What to feed someone who recently had a heart attack

Parent Cafe
21

We eat a lot of ground turkey, turkey steaks, chicken and fish. No red meat. I try to stay pretty low on carbs. I don’t serve any potatoes, pasta, bread, etc. Our dinners are a meat/seafood, veggies and a fruit. Yogurt for dessert.
Almond milk with our cereal in the a.m.

Spaghetti squash w/ onions, peppers, Italian seasonings and tomato sauce
Roasted eggplant with Italian seasoning and sauce.
Soups using chicken, ground turkey (great for chili and meatballs), veggies, and salt free canned tomatoes/sauce/paste and no sodium chicken broth.

Snacks for us are nuts (soy nuts are great and low sodium), fruit, fat-free greek yogurt, homemade cookies without eggs (use bananas and sugarless apple sauce instead)

Make your own granola bars using oats, honey, peanut butter and add in’s like raisins, cinnamon,nuts (be sure to buy the peanut butter w/ just one ingredients…peanuts!). Krema is my fav. but Smuckers Natural is good too. We also keep sugar-free gum in the kitchen drawer at all times. Good substitute from too many snacks.

Highly encourage checking out the “food and drink” section of Pinterest but have to be pretty specific in the search box or you’ll drown in all the recipes.

22

I had a neighbor who was diabetic and on renal dialysis (now has a transplant). I just asked her what she could eat and made it. I believe it ended up being some type of egg dish.

23

Heart attack survivor here – as nrdsb4 mentioned, the key to eating greens while on coumadin is to eat a CONSISTENT amount of greens every day.

I eat salad all the time – my go-to eating out food is a Chipotle salad bowl – greens, brown rice, black beans, chicken, tomatoes and corn. 570 calories, 1470 mg sodium (which is not great, but 2/3 of it is from the seasoned tomatoes and corn, and I consider that in what else I eat that day).

I eat chicken, fish (esp. salmon), turkey, nuts, olive oil, nonfat cottage cheese, nonfat yogurt and beans as my proteins/healthy fats. I have upped my whole grains, fruits and veggies. Many cardiac patients are advised to watch carbs, too (which makes it hard for me to find food that is lowfat, low sodium, high fiber, not too high in Vitamin K, AND low carb). Sodium is often contraindicated, and it is EVERYWHERE. It’s harder to do low sodium than low fat.

What has been hardest for me to drop/severely limit are cheese and bread. As a pasta/bread/pizza/fondue fan, this is very challenging. Candy, cake and chocolate – I don’t miss so much.

I TOTALLY get your neighbor eating plain chicken and steamed broccoli. I am still experimenting with what I can add to food and still lose weight/manage the cardiac stuff, and I keep going back to an incredibly short list of foods.

If your neighbor is doing cardiac rehab, they will often have a consulting nutritionist. At my rehab, she is there a couple days a week and her services are included in the rehab fee. If she has diabetes, nutritional counseling is important.

One of my neighbors brought me a chicken and tomato dish that was delicious – I can dig out the recipe if you want.

24

My grocery store makes fresh veggie salsa that has almost no sodium. Tortillas often have a lot of salt.
Cabot makes a 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese that I wouldn’t eat for just munching, but is fine to shred on top of things.

The nutritionist at rehab advises folks to stay below 2000 mg of sodium daily. My number is 1400 mg.

25

Check your local public library for cookbooks on the subject. There are many diverse ways to eat to be heart healthy.

26

For heart healthy snacks, I like to keep around: low-fat string cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and fruit, such as strawberries and blueberries (I will pay premium price for them when they’re out of season just to keep them in the house for snacking), and no-salt added mixed nuts that I get at Costco. Those are my ‘go-to’ items that I almost always try to have on hand.

While salt is something to be careful of, especially if one already has high-salt intake, many studies are starting to link sugar intake with CVD, and some people suggest sugar can be more detrimental to heart disease than salt. So we need to not only look at sources of hidden salt in prepared foods, but hidden sugars. The sugar intake is not a risk because it leads to obesity and many times diabetes, but because it can set off an inflammatory reaction. I suspect in the next 5-10 years, more physicians will speak out more about this causation, and those who wish to maintain good cardiovascular health will have to make some major changes in how they eat.

27

Most of you are saying lowfat and nofat. Most of the research now points to problems with sugar and inflamation as causing heart problems. Your body NEEDS fat - lots of good fats. Not all those refined sugars.

28

^^^yup. I count carbs as a proxy for keeping sugar intake down. I have found that a lot of low-fat foods add sugar to make it taste better.

