5 Easy Diet Strategies For Managing Chronic Health Conditions

Your overall health, mood, and vigor levels are affected by your diet. That is doubly true if you are afflicted by a chronic health condition. One of the things you can do to manage your recurring ailment is by adjusting your diet. Here’s how to do it.

Since I wanted to know more, I Googled the most common debilitating illnesses and conditions that may or may not creep up on me in the coming decades.

And I have to say, the reading made me kinda nauseous.

Because the sheer breadth of misery coming my way is a tad scary.

What did I find?

What Is a Chronic Condition?

So, the Google search revealed that after you hit your 40s, you are likely to suffer from chronic pain, fatigue, nausea, inflammatory bowel disease, overactive bladder, back pain, diabetes, weight gain, cataracts…..

And the list goes on.

So what is a chronic condition? The chronic condition means any health issue, physical or mental, that lasts over time (1 year and more) or is recurring frequently.

Therefore, if you have a chronic condition the quality of your daily life is affected. Most likely, you’re limited in certain activities related to daily living. In addition, you might require ongoing medical treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), six in ten adults in the US have a chronic disease and four in ten adults have two or more!

‘’An illness is like a journey into a far country; it sifts all one’s experience and removes it to a point so remote that it appears like a vision.’’

Sholem Ash

So, naturally, I started looking for answers to the burning questions:

How can chronic illness be managed?

Can chronic disease be reversed?

Is there a way chronic conditions can be prevented?

Chronic Health Conditions Can Be Preventable, Treatable, Reversible

Chronic conditions such as diabetes, pain, stress, obesity, heart disease (the CDC article also cited cancer) are the most common and the most costly afflictions.

They also have massive implications on healthcare costs. This is worrisome, especially if you live in the US or anywhere in the world where you have to pay healthcare-related bills.

But the good news is that chronic conditions are caused by our own lifestyle choices. The most common risk behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, and poor mental hygiene can bring on these long-term health issues.

Therefore, they are also preventable, treatable, and even reversible.

Now, isn’t that a cause for celebration?!

So it got me thinking – what’s the easiest and the simplest way I can start mitigating chronic conditions right now?

Well, there’s an old saying: We are what we eat.

As Gloria Treister, H.H.P., founder of Wellness Evolution and Global Wellness Day ambassador says:

 “I want you to eat like your life depends on it, because it does.” 

In a nutshell, the food you eat has a real effect on how well you are able to function on a daily basis. In some cases, a healthy diet can even help to slow down the progression of a disease.

If you are chronically ill, think of a good diet as medicine, not just sustenance.

Here are five things you can do to make sure your diet is boosting your overall health and wellness. 

1. Eat a Plant-Based Diet

You don’t have to be a vegetarian or vegan for your diet to be healthy.

However, it’s a good idea to fill most of your plate with plant-based foods rather than meat, dairy, or eggs.

Plant-based foods tend to be nutrient-dense but low in calories, which means they nourish you and fill you up while helping you maintain a healthy weight. For example, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains are some staples of a healthy plant-based diet.

2. Avoid Sugar, Alcohol, and Caffeine

When you live with a chronic illness, it’s important to avoid substances that have a high likelihood of throwing your body’s internal balance out of whack.

Sugar, alcohol, and caffeine are three of the main things that can make your symptoms flare up when you’re sick. Stay away from these substances (or cut way back on your intake) to sleep better, keep your blood sugar stable, and avoid mood swings. 

3. Increase Your Intake of Healthy Fats

Dietary fat isn’t an enemy – in fact, it’s essential to have some fat in your diet for good health.

But the type of fat you eat matters, so choose carefully.

For example, “bad” fats include trans fats and hydrogenated oils, which are found in many processed and fried foods. Saturated fat, which comes from many animal foods, isn’t as bad as trans-fat, but it should still be consumed in small quantities. On the other hand, unsaturated fats, like vegetable oils and fatty fish, are the healthiest to consume regularly.

