Healthy Heart Diet

Doctors are hailing a ‘slow burn’ diet that helps heart patients recover faster from bypass surgery. A study shows those who ate ‘heart healthy’ foods for four weeks before their operation left hospital two days earlier than those eating normally.

Doctors believe the nutrition regime could save the NHS millions and free up beds. Professor Tony Leeds of King’s College, London, said the study showed that simple changes to everyday meals could help patients cope better with surgery. He said the 'heart health diet' rapidly improved levels of cholesterol and other components in the blood.

Those on the diet were able to go home seven days after surgery, compared with an average of nine-and-a-half days for those eating their usual foods. Professor Leeds said: ‘Around 22,000 heart bypass operations are carried out each year, so cutting the average length of stay in hospital could have enormous implications for the NHS.’

Professor Leeds and colleagues from London’s Imperial School of Medicine compared the progress of 35 patients awaiting a bypass. For four weeks beforehand, half were asked to eat a diet containing foods with a low Glycaemic Index (GI). The body breaks down these foods more slowly into glucose, resulting in a slower rise in blood-sugar levels.

Low GI foods include pasta, muesli, basmati rice, whole fruit, beans and pulse vegetables. The remaining patients ate their usual diet, including high GI foods such as beer, white bread, white rice and sugary cereals. These release large amounts of glucose quickly, causing a rapid rise in blood-sugar levels.

After surgery, according to a report in the June issue of the Journal Of Human Nutrition And Dietetics, patients on the low GI diet went home more quickly and suffered fewer complications.

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Healthy Heart Diet

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