29

Yep. The low fat no fat are old school. Even the cholesterol factor has been re-looked at (though you will find plenty of doctors who appear to be ignorant of all the new research and continue to prescribe statins for people whose cholesterol is not the problem). It is the inflammation markers and triglyceride numbers which are the most important. In order to get these numbers down, it’s important to reduce the amount of sugar and refined carbohydrates in the diet. Dietary cholesterol and fat are no longer considered the culprit in heart disease, it is inflammation of the blood vessels.

Yep. They will add sugar or other high refined carbohydrate fillers.

@interesteddad has all this stuff down. He should write a book for lay people which would explain it in easily understood terms. For that matter, forget just lay people, nurses would benefit from it as well. He’s better than most doctors on it.

30

Ornish was tough. My FIL tried to stick with it some years ago. Couldn’t do it. There were a lot of Tex Mex inspired dishes, ironically.

OP, how big a change is this is your friends’ lives? If they used to eat a lot of fried foods and fast food, just making some directional progress toward a better diet would be great. If they could eat baked potatoes instead of french fries, for example, that would be great. Jumping all the way to veganism would be too much!

31

First of all, I think it’s fantastic that you want to help your friend!

Secondly, just a disclaimer, I have not had a heart attack (thankfully), so I am not too familiar with any specific medication interactions/restrictions, etc.

However, I did eat really unhealthy for years and years (although I grew up with a relatively healthy diet), and I decided to make a change, specifically to improve my overall health. In the process, I also lost about 25-30 pounds in a little under a year.

Here’s what worked for me.

I started with my top problem - sugar. I don’t believe it’s the same problem for everyone (for your friend, it may be fast food or eating out too much). But for me, I just ate sugar all the time. I limited my sugar intake to 50 grams of added sugar a day, the old recommendation - the new recommendation for women is 25 grams of sugar a day, but for someone who literally ate sugar all the time, it was just unrealistic. However, I counted everything that had added sugar, not just dessert, but bread and canned things, etc.

To combat sugar cravings, I ate as much fruit as I wanted. Including bananas, mangos, etc. Again, I don’t know if it works well for everyone, but it worked really well for me - I don’t believe in cutting out fruits.

I started eating breakfast (oatmeal) on a regular basis. I also didn’t eliminate anything from my diet, but I made a deal with myself that I would only have one serving size - as in, if I want chips, go for it, but just the one serving size.

From there, for me, the next step was eliminating processed foods almost entirely. Nothing frozen or in bags, etc. etc. (except for dessert - I still have a dessert every night).

I am still in the process of eating healthier. It’s a journey, and this is just a brief summary, but here’s where I am today:

For breakfast, I have steel-cut oatmeal with milk (whole milk, no sugar added). Sometimes, I will have a bagel with cream cheese, when we have them at work. Again, I am not trying to cut out any foods. This is not a diet for me, but a lifestyle change.
For lunch, I have a cheese sandwich on whole wheat or quinoa bread, with a little butter and Swiss cheese, and some cucumbers, or tomatoes, or radishes.
Then, I usually snack on some nuts in the afternoon.
And then I have a grapefruit later on.
When I come home, I have fruit (I do eat a lot of bananas).
Then, I have an avocado - I eat an avocado a day - I love them.
I also have a little bit of plain whole Greek yogurt (no sugar added)
For dinner, I have a protein (I don’t eat meat - I stopped eating meat years ago) - lentils, green peas, sardines, oysters, cheeseetc., but no processed stuff, like vegetarian meets - I LOVE them, but, again, I am trying to stay away from processed foods - and a mix of vegetable. The veggies I usually have are broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, asparagus, spinach - in different combinations. I love mushrooms too!
After dinner, I have dessert - that sweet tooth is still there! I have lowered my total added sugar intake to 35 grams a day though, and some day hope to go down the recommended 25 grams, but not any time soon.
I snack on fruit throughout the evening.

Generally, I don’t count calories (again, this may not work for everyone) - in the beginning, I just tried to stick to one portion/serving of everything. Approximately, I think I eat a little over 2,000 calories a day.

On the physical activity front, I started walking my dog at least a mile and a half a day. I probably do about 4-5 miles total a day over the course of just regular activity. I also run stairs in my building (to the seventh floor and down, 3 times) five times a week, and I am training push-ups three times a week.

As I mentioned, I lost about 25-30 pounds and am now back to my healthy weight - within about five pounds of the weight I was back in high school (and I was a very healthy teen). More importantly, I have been getting sick (colds) a lot less. I am less achy. I have more energy! I really can tell the difference.

