Health-Care Diets

When people think of diets, they often think only of losing weight. Your diet, though, is everything you eat and constantly affects your overall health. Creating a diet for specific health-care purposes helps you manage chronic diseases and, in some cases, reverse the damage the disease has caused. Your food choices can reduce pain, make you stronger, change your body chemistry and help you feel better overall. Based on research by doctors and nutritionists, health-care diets might be the key to preventing and curing illness.

High Blood Pressure

People who suffer from high blood pressure, also called hypertension, benefit from eating the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. The diet was proven effective for reducing hypertension and prehypertension in studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health. It is a low-sodium eating plan that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as well as low- and non-fat dairy. Though the diet is designed to reduce sodium levels and, therefore, decrease blood pressure, it is a healthy way of eating that benefits people of all ages and levels of health.

Type 2 Diabetes

Medical nutrition therapy, sometimes referred to as the diabetes diet, is a plan for replacing high-carbohydrate and high-sugar foods with nutrient-dense, lower-calorie options. The diet is not restrictive; instead, it aims to satisfy hunger with vegetables, fruits and whole grains, so the desire to eat unhealthy foods is quelled. Excess calories and fat create elevated glucose, or blood sugar, levels in your body, leading to a variety of chronic complications. The goal of the diabetes diet is to control glucose levels and to maintain or return to a healthy weight. The diabetes diet includes foods that are rich in fiber, fish, healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains and healthy fats such as nuts and olive oil. People following the diabetes diet should avoid high-fat dairy products, hot dogs, bacon, margarine, processed snacks and organ meat.

High Cholesterol

People diagnosed with high cholesterol benefit from the American Heart Association's healthy eating plan. This includes six ounces or less of lean meat, poultry, seafood or fish each day. The healthiest choices include lean cuts of meat, preferably chicken or turkey, chuck sirloin or lean beef and little to no processed meats like salami, bologna and sausage. Preparation is important, too. The American Heart Association suggest broiling instead of pan- or deep-frying, draining the meat after cooking to remove excess fat and removing the skin from poultry prior to cooking.

Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is considered a major risk factor for diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. If inflammation is left untreated, it causes damage to the body and eventually leads to illness. Inflammation is caused by exposure to toxins, stress, lack of exercise, genetic predisposition and an unhealthy diet. The anti-inflammatory diet includes healthy foods that reduce inflammation and provide energy, minerals, dietary fiber, vitamins, phytonutrients and essential fatty acids. Phytonutrients are plant materials necessary for sustaining life that contain protective, disease-preventing compounds. The diet should include a variety of fresh, healthy foods, eliminating as many processed products as possible. Menus should include fruits and vegetables, healthy carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, beans and whole grains, healthy fats such as fish and olive oil, and foods high in phytonutrients like mushrooms, dark leafy greens, soy, green, white or oolong tea and moderate amounts of dark chocolate.