Proper Diet for Stroke & Diabetes Patients

According to information from the American Diabetes Association, individuals who suffer from either type one or type two diabetes are much more likely to suffer a stroke, and so it is not an unlikely situation to be dieting for both conditions concurrently. Although you might assume that the dietary approaches for these conditions would be somewhat disparate, they are remarkably similar in principle: Simply consume a healthy diet consisting of natural foods to effectuate a healthy recovery from stroke while managing diabetes.

Diabetes and Stroke Diet

• Follow a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruit and vegetables, and limit your total consumption of fat (especially saturated and trans fats) when eating to recover from a stroke while suffering from diabetes. This advice comes courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic and the American Diabetes Association, which counsel that the moderate consumption of nutrient-dense and low-glycemic foods such as fruits, vegetables and grains can help to get your life back on track. The goal in effectuating this approach is to follow the "rainbow rule"--to consume at least one fruit or vegetable at every meal with the goal of eating a food from each color of the rainbow every single day. This shotgun approach to fruits and vegetables ensures that your body receives a sufficient blend of nutrients to help it best recover while simultaneously keeping your blood sugar regulated to deal with diabetes. Beyond subsisting on fruits and vegetables, you should make it a point to consume plenty of lean protein (especially seafood) to help provide your body with the raw material it needs to rebuild and repair damaged cells and tissue. Limit fat consumption to less than 30 percent of your total daily calories while aiming to reduce fat through substitutions whenever possible. For example, consume low-fat dairy instead of full-fat dairy, and always choose lean white meat over fatty red meat.

Regulating Blood Sugar

• Aim to keep your overall intake of carbohydrates in check to regulate your level of blood sugar in addition to consuming only carbohydrates from the sources mentioned earlier. This means keeping your daily carb intake spread out evenly across your meals--avoiding having any one meal that is significantly higher in carb intake than the others because that can trigger a blood sugar spike, even if you limit yourself to slow-digesting carbs. A good goal to set is to aim for consumption of only 30 to 40g of carbs per meal. This should give you enough leeway to fit in all the fruits, vegetables and grains that your body requires without triggering an increase in blood sugar that potentially could push your body into a state of hyperglycemia.