Question

Gregorio Salcedo a 30 year old Mexican American obese; his parents both have high

cholesterol and family history of Hypertension and DM. Gregorio’s cholesterol is high. What would be your recommendations to achieve a Positive Nutrition Lifestyle.

Answer 1

Since his both parents had history of high cholesterol hypertension and DM, he is also high risk for developing hypertension and DM in future. Now he already developed with HIgh cholesterol level. All these can together contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and other cardiac related problems in Him. Educate him regarding the importance of following a healthy lifestyle inorder to reduce the high cholesterol level.

Advise the patient to avoid saturated fatty diet from his food and include, more fruits and fresh vegetables in his diet. He need to avoid all fast food items because they are full of sturated fatty acids and artificial food colours, which can contribute to incresed cholesterl. Limit the alcohol and other carbonated beverages use, because they can contribute to hypertension.Fruits and vegetables are the rich sources of soluble fiber, they provide a feeling of fullness for the patient and thus reduce his apetite.Avoid the usage of Canned food items, pickles etc because they are rich in salt and contribute to development of hypertension.He can avoid red meat, processed meat etc from his daily diet, or he can cut short the amount of processed meat, because they are rich in Low density lipo protein which is a bad cholesterol for heart and blood vessels. Instead of eating processed meat, he can include a diet rich in fish, which contains lot of omega 3 fatty acids, considered to be good for heart, body and blood vessels.

The use of saturated or refined oil for cooking can be avoided at home and use olive oils for cooking. Advise him to better consume the home made food items and to avoid the fast food.the daily diet must include 3-4 liters of water daily to avoid the risk of dehydration and improve the blood supply. He can include beans, oats, barley berries and sprouts in his daily diet, since they are the rich sources of fiber. Cut short the sugar, salt and processed food items.

Apart from controlling his diet, he need to engage in a daily exercise regimer for atleast 30 minutes, the exercise regimen can include daily walking, swimming etc. Avoidance of sedentary life styles along with exercise therapy and healthier diet can helps to control hypertension, DM and increased cholesterol levels.

He can consult a dietician as well as a physician for the prper diet plan. Regular BP monitoring, Blood sugar monitoring, LFT monitoring will helps in following a healthy life style.