I Need Help...For My Mom and Dad

My mom just went to the doctor and found out she was pre-diabetic. My dad found out he has high blood pressure, and high cholesterol! As much as I stress healthy lifestyles, they laugh and make jokes about their health. I'm 14 and I really want my parents to be their for their grandkids someday! 

Is there anyone out there that has had one of these aliments before? Are there any foods that I should tell them to avoid, or that they should have?? I really am worried and scared! Please help! 

I don't know a lot about it, but when you have high blood pressure, you should avoid foods high in sodium and salt.  I think high cholesterol is attributed to red meats and eggs...and I'm really not sure what to do for a pre-diabetic.

Also, exercise is extremely important for any of those conditions, as well as balanced nutrition and most likely, better portion control.  I'm sure someone else will have much more information, or a great site to look at.

The good news is that these things are reversable, for the most part.  I'm not sure about pre-diabetes, but maybe she has caught it in time...

Thank you sooo much! I am so worried! Any advice helps!

My mom's pre-diabetic as well. Her doctor told her to lose weight, namely by watching her carbs & sugar, since that is a diabetic's issue. She also should be eating regularly, to keep her insulin levels stable.
High blood pressure runs in my family as well [although mine is extremely low], & for that you wanna cut down on sodium.
A big source of cholesterol is egg yolks.
My parents take a lot of supplements & my dad's a huge advocate of taking Rescue1250 fish oil supplements. They've been miracle workers for our family, DRASTICALLY improving the health & numbers of everyone we recommended them to.

My Dad has all three of those conditions rolled into one.  His dr put him on a low sodium and caffeine diet for the blood pressure/cholesterol, and a no processed sugars or simple carbs diet for the pre-diabetes. 

 The diets are a little more complex than that, but that's the gist of them.  He's 70 and active, which helps a lot though.

My dad was diagnosed with high cholesterol and, like you, I freaked.  I was only 17 at the time and did not want to lose my dad in the prime of his life.  My whole family made some changes to our diet and not only did his cholesterol drop to VERY healthy levels, but we all got healthier as well.  Here are some of the things we did:

1) started cooking in olive oil and not butter or even vegetable oil.  Nothing's wrong with vegetable oil, but olive oil has more heart-healthy fats that actually lower cholesterol.

2) Eating more lean meats and less meats that are high in saturated fats.  For hamburgers, my mom started cooking with 93% lean ground beef or ground turkey instead of the fatty stuff.  We also started eating salmon at least once a week.  Salmon also has the heart-healthy fats that fight cholesterol.  When we wanted pizza, instead of ordering out, we made our own healthy pizza at home with homemade dough, topped it with low-fat cheese, healthy vegetable toppings, and a little olive oil.

3) My dad changed the things he snacked on.  Instead of sweets, he nibbled on walnuts (another good source of heart healthy fats) and fresh fruit like apples and oranges.  Instead of beer, which leads to belly fat, he sipped a glass of red wine occasionally, which is said to be good for your heart.  Before dinner, he got in the habit of eating a huge salad with lots of healthy veggies, a salad dressing made with olive oil, a few olives thrown in (more cholesterol-fighting fats), and topped it with raw garlic.  I know that sounds gross, but he firmly advocates eating as much raw garlic as you can stand.  It has been shown to significantly reduce cholesterol. Plus the big salad led him to eat less of the richer, more fattening stuff at dinner.

My dad does not have time to exercise.  His cholesterol was significantly reduced sheerly by these few changes in diet.  So don't worry too much about the cholesterol part, because it's possible to reverse it--your dad just needs to be willing to enact a few changes.

you could ask the doctor what to do when they visited him/her.

I have had high blood pressure and have a cholesterol problem.  Low/no salt, no fatty and red meats.  My husband's mother and ALL of her relatives were diabetic so I have been watching his blood sugar for a long time as well.  Processed sugars are rough on the body.  Use things like olive oil, ground turkey instead of ground beef (can't tell the difference in taste) and Splenda when baking and sweetening.  In addition add foods rich in Omega 3 as that adds the good cholesterol to the diet (tuna).  No white rice or pastas.  All starch with no benefits.  There is a maker of wheat pasta that has added Omega 3 but I can't think of the name off the top of my head.  Shouldn't be too hard to find, though.  Lots of exercise for all 3 conditions.  As simple as walking around the block after dinner will do.  Maybe this will be a wake up call for them and they will get healthy before they get sick.  Good luck to you and we are here if you need us.

Your parents will have a good idea of how to solve their new diagnosis. The number one thing you need to do is voice your concern to them. You can't solve it for them, or plan out their diet, but by telling them "mom and dad, I'd really like to have you in my life for as long as I possibly can" then it might open up their eyes.

My mom is headed down a bad path.. just over 300 pounds, high blood pressure, and pre-diabetic.. and she won't listen to me. Might be because I'm older, but with you being 14, it should def be an eye opener.

Hang in there and let us know how it goes. 

I have high blood pressure which is controlled by medicine and changes in my diet/exercise.  The more you exercise and eat right, the less medicine you have to take.  I avoid salt, and alot of processed foods(since alot contain high sodium).  oatmeal is really good for helping to lower cholesterol.  lots of fruit,vegetables, and almonds help also.  They probably are laughing because they don't want you to worry.  Tell them how you are feeling/thinking - maybe might help them change to know how much you love them and need them.