Reviewed by Dr. Prabhat Arya, MD (Internal Medicine) on 29 September 2026
Diet chart after a stroke
After a stroke, food helps prevent a second one by keeping BP, sugar and cholesterol down. Ordinary Indian home food works: less salt, the right fat, more vegetables and dal.
- Salt: less than one teaspoon a day in all. High BP is the biggest cause of a second stroke.
- Fill half the plate with vegetables and salad, a quarter with dal, paneer, egg, fish or chicken, and a quarter with roti or rice. Measure oil; no vanaspati.
- If food or water makes the patient cough or choke, stop feeding and ask Dr. Arya the same day. Until then give only thick soft food such as thick khichdi, sitting fully upright, and no thin drinks (water, tea).
Eat more
- Vegetables at every meal: lauki, tori, bhindi, beans, carrot, cabbage, tomato
- Dal, chana, rajma, moong, sprouts, soya, paneer, curd
- Whole grains: oats, dalia, bajra, jowar, ragi, atta with chokar
- Whole fruit, twice a day: guava, apple, orange, papaya, banana
- Water through the day, unless Dr. Arya has set a limit or swallowing is a problem
- Water through the day, unless Dr. Arya has set a limit
Eat less, and measure
- Salt: less than one teaspoon a day in all, counting pickle and papad
- Cooking oil and ghee together: 4 to 5 teaspoons per person for the whole day
- Full-cream milk, malai, butter: use toned milk
- Rice and roti: two rotis or one small katori of rice per meal
- Sugar and sweets: small amounts, above all with diabetes
- Tea and coffee: two or three cups a day
Avoid
- Pickle, papad, namkeen, chips, instant noodles
- Vanaspati, dalda, and oil reused for frying
- Fried snacks and bakery items: samosa, pakora, puffs, cakes
- Processed meat: sausage, salami, ham
- Alcohol
- Smoking, bidi, gutka, khaini: every form of tobacco
A sample day
Vegetarian first; the swap is for those who eat eggs, fish or chicken.
- On waking
- Water. Tea with toned milk and little sugar. 4 soaked almonds
- Breakfast
- One bowl of vegetable dalia or oats, or two moong chilla with a katori of curdSwap: Two-egg omelette with vegetables and one roti
- Mid-morning
- One fruit: guava, papaya or orange
- Lunch
- Salad. A big katori of sabzi, a katori of dal, two rotis or one roti with a small katori of rice, curdSwap: Fish or chicken curry in place of dal
- Evening
- Tea with roasted chana without salt, makhana or sprouts chaatSwap: A boiled egg
- Dinner, by 8 pm
- Moong dal khichdi with sabzi, or sabzi, dal and one or two rotis. Lighter than lunchSwap: Grilled fish or chicken with sabzi
- Bedtime
- A small glass of toned milk, if you like
Common myths
- After a stroke, the patient should have only liquids.
- Only if swallowing is a problem, and then soft food, as advised.
- Desi ghee and dry fruits bring back strength.
- Ordinary food with enough protein does. Ghee adds fat.
- BP is normal now, so the tablets can stop.
- Stopping tablets is a common cause of a second stroke.
- Garlic thins the blood, so the blood thinner can stop.
- It cannot replace it. Never stop a blood thinner yourself.
Dr. Arya’s note for you
Sudden face drooping, weakness of an arm or leg, or slurred speech: call an ambulance (108 or 112) and go to hospital at once, even if it passes. Give nothing by mouth, not even water or aspirin.
This is general advice for adults. With diabetes, heart failure or kidney disease, also follow that chart; its fluid and salt limits win. On warfarin, keep green leafy vegetables steady, not suddenly more or less. When in doubt, ask Dr. Arya.