Digestive System Diseases, Nutritional Sensitivities, Hypertension, Gout, Bone Diseases

Digestive system is highly important for health protection. Our most significant defense mechanism is digestive system. Consumed nutrients must be healthfully digested and absorbed.

Some of the most frequent digestive system disorders in Turkey are gastroesophageal reflux, gastritis, ulcer, diarrhea, constipation and irritable intestine syndrome.

Disease-specific nutrition therapy is available for all digestive system diseases. In digestive system diseases, problems of individuals are significantly relieved and diseases are treated with nutrition therapy.

Generally recommended diet principles in digestive system diseases are increasing the number of meals and eating frequently in little quantities, avoidance of very cold foods, very hot foods, dry foods, spicy and salty foods, acidic/alcoholic beverages and smoking; good oral care following meals, adequate and balanced nutrition, additional nutrition support in the case of inadequate oral nutrition.

Food Allergy

Food allergy is an indication of harmful effects of some normally healthy foods on some individuals. Allergens always create pressure on immune system, primarily cause weakness and then many chronic problems.

With Food Allergy Testing performed in our hospital, foods causing allergy in your body are revealed. Changing your nutrition habits is easier than you think: You can learn the foods causing allergy in your body and needed by your body during allergy testing. Thus, the burden on immune system is relieved, your chronic disorders show noticeable improvement and may completely disappear.

Nutrition in Patients with High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is a pressure occurring around vessels when heart pumps blood. In our day, the number of patients with high blood pressure is increasing day by day. This increase is highly related with factors such as individual’s lifestyle, changing life conditions, malnutrition, stress, sadness. Blood pressure problems occurring with aging require the regulation of nutritional habits. Individuals must form new habits for low or high blood pressure problems. This leads to permanent changes in people’s lives and sometimes revision of the nutritional habits in the family of individual with blood pressure.

Nutrition Recommendations for Patients with High Blood Pressure;

• Large quantities of fruits and vegetables should be consumed regularly.
• Foods containing minerals such as magnesium, calcium and potassium have an important role in improvement of high blood pressure. Potassium is mostly found in fruits such as tangerine, orange, peach, banana and kiwi.
• Legumes containing magnesium, walnut and nut are also very beneficial in relief of high blood pressure.
• Carbohydrate and fat should be consumed in limited quantities, a plant-based nutrition should be practiced.
• Salt and fat should be avoided.
• Canned foods should be avoided.
• High-calorie foods cause weight gain and increases blood pressure.
• Individuals with weight problems should attend sports and exercise programs and lose the excess weight under the control of a dietician.
• Blood pressure should be kept in normal levels with consumed foods. Otherwise, consumed foods will lead to high blood pressure.
• Omega-3 rich foods are greatly beneficial in prevention of high blood pressure.
• Omega-3 rich foods are fish products such as sardine, salmon, tuna and sea bass.
• Vegetables such as potato, tomato, carrot, fresh bean, and green pea are also very significant to improve blood pressure. Foods containing vitamin C are important. Broccoli, Brussels sprout, savoy cabbage, garlic, celery, almond, skimmed milk and milk products are very beneficial foods for high blood pressure.
• Flaxseed is also known to be beneficial for patients with high blood pressure.
• Patients with high blood pressure should definitely stay away from alcohol and smoking.
• They should have regular and sufficient sleep every day.
• They should stay away from stress and sadness.

Nutrition in Gout Disease

Gout is a rheumatic disease. It is the most painful condition among rheumatic diseases. It is most frequently seen in toes. Gout arises from increased uric acid in blood (uric acid is a waste product in urine), or low renal excretion, or taking high quantities of purines transforming into uric acid in the body with some foods.

Gout patients must get rid of excess weight. Weight loss reduces serum uric acid levels. However, unconscious, very low calorie diets should not be practiced. Since extremely low diets may cause muscle, that is, protein breakdown, they increase the uric acid level in blood. Most healthy weight loss is the loss of weekly maximum 1 kg under the control of a dietician. In order to strengthen immune system and avoid diseases, vitamin C rich foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, pepper, kiwi should be consumed abundantly. Consumption of plenty of water helps reduction of uric acid levels.