4. Consume Lean Meat

Red meat, such as beef and pork, contains a lot of saturated fat, so it’s best to eat it sparingly or not at all. Leaner meats like chicken and fish are a healthier source of protein. 

5. Listen to Your Body

Everyone’s body is a little bit different.

You may not have all the same nutritional needs as someone else with a chronic illness.

While it’s a good idea to follow the general guidelines of healthy eating, you should also talk to your doctor about which foods and supplements are most beneficial for you.

It’s also important to get into the habit of listening to your body and noticing how certain foods make you feel.

If you notice that certain foods make your symptoms flare up (or leave you feeling great), you can adjust your diet accordingly.

With this in mind, consider using a journal to record your experience with food.

Keeping a food journal can help you track how particular foods affect your health and well-being. 

Even nutritionists agree that it is possible to manage and improve chronic conditions with the right diet.

Here are some quick tips to help you stay on the right path and which you can implement easily.

Foods To Keep In the Cupboard

• Oats
• Wholegrain breakfast cereals
• Nuts and mixed seeds
• Nut butters
• Fish (tinned) (salmon, sardines, tuna)
• Vegetables (tinned) (tomatoes, sweetcorn) 
• Tinned fruit (mandarins, grapefruit, pears, pineapples) 
• Baked beans
• Tinned pulses (lentils, chickpeas)
• Oatcakes/rice cakes
• Popcorn
• Malt loaf/flapjacks
• Dried fruit 
• Pasta sauces and curry sauces 
• Rice (basmati and wholegrain)
• Couscous and pasta 
• Vegetable crisps (lentil, parsnip, beet root)
• Dark chocolate 
• Cheese (cheddar, feta, halloumi)

Foods To Keep in Your Freezer

• Fillets of fish (plain or breaded) and fish cakes
• Sausages (veggie or meat)
• Chicken
• Wholegrain bread
• Frozen fruit and vegetables (berries, pineapple, broccoli, peas, green beans, spinach, broad beans, sweetcorn, cauliflower, chopped onions)
• Herbs

Healthy Snack Ideas

• Wholemeal pitta bread with houmous and carrot sticks
• Avocado with vegetable crisps (lentil, parsnip, beetroot)
• Oatcakes with sliced apple and blue cheese
• Rye crisp bread with cream cheese/cottage cheese, salmon and cucumber
• Yoghurt with berries and granola
• Nuts and seeds with slice apple and cheddar cheese
• Mashed banana and avocado sprinkled with desiccated coconut
• Dark chocolate
• Dried fruits and nuts and seeds mix

Quick, Easy Meals For Busy Days

• Baked beans on wholemeal toast with grated cheese
• Grilled cheese and sliced tomato on wholegrain toast
• Jacket potato with filling (tuna mayonnaise with sweetcorn, cottage cheese with herbs, baked beans and cheese, chicken, sweetcorn and natural yoghurt) and salad 
• Breaded fish/fish cake/pre-cooked fillet of fish with new potatoes and frozen/tinned veg
• Soup with wholegrain bread roll
• Couscous with frozen roasted vegetables and feta or halloumi 
• Porridge with nut butter and berries

• Pre-cooked packets of rice with chorizzo
• Wholemeal Pitta pizzas with /tomato puree and cheese
• Pasta with sweetcorn and tinned tuna
• Wrap or sandwich filled with chicken/hummus/falafel with salad

Meals for Healthy Bulk Cooking

• Bolognese sauce
• Meat or vegetable curry
• Casseroles
• Soups
• Pasta dishes
• Fishcakes or burgers 
• Chilli con carne with rice and sweetcorn

Before storing the prepared dishes in the freeze, let them cool down to room temperature and stick a date label on the container.

Living with chronic illness or pain is challenging. So far, I have been very lucky to have only had a mild brush with this issue. I can only hope that the few tips I’ve put together in this article will help you at least alleviate some of the symptoms and make your day a little better.

Disclaimer:

This article was written by Zuzana Halliwell. I am not a doctor or health professional and cannot be held liable for the information written here. This article is meant to provide information about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. The content is based on my own personal experience and on information provided by medical professionals that is available to the public.