drug interactions.

I am hoping he is able to be released soon...and smooth sailing for him!

There are a zillion cookbooks and websites on this, and most recipes can be adapted to a heart-heatlhy version. There is also tremendous research over the past 16 years on ways to reduce cholesterol dramatically through safe supplementation. I've been in numerous conferences with the researchers so can give you more information on easy ways to incorporate it into your life. There's also the prevention aspect that is good for you and your kids.

Just to let you know - a friend's husband had 2 sudden strokes despite a healthy lifestyle before that (he teaches yoga, etc.) - and he's made great strides incorporating these changes in a simple manner. A lot of times there's so much positive change that the doctors start taking the patients off the medications, which is great.

There are many books about heart healthy living. His doctor may be able to recommend specific ones. Otherwise go to the library and/or the book store and look several over to find one that looks to have information helpful to you.

The Internet is a good resource. You can check out various approaches to heart health to find one that fits best in your life.

Most insurance plans will also pay for classes provided by your medical provider on how to change your life style. Ask about them from your doctor's office. I've found nurses to be a better resource some of the time. And hospitals and health plans often are the ones providing the classes.

Now you know to have regular physical exams that include tests that measure many things. If your husband had been doing this the tests would most likely have given an indication that this was in the process. Don't beat yourselves up over this but let it be information that gets you to now make an appointment for a physical exam for yourself. Be proactive in caring for both of yours health from now on.

When your husband is discharged, he will be given information for continued care. Take changing your life style one step at a time. There isn't much you can do to make actual changes in a weeks period of time. Just knowing that you want to do so is big, right now. Focus on being with him, encouraging him and letting him feel your love and support.

I googled "heart health for dummies" and found several books. The first one is an actual Dummies book and sounds to be helpful. http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Heart-Dummies-Lifestyles-Pa...

Before you leave the hospital, ask for a consult with a dietician who can visit with you and help you plan some healthy lifestyle changes. You could do that now. Is the doctor scheduling him for any rehab? They could help him exercise safely. You might also want to sign up with WEB MD - and then select the areas of interest to you. It is free and they will email you information daily or weekly on healthy eating, heart health and other things. They have great recipes, and good suggestions in interesting formats. You have had a very scary week. It is worth it to make the lifestyle changes for him and the whole family.

Eat lots of Salmon, avacados, nuts like almonds and walnuts for the good oils that actually help the good cholesterol.

Eat vegetables like greens cooked in olive oil or butter substitute like Smart Balance (not margarine).

If you ever eat bread, make sure it says 100% whole wheat (not "enriched wheat). Have you husband take a fiber supplement like psyllium which is the active ingredient in Metamucil...it has been found to lower cholesteral.

My very healthy husband had a stroke last year and it was the scariest thing I ever had to go through. He had just had a physical a few weeks before and everything was fine so I understand the shock. We were blessed that the clot moved and broke up on it's own so surgery was not necessary and he didn't have any permanent damage. His cholesterol went down after 6 months of medication, along with watching his diet (which was pretty good to begin with) and drinking metamucil. The dr decided that he will stay on high blood pressure to lower the chances of another stroke and a daily aspirin. Make sure he stops smoking and drinking (if he does) and excerises regularly. Follow up with neurologist and cardiologist to try to get more answers, we found that my husband had a small whole in his heart which is common but could have caused it. Be patient with him, my happy carefree husband became slightly depressed and in a constant fear that it would happen again. It took time for him to get back to normal. Good luck, hope he gets better ASAP.

I just wanted to say, so sorry this happened! It must be so scary.

Wow, what a scare you've been through! I've been reading and following the Dr. John McDougall way of eating almost 20 years. Here are some starters.
Watch the movie "Forks Over Knives"
http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_cholesterol.html
(Yes, it's contrary to what Lilmrscraneage C. posted below. Because, how is eating lard and duck fat helpful in your husband's situation? I'm not a nutritionist, it's just common sense to eat less (or no) fat and more veggies.)
http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_cholesterol.html
http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_heartdisease.html
http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_highbloodpressure.html
http://www.drfuhrman.com/disease/HeartDisease.aspx
http://www.drfuhrman.com/disease/BloodPressure.aspx
http://www.tcolincampbell.org/courses-resources/article/c...

