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It's easy to get answers about health and nutrition! Just send your question by email to [email protected] and Dr. Harlan will respond to selected questions of general interest. Answers will be posted in the Ask Dr. Gourmet newsletter (sign up now!) and archived in the Ask Dr. Gourmet section of the website.

Please note that the Ask Dr. Gourmet feature is restricted to questions regarding food and nutrition. Due to the many questions we receive, not all questions may be answered. For more specific questions about your individual health, please contact your doctor. About Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy


 

Ask Dr. Gourmet

Is there a diet for diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, as well as type 2 diabetes, GERD, and Coumadin?

In our household we have members with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, reflux, and Coumadin use. Your Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan program sounded like a custom combination could be made to cover all of us. However, the diabetic, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure diets are not choices.

The 4 of us range in age from 28-64 and need to lose 50 - 100 pounds. We are motivated to get started if only we could come up with a diet that would work for all of us. What would you suggest we do? Your website could be a lifesaver for all of us.

Dr. Gourmet Says...

Shrimp Scampi - Yes, it's healthy!

We now know that the most effective diet for all three of the issues you mention is Mediterranean style diet. There is tremendous research to show that eating this way can effectively treat diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. All of the recipes on the Dr. Gourmet web site are based on Mediterranean diet principles and we translate those principles to familiar American recipes for you. You can read about this by using The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan Coaching program, a collection of brief essays on how to eat healthy.

You are correct that a lot of folks who have these sorts of problems also have other challenges like acid reflux or are taking Coumadin (warfarin). This is why we have tagged every recipe to let you know how a dish might affect other conditions.

We have lots of folks who write us to tell their stories of how they have lost weight and had improvements in their blood sugars and blood pressure. We'd love to hear from you as y'all work to get healthier. Write to us at [email protected].

Thanks for writing,

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS
Dr. Gourmet