Q: My mom is suffering from diabetics, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism and acute bronchitis since the last so many years. What precautions should she take i.e. dos and don'ts?

A:I would suggest the following: FOR DIABETES: * Try and learn the caloric content of foods so that you are eating a diet which has approximately the same calorie content every day. Most patients with diabetes require about 1600 calories a day. If they are very active a higher calorie intake is appropriate. You should eat at about the same time of the day and also remember to take your medications at about the same time daily. * Avoid drinking more than one cup of fruit juice a day since fruit juice contributes to calorie intake. Water is the best drink to have. * Avoid compulsive eating. * Avoid alcohol. * Exercise regularly and about to the same extent. Do not do a lot of activity on one day and relatively little the next. * It is important that you maintain your body weight within normal limits. Your body mass index (calculated from your height and weight) is close to 29 indicating you are overweight. You should lose about 30 lbs in order to be at the medically right weight. This is most important. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: * Exercise regularly as you would for diabetes. * Maintain normal weight. * Avoid alcohol. * Reduce salt intake and maintain adequate potassium intake. Eat a diet rich in vegetables, and low-fat dairy products. Reduce the total and saturated fat intake and use monosaturated oils such as canola oil or olive oil. * Decrease refined products such as white flour use whole grains. * Eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Include nuts, seeds, or legumes (dried beans or peas) daily but in small quantities, as they are high in calories. * Eliminating table and cooking salt is ideal. If this is something you cannot do then adding half the amount of salt you would normally add should help. * Stop smoking. * Avoid caffeinated products - one or two cups of tea a day, maximum. * Adequate calcium and potassium intake are also helpful in regulating blood pressure. * Try and sleep at the same time and ensure you do not have sleep apnoea. The latter, in particular, can exacerbate hypertension. A diagnosis of sleep apnea can only be made by your physician. * Yoga and deep breathing exercises have also been found. FOR HYPOTHYROIDISM: * Avoid taking your tablet with milk, milk products and calcium since this interferes with the absorption of the medication. * Do not change the brand of the medication because even thought theoretically they have the same dose they may not be bioequivalent. This is true of thyroid replacement tablets because of the way it is manufacture. Acute bronchitis is a condition that should resolve in a few days to weeks. If your symptoms persist then please see a physician to make sure there is no other cause for the symptoms.