Eating With Multiple Chronic Illnesses

Often the hardest parts of living with a chronic health condition are all of the major diet and lifestyle changes that need to be made. Many people do not learn how much your diet can affect your overall health until they are diagnosed with a chronic illness. People who have been diagnosed with multiple chronic health conditions know this fact all too well.

Common Factors

You may be wondering why many people are afflicted by multiple chronic illnesses. It is because much of the body’s systems are connected, especially through the many functions that certain organs are responsible for. For example, it is pretty common that a person with chronic kidney disease will also have diabetes and/or high blood pressure. This is because kidney disease can be caused by diabetes, due to damage of diabetes on the kidneys. The kidneys are then unable to filter the excess waste such as sodium and extra fluid, which causes strain on the blood vessels and heart, which can cause high blood pressure and major heart problems.

Everything, you see, is connected by a series of common factors. Improper care or lack of knowledge of one chronic illness can easily lead to another, and then you have multiple issues to deal with.

Your Diet and You

Diet is one of the most important factors in treating and maintaining many chronic illnesses. Diabetes, kidney disease, and hypertension are some of these illnesses that are greatly affected by the foods you eat.

Diet is important because everything you eat gets broken down by the systems in your body, and the byproducts of those foods are filtered through your blood stream. The sugars you eat raise your blood glucose, sodium and other byproducts build up due to failing kidneys and cause swelling and more, cholesterol and saturated fats take up residence in your arteries. All of these dangerous occurrences are also all happening at once in your body. Why? Mostly, because of poor dietary choices. Choices which you have full control over and you don’t even have to suffer doing it.

Making good choices, however, can help you immensely. Not only can it help to halt or reverse the progression of certain illnesses, but a healthy diet can make you feel so much better. Think about it- without all of that excess waste deposited by poor food choices, you will have more energy, more strength, less sluggishness, less pain. If just being healthier is not enough incentive for you, certainly how you feel makes a huge difference.

Making the Right Choices

There are many diets and dieting programs out there that you could follow if you so choose. You don’t have to spend a lot of money or really even that great of effort to make healthy diet choices, however. Sticking to a few general rules of eating healthy will get you started on the right path to managing multiple chronic illnesses through diet.

•    Eat More Veggies
•    Eat Less Processed Foods
•    Avoid Simple Carbohydrates and Sugars
•    Avoid Sodium/Omit Salt from Your Diet
•    Choose Lean Meats like Fish and Poultry
•    Opt For Whole Grains Instead of White Bread, Pasta, and Rice

Eating with multiple chronic illnesses may seem like a chore, but managing your condition through a healthy diet can make a huge difference. Not only do you have the potential to stop or reverse some of the damage to your body, but you will feel so much better. Simply be vigilant and make the best choices possible when it comes to your diet. For a great meal plan, click here.