Eating a healthy diet when you have heart disease and diabetes is one aspect of treatment in which you have the power to control your illnesses, improving your health as much as possible. Having diabetes with heart disease puts you at greater risk of clogging your arteries. If you continue to eat foods high in saturated fats, cholesterol, refined carbohydrates and salt, you are essentially running toward death. Effecting a positive change in your health means you must eat foods that help lower your bad cholesterol, increase your good cholesterol, keep your blood pressure stable and prevent spikes in your blood sugar.
Step 1
Refrain from eating foods high in saturated fats including cheese, butter, lard, chicken skin, coconut and full fat dairy products. Saturated fat raises your bad cholesterol, or LDL, and stimulates your pancreas to secrete insulin, promoting further plaque buildup on your artery walls and increasing your insulin resistance, according to a 2007 article by registered dietitian Janet Brill, Ph.D., published in "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal." Keep your saturated fat intake to no more than 7 percent of your total daily calories, according to MayoClinic.com.
Step 2
Replace your fatty protein with skinless chicken breast, very lean meats, lean ground poultry or meat, salmon, beans, peas, almonds and walnuts. Avoid bacon, fried or breaded meats, spareribs, hot dogs, and sausages. Eat at least two servings of fatty fish including salmon and mackerel, according to the American Heart Association. Include a daily serving of almonds or walnuts as they are high in heart- healthy fats that lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good cholesterol, according to Brill.
Step 3
Eat plenty of fiber from fruits, carrots, brown rice, beans, oats and peas as such foods help to lower your bad cholesterol, prevent spikes in your blood sugar and to fill your tummy. Follow a high-fiber diet with 25 to 26 g of fiber if you are an adult woman and 38 g of fiber if you are an adult man, according to the Colorado State University Extension website. Use the food group recommendations of the US Department of Agriculture's food pyramid to ensure you consume the correct amount of servings from whole grains, fruits, vegetables and beans.
Step 4
Limit your consumption of dietary cholesterol to no more than 200 mg, according to MayoClinic.com. Avoid shrimp, egg yolks, flounder and organ meats as such foods are very high in cholesterol.
Step 5
Eat no more than 1,500 mg of sodium, according to the American Heart Association. Excessive salt can raise your blood pressure, forcing your heart to work harder. This increases your risk of a heart attack and stroke.
Tips and Warnings
- Cook as much of your food yourself because prepackaged, commercially prepared foods are generally high in saturated fat, trans fat, refined grains, sugar and salt.
Things You'll Need
- Lean poultry
- Salmon
- Lean meat
- Fruits
- Whole grains
- Beans
- Peas
- Almonds
- Walnuts
References
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Eat Like You're in Crete: Teach Your Clients the Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet; Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D.; September/October 2007
- Mayo Clinic: Heart-healthy Diet: 8 Steps to Prevent Heart Disease
- American Heart Association: Frequently Asked Questions About Fish
- Colorado State University Extension: Dietary Fiber
- American Heart Association: Shake Your Salt Habit
