“Heavy Taste” Diets in Elderly Increase Risk of Diabetes and Heart Disease, Says Cardiologist.

The sense of taste will deteriorate with age, so many elderly people will eat more and more “heavy taste” in their diet, laying the foundation for diabetes and heart disease. Honorary Assistant Professor of Cardiology at the University of Hong Kong and cardiologist Chen Qiyin told the “Sky Post” about a case of an eighty-year-old uncle who loves desserts very much, but his sweet eating habits made him suffer from severe diabetes, which led to “diabetes”. “Heart” problem, cardiovascular blockage; even a small piece of Tiramisu is enough to cause blood sugar to soar, so the daughter strictly controls her diet and forbids eating desserts, and the relationship between the father and daughter has repeatedly friction. Uncle was later affected by the illness and had a mild stroke, which made it difficult to swallow. Even the pills to control blood sugar were difficult to swallow. His condition was worrisome.

Additions in the same field:

Healthy Life｜Want to look beautiful inside and outside the body and reduce menstrual pain?Huang Peixia teaches 1 set of yoga moves to keep young

hket:ul-video id=”8354″/hket:ul-video

Degraded taste

Chen Qiyin, an honorary assistant professor of the Department of Cardiology at the University of Hong Kong and a specialist in cardiology, said that the uncle himself is quite “knowledgeable about food” and likes to eat food such as cola, dark chocolate, pork knuckle, beef brisket and Tiramisu. Degeneration caused his dietary taste to become heavier and heavier, and his body sounded an alarm. Among them, diabetes is the most serious problem, and his diabetes has caused him excessive cholesterol, cardiovascular blockage, high blood pressure, high uric acid, and minor strokes. Because of this, the family began to restrict his “heavy taste” eating habits, but his uncle’s blood sugar did not improve. Instead, he became more depressed emotionally and lost his appetite. His daughter came to ask for help because he was very worried about his father medical.

After a preliminary examination, it was found that Uncle’s fasting blood sugar level is about 8 degrees. Depending on the food he eats in his three meals, his postprandial blood sugar level can reach 14 degrees – 21 degrees, which is quite high. According to the definition of the World Health Organization, fasting (fasting for 8 hours or more) blood sugar level is equal to or higher than 7.0 degrees (mmol/L), or blood sugar level 2 hours after meals is equal to or higher than 11.1 degrees (mmol/L) It can be considered as having diabetes. Therefore, Dr. Chen prescribed 4 kinds of diabetes medicines for Uncle at that time, “Basically all the medicines that can be prescribed have been prescribed”, but Uncle’s blood sugar is still not under control.

Eat a small piece of Tiramisu, blood sugar also soared

Dr. Chen said frankly that his uncle and his daughter had frequent conflicts in the consulting room because of the illness, and the daughter asked her uncle to monitor her blood sugar by “finger-checking (blood sugar) 5 times a day”, constantly emphasizing: “It’s all for you. Good health”, “I want you to be healthy and live longer”. But the uncle firmly refused, and even burst into tears. Because he felt that he could no longer eat his favorite food, even if he was allowed to eat his favorite Tiramisu occasionally, he was only given a small portion the size of mahjong, but this amount was enough to cause his blood sugar to soar.

From now on, Uncle has to fast from desserts, and he can’t eat too much meat, and the taste can only be bland, which makes him feel unloved, his appetite is greatly reduced, and he even refuses to eat. As a result, the protein level in his body is even lower than that of ordinary people, and his body appears Conditions of malnutrition. A serious illness made the father depressed and his daughter exhausted, and the relationship between father and daughter fell to freezing point.

To make matters worse, Uncle suffered another minor stroke later, which made it difficult for him to swallow, even the pills used to control blood sugar in the past. At that time, his glycosylated hemoglobin increased from 8.3 degrees to 8.9 degrees in the past, but his food intake was less than before, so it can be judged that his pancreas function has been completely lost. Dr. Chen pointed out that for every 1 degree of glycated hemoglobin, the risk of cardiovascular disease can increase by 10%. Therefore, it is almost certain that Uncle’s future illness will not be as simple as a stroke, but will have “diabetic heart disease”, that is, heart disease caused by diabetes. , including coronary heart disease, heart failure, etc., are fatal enough, so it is suggested that Uncle needs to receive insulin therapy and suspend the course of oral medication.

After receiving insulin injections, Uncle’s postprandial blood sugar was greatly controlled. Although he still had to control his diet, at least he didn’t have to be as strict as before. He could occasionally taste his favorite desserts to improve his appetite and regain his appetite , the body’s nutrition returns to balance. The daughter is also happy to see her uncle recovering and her father and daughter reconciled.

Diabetes damages nerve cords and makes symptoms difficult to detect

According to the data from the Department of Health, there are currently more than 700,000 people in Hong Kong suffering from diabetes, that is, one in every 10 people is a patient. According to estimates by the International Diabetes Federation, by 2030, the number of diabetic patients in Hong Kong will increase to 920,000, and the number of patients will tend to be younger. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease seem to have nothing to do with each other, but Dr. Chen pointed out that the risk of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients is 2 to 4 times that of the general population. Because long-term high blood sugar will accelerate atherosclerosis, narrow blood vessels, and then block blood vessels, inducing various cardiovascular diseases. This kind of cardiovascular disease caused by diabetes can be regarded as “diabetic heart disease”.

Compared with general cardiovascular diseases that can cause atherosclerotic plaque or narrowing of individual blood vessels or coronary arteries, Dr. Chen said that the condition of “diabetic heart disease” is relatively complicated, which can lead to atherosclerotic plaques or narrowing of multiple blood vessels or coronary arteries at the same time. In the narrow case, the difficulty of performing “Tongbozai” surgery will be higher than that of general cardiovascular diseases. In addition, diabetes can also damage the nerve cord, resulting in a decrease in the sensitivity of patients to the symptoms of “diabetic heart disease”, failing to detect early signs of disease. Dr. Chen suggested that it is very important for patients to maintain a stable blood sugar level. Because large blood sugar fluctuations can damage blood vessels, the patient’s glycosylated hemoglobin level should be reduced to below 7% to be considered under control.

In terms of living and eating habits, Dr. Chen also advises patients to adopt a “three low and one high” diet, that is, less oil, less salt, less sugar and high fiber, while eating less desserts, carbohydrates, etc., and doing regular exercise . Patients should also monitor their blood sugar regularly and follow up on time, so that doctors can adjust the most suitable treatment strategy in a timely manner.

U Lifestyle App to watch “Sky Post” news and its own programs
↓↓Synchronous update, faster and smoother↓↓
【free download】

Get “Sky Post” every morning: Smart Living. healthy family.happy entertainment

Written by: Wu Zifeng