BSD for a vegetarian with hypertension

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  • posted by Crossprue
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    Hi, I started the BSD 2 weeks ago (800 cal) because I was found to be prediabetic, and I am finding it quite easy so far except that I miss bananas! The problem is that I am vegetarian (plus a bit of fish) with hypertension and also my cholesterol levels are a bit on the high side. I am not supposed to eat full fat dairy, and only a tiny bit of cheese (my weakness). There aren’t many main course veggie recipes in the recipe book if you exclude the cheesy ones, and I’m worried that eating lentils and pulses without accompanying grains will mean that I’m not getting complete protein. Trying to work out a menu to accommodate my requirements is proving a bit tricky and I feel a bit restricted. Luckily I like eggs! Any suggestions would be welcome. The other question I have is how many grams of carb should I be aiming for every day? If I knew this it might make it easier to adapt other recipes. Many thanks everyone for reading my first post.

  • posted by arcticfox
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    Hi Crossprue, I’m similar to you in that I’m vegetarian who eats the odd bit of fish and that I have elevated cholesterol. I am not diabetic or prediabetic, but I do have reactive hypoglycemia. I am with you on the missing bananas as I recently had some time with a continuous glucose monitor and found that they cause me to spike and crash. I wouldn’t worry too much about not getting complete protein by excluding grains. You can get adequate essential amino acids by varying your protein sources and mixing multiple things together. For instance, I make a Greek lentil salad that also has either pine nuts or sunflower seeds and just a bit of feta for flavouring. Nuts and seeds are a good source of protein and hemp seeds in particular offer nearly complete protein. Also, if you can eat soy products such as tofu (I can’t because I’m unfortunately allergic), then you will get complete protein from that as well. Remember also that all foods are a mix of protein, carbs and fats in varying proportions. As long as you are eating a wide variety of plants, mixed with the odd egg and fish, your protein should not be an issue. I have a harder time meeting my iron and b12 requirements, but I have started using nutritional yeast in a number of things and also nori seaweed. I make a riceless sushi for a treat every now and then. Although you might not want to have full fat dairy, if you can find half fat yogurt or kefir, that will give you less proportion of carbs than the no fat versions and will also help your gut microbes. Yogurt with flaxseed, chia and hemp seeds and some berries is one of my favourite things now.

  • posted by Crossprue
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    Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions, arcticfox. Yoghurt, berries and chia seeds is my go-to breakfast. I’ll have to learn some new food group combinations in my veggie meals.

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