Nutrition and Stroke Recovery

After a stroke, looking after your health becomes more important than ever – and a balanced diet plays a key role in rebuilding strength and supporting recovery. While this journey can bring challenges, such as changes to taste and smell or difficulties with swallowing, it can also be a time of rediscovery.

Eating and drinking become more than just daily habits; they turn into a sensory experience, where new flavours, preferences, and textures are explored. What may feel difficult at first can, over time, become easier with the right support, patience, and small, positive steps forward.

Learning ways to adapt meals can help. The Stroke Association recommend the following tips to maintain a healthy diet:

• Aim for at least five portions of fruit and vegetables daily.
• Make starchy foods a third of your meals.
• Reduce processed meats and takeaways.
• Limit salt to 1 teaspoon per day, including hidden sources.
• Include daily protein from oily fish, beans, pulses, nuts and seeds.
• Stay hydrated for optimal bodily function.

Download their full guide for other practical tips to stay nourished and hydrated.

Of course, even when staying healthy, everybody deserves a sweet treat once in a while and that why at all of our meetups we provide tea, coffee and cookies! We meet every third Tuesday, April 2pm – 3:30pm at Forest Community Centre, Bordon. It’s a great opportunity to meet with like-mind individuals who understand what you are going through. Come along, have a chat, get stuck into some activities, or sit and have a cup of tea – it’s up to you. We know that stroke recovery is hard, but even though it may feel like it at times, you are never alone, we are here for you.

In January we had a visit by Jo O’Shea from Hobbs Rehabilitation, telling us about the issue of fatigue.

Jo explained the issues of Fatigue really well and provided us with a lot to think about. The main takeaway from the talk was the 3 P’s:

• Pace: Break tasks into smaller steps and take regular, planned rests before you feel exhausted, even for gentle activities like talking or eating. Alternate positions and adopt a “little and often” approach to build stamina gradually. 
• Plan: Spread activities out over the day or week, scheduling them for times when you have more energy. Organise your environment to keep needed items close and consider helpful equipment. 
• Prioritise: Decide which tasks are most important and which can be delegated, delayed, or dropped. Don’t try to do everything; focus on what truly matters and balance necessary tasks with enjoyable ones. 

To find out more about Hobbs Rehabilitation then follow this link https://hobbsrehabilitation.co.uk/liss/or to get more information about their ‘Live Better with Fatigue’ course, follow this link https://hobbsrehabilitation.co.uk/exercise-group/live-better-with-fatigue-liss/

You can also contact Chime Carlin, Social Prescriber for Badgerswood Surgery, Forest Surgery & Pinehill Surgery by emailing chime.carlin@nhs.net to see what help is available through the NHS.

It was great to have Dan from the Watercress Line come to the Forest Centre in October and give an enlightening talk on the Heritage Railway and for bringing in some bygone rail items for us to look at PLUS the smells of a railway – coal, engine oil, station platform !!!!

I think we all learned a little bit more about steam trains by the end.

A special mention must go out to our member Rainer, who came resplendent in his Watercress Line baseball cap 

Please visit the railways website for more information on the line and upcoming events – www.watercressline.co.uk