Diet taboos for cerebral infarction

One is the long-term intake of heavily processed foods high in salt, oil, and sugar; the other is the random consumption of special ingredients that may interfere with the anticoagulant and antihypertensive effects; and the third is the one-time excessive consumption of irritating foods that may induce sudden increases in blood lipids and blood pressure. Most of the other so-called "definitely inedible" ingredients must be judged individually based on one's own indicators and medication status, and there is no unified standard answer.

I met a 62-year-old Chen two years ago when I was rotating in Shinnei. He recovered very well after being discharged from the hospital after a cerebral infarction. He could walk in the park by himself with a cane. However, in the autumn, he and his old friend ate braised pig ears and drank white wine for three days in a row. On the fourth morning, he couldn't move half of his body. He was sent here to check that it was a new cerebral infarction. His family members cried and said that the doctor said before that he should eat less salty food and drink less alcohol. He thought he was fine and didn't take it seriously. In fact, this situation is very common, especially during family dinners during holidays. Relatives and friends will advise you to "just have one bite and you'll be fine." Many people will relent. Braised meat, croquettes, and sweet soup will take turns. After a meal, blood pressure and blood lipids will skyrocket. After the holidays, the number of hospital admissions in the hospital will always increase. This is all the reason.

Let’s start with the issue of high salt that everyone is most familiar with. In fact, many people’s understanding of “less salt” is wrong. This is not to say that cooking without salt will be tasteless, but the total amount of salt per day should be controlled within 5g, which is about the amount of a beer bottle cap. What I want to mention here is that invisible salt is the hardest hit area. You may think that there is no salt in the vegetables you stir-fry, but a lot of salt is added to the pickles, braised noodles, instant noodles, and even the soda crackers and sliced ​​bread that you usually eat as a snack. Take common soda crackers as an example. Eating 100g is almost half of the daily salt intake, and it is unknowingly exceeding the standard. There are also leftovers that the elderly are reluctant to throw away, especially braised dishes and stews that are heated repeatedly. The salt will become heavier as they are simmered. If you eat too much, your blood pressure will rise.

After talking about salt, let’s talk about the most controversial issue of cholesterol. Earlier guidelines did require patients with cerebral infarction to strictly avoid egg yolks and animal offal, for fear that elevated cholesterol would aggravate blood vessel blockage. However, clinical studies in recent years have come to different conclusions: if your low-density lipoprotein can be stably controlled below 1.8mmol/L, it is absolutely fine to eat a whole egg a day and less than one or two pig livers once or twice a week. On the contrary, it can supplement high-quality protein and iron and avoid malnutrition. ； But if your blood lipids have not been well controlled, or you have a high-cholesterol constitution, then these high-cholesterol foods must be strictly controlled. No one is right or wrong, it all depends on individual circumstances.

Many people still have a misunderstanding, thinking that it is safe as long as they don’t eat meat. I once met a 70-year-old aunt who didn’t dare to eat meat after a cerebral infarction. She ate stir-fried cabbage with white porridge every day, and also liked to buy shortbread from downstairs as snacks. As a result, her blood lipids were higher during the six-month review than when she was discharged from the hospital. Think about it, the peanut oil used in cooking has more calories than fatty meat, and the shortening in shortbread is trans fatty acid, which is several times more powerful than ordinary saturated fat in raising blood lipids. There are also nut gift boxes that young people love to buy for the elderly. They are said to be healthy. If you eat them by the handful, your fat intake will be more exaggerated than eating a meal of braised pork. A handful as small as your palm can be eaten in a day is enough. Candied nuts that are added with salt and sugar should not be touched at all.

There is another minefield that is most easily overlooked by everyone, which is food that conflicts with the efficacy of medicine. Many patients with cerebral infarction have to take warfarin for anticoagulation for a long time. The effect of this drug is directly linked to the intake of vitamin K. This does not mean that foods with high vitamin K such as spinach, broccoli, and pork liver cannot be eaten at all, but they must maintain a fixed intake. If you usually eat spinach once a week, and eat half a plate each time, then keep this amount. Also, patients taking statin lipid-lowering drugs are best not to touch grapefruit. The ingredients in grapefruit will affect the metabolism of statins and can easily cause side effects such as muscle soreness and liver damage. Don’t try it on your own body.

Many family members like to make bone soup for patients to supplement nutrition. In fact, 90% of the soup is fat and purine, and the calcium content is very low. Drinking too much will increase blood lipids and uric acid. If you really want to supplement nutrition, it is better to let the patient eat two bites of lean beef and drink a cup of warm milk.

In fact, there is really no need to go overboard with your meals. You don’t dare to eat anything, and don’t just rely on your recovery to eat haphazardly. Occasionally, if you are craving for a bite of beef with soy sauce or take a bite of half a cake, it’s okay. As long as it’s light and the quantity is controlled, it’s better than anything else. After all, life has to go on, and you can’t even have some appetite for taboo food, right? But if you let go of Zao like Lao Chen did, you are really kidding with your own life.