Personally, I don’t believe in low-calorie, fat-reduced foods. Besides tons of sugar, I think they are too highly-processed. My personal goal is to get nutrition from the foods, rather than powders, supplements, etc. I know not everyone will agree.

By, the way, I will go out and eat freshly-made pizza or pasta - nothing wrong with that.

I think eating healthier is so personal for everyone. I would see what route your friend wants to take. Personally, I don’t think there is anything wrong with bringing steamed veggies as a side (that’s what I eat, in large part because I don’t cook (and don’t want to cook) and work long hours, so I need meals I can do in under 10 minutes - same as I could back when I ate frozen/processed foods). But I do buy only fresh veggies, no frozen - I have stopped using my freezer entirely.

For snacks, personally, I would not welcome flavored yogurts (too much sugar, too processed) or low-fat stuff (same issues). She may feel differently. I like edamame, avocados, nuts, sometimes string cheese, lots of different fruits. I would rather have something ‘boring’, but something I feel good about eating. I didn’t always feel that way.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it’s such a personal journey and choice, that it’s hard to give advice.

32

I’d make a pot of cabbage soup–you can use low-salt chicken broth and include other veggies as well. This is a Weight Watchers recipe that I use. The only modification I make is NOT to use the spray oil to sauté the onions, garlic, and carrots. I use 2T of real extra virgin olive oil and add the tomato paste to this mixture and then add the broth and cabbage and other vegetables. Soup is something that gets better each day, it’s healthy, and your neighbor can have it for several meals. The recipe calls for non-fat broth–you could also look for low-salt broth.
http://www.food.com/recipe/ww-0-point-weight-watchers-cabbage-soup-128956

33

I enjoyed your post, and congrats on your weight loss and healthier life style. I will submit that you are young, most likely NOT post menopausal or insulin resistant, so losing weight will likely come easier to you than to someone my age. For people who may be insulin resistant and have metabolic syndrome (possibly quite likely in someone who has had a heart attack), your diet is still pretty high in carbohydrates (grains, bagels, pizza, unlimited fruit) and might not work for this population. You are right that it is very individual. My DH can tolerate unbelievable amounts of carbohydrates and even sugar, and he is 54. Your diet might work very well for even post menopausal women who process carbohydrates efficiently.

When I was in my 30’s my diet was very similar to yours. I worked out daily, and I was a size 2, with great muscle tone and so much energy. Sigh…even with working out, I cannot tolerate carbohydrates to any degree like I used to.

I think you are on to a good thing by trying to eliminate processed foods, fast food, etc. Good job.

I need to get back to that myself. It’s the only thing which works for me.

34

@Bromfield2, that cabbage soup sounds delicious. I’m a cabbage girl. :slight_smile:

35

Thank you, @Nrdbd4!

I completely agree with you! I think I have it easy on so many fronts (younger age, healthy weight and diet during teenage years, no known chronic issues, etc.) - I know I have to count myself very, very lucky.

Just as a note though, the bagels and pizza are very rare for me. I may have a bagel once every two weeks, when we have them at work. Pizza only when I am eating out, which I do pretty rarely, no more than a couple of times a month. Generally, when I have carbs, I do whole-grain only, no white breads, and something relatively freshly-baked. But agreed, if a person has some sort of a condition where carbs are an issue, my plan may not work well for them at all. For me, I don’t want to get rid of carbs or even go low-carb. My ultimate goal is to just have a balance of everything - the fats, the carbs, the proteins, and get those things from fresh, minimally-processed foods. It’s not perfect. It’s definitely a journey in progress :slight_smile:

36

Great ideas everyone. I think this weekend I will make ratatouille and brown rice to bring over. That is also something that stays good for a few days. I will watch the canned tomatoes for added sugar and salt. While visiting I will ask about restrictions because of meds, etcetera.

37

@acollegestudent, I think your diet will serve you very well as you age. You will likely be able to avoid becoming insulin resistant, vs. someone who is already there trying to suddenly turn it around with diet.

38

You could go here. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/Recipes/Heart-Healthy-Recipes_UCM_465114_RecipeLanding.jsp

Basically food that fits a Mediterranean diet – lots of fish, olive oil, vegetables, poultry, and avoid red meat, eggs, cheese and keep the sodium down. There are probably plenty of things you already cook that would be fine.

39

There’s really no need to avoid eggs. Eggs were let off the hook years ago for being an unhealthy food.

40

I have metabolic syndrome, which was a big part of my cardiac event.
Eggs are totally allowed in my diet. Good, quick protein. Throw in veggies and a little cheese and voila!