Daniella,
There's a lot on nutrition for PN in the stickies section. My posting there, at
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...p?t=177&page=2 (scroll down to item's #18 - 20) discusses this topic.
Basically, what helps your heart and general health helps your nerves function and heal. You know the drill:
- whole grain foods (good balance of fiber, good fatty acids, micronutrients, slow absorbing carbs) ,
- lots of soluble fiber from grain, beans, nuts, fruit and vegetables (absorb cholesterol and toxins from the intestine and help maintain healthy intestinal environment),
- little or no concentrated sugar from any source, including fruit and juice (really bad...stresses the liver, the pancreas, directly stresses nerves, increase inflammatory response),
- small amounts daily of high quality protein from beans, fish, eggs, small servings of lean meat (the basic building blocks of cells),
- and as MrsD stressed and me too in the sticky, a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 oils (reduce plaque, reduce inflammation, basic building block of nerve myelin sheath).
My wife and I used to be meat-and-potatoes folks, but over the years, as runners and fitness buffs we slowly changed over to a healthy diet. Start out by substituting: non-fat milk for regular or low-fat (you get used to it within a week) and then low-fat soy milk. Absolute no-nos starting now are regular sodas (about 10 tsp. of sugar per 12 oz.), sweetened coffee drinks (a vente Frappacino has about 30 tsp. of sugar!), fruit juice (same as soda, except it's fructose which is even more of a shock to you system than sucrose). Slowly switch to healthier meats or tofu, and cut portions. I hardly eat beef or pork anymore, preferring fish, tofu, or a bit of lamb occasionally because its grass fed, lean, and hormone and antibiotic free. Pass on the cake and go for fruity deserts, and eventually fresh fruit for dessert. When you cook, use olive or canola oil. I fry with olive oil almost exclusively. It's especially delicious with eggs, and in baked goods. Use Smart Balance or comparable as a spread, and eventually use NO fats on toast. On toast, my wife and I went from butter to margarine to Smart Balance to just a thin film of Smart Balance to jam only on toast...and then switched from jams or preserves to spreadable fruit that I heap on without guilt. We also went from wheat bread to whole grain breads...now wheat and white bread taste like pablum or mush to us. Your taste changes quickly to conform to what you're eating, so be adventurous and stick with the healthier foods you like.
Diet isn't enough. You also need to exercise. But that's for another thread.
Your body mass index (BMI) should be less than 25, and ideally less than 22 (see
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ ) . My BMI is 25.1 so thanks for your post. Its a wake-up call for me.
All drugs are toxic to some degree. They stress the liver and kidneys which have to eliminate them. This is something to be aware of in your search for health. As you get healthier, you might be able to reduce your daily drug intake under a doctor's supervision. We tend to add drugs as we age, and continue ones that aren't necessary. Except for carefully calibrated amounts of specific drugs to control life threatening things, we can often safely cut back or eliminate some.
You can cheat every once in a while with a clear conscience because the only angels are in heaven. Negative emotions make our life worse and our PN much worse so don't beat yourself up over any of the above. It's not your fault that you have PN. jAll of us were blind-sided by it.