Hi A.!

I am sorry you both went through that. That would scare me tremendously if I were in your shoes.

The government standard for a "Heart Healthy" Diet is outdated. The focus there is on an extremely low-fat and "healthy whole grain" diet. The problem is that newer research is finding that consuming "healthy whole grains" can cause a host of health problems.

High cholesterol is present when there is inflammation in the body. Cholesterol receives such terrible press when our bodies actually NEED cholesterol for proper functioning. The presence of high cholesterol in and of itself is not the problem - it is the indicator that there is a problem. The problem is chronic inflammation and identifying the root(s) that is causing it.

The number one major change your husband (and any human on the planet) can make from a dietary standpoint is to cut out industrial seed oils (ANY vegetable oil - corn, canola, soybean, peanut, safflower, sunflower). They are the number one cause of inflammation in the body in modern, Western diets. Seed oils (outside of ancient olive and palm oil) did not exist prior to the Industrial Revolution. The reason is that seeds do not have enough oil to easily pull out the oil. The creation of these oils requires extremely high heat and chemicals to create. This process creates a really high Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio (which translates to inflammation), and the process causes the oil to go rancid. So after extraction they are chemically colored and deodorized to make them look and smell appealing for consumption.

This sounds like a simple diet change, but any packaged food or any restaurant food will always use some form of industrial seed oil. The way to get away from them is to 1) cook more at home 2) when eating out, choose things that have not been cooked in oil.

As for fats/oils that are "heart healthy" and have a low Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio there are:

- Olive Oil
- Palm Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Ghee (which is also called clarified butter) - It is butter that has been gently heated to separate the fat from the solids and protein so all that is left is the pure fat
- Lard (not modern, hydrogenated and shelf-stable lard but traditionally rendered lard that should be refrigerated)
- Beef Tallow
- Chicken Schmaltz
- Duck and Goose Fat

There is a nuance to the oils! Olive, Palm, Coconut and Avocado Oil should all be unrefined and cold-pressed.

There is also a nuance to the animal fats! If they come from animals raised in a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (you can google this for more info), are fed antibiotics regularly and are fed food that is not natural for them to eat, then their fats will have a high Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio. You want animal fats from pastured animals, eating a diet their species was designed to eat. Most of the animal fats listed above you can render yourself and may be able to find some of them locally through a farmer/rancher.

You can look for local sources in your area by going to:
http://www.eatwild.com/
or
http://www.localharvest.org/

This website has highly reputable meats as well as beef tallow, pork lard and duck fat:
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/

I hope this is a great starter point for you, and I do hope I did not overwhelm you! May your husband be truly "heart healthy" soon!!

God's Grace to you,

Lisa :)

*Edit In Response to Maggie's Post*

"It's just common sense to eat less (or no) fat"
With due respect to Maggie, common sense is to spend time researching and understanding what causes high cholesterol. Fat consumption does NOT cause high cholesterol, BUT the WRONG FAT consumption will cause high cholesterol. The question to ask (and to research intelligently) is discover why certain types of fats cause inflammation in the body and lead to increased cholesterol in order to moderate the problematic, chronic inflammation and why other fats do not have that effect.

Please see these links in response to Maggie's:
http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Vegetarianism.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/cmasterjohn/author/CMAS...

Chris Masterjohn is one of the most highly researched people in the area of cholesterol.

Lard and Duck Fat are both ancient forms of fat consumption and the phenomenon of high cholesterol and heart disease is a NEW phenomenon in the modern world.

As a personal aside, I consume both a large amount of fats as well as vegetables and my last physical exam my Nurse Practitioner commented on how my triglyceride level is the best she's ever seen. It is 50. That is not due to superior genetics. It's due to an understanding of why it's okay (and actually necessary) to consume some types of fats and not to ever consume others (addressed in initial post). And of course I would NEVER shun the wonderful vege! I would actually give you a highly educated reason why you should consume plenty of veges that are sustainably and locally grown (cooked in a good fat of course)!