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6760. thoughtful - 3/19/2007 5:20:47 PM how horrible. I wish more people signed up as organ donors...I mean if you're not using them any more, why not let someone else get some milage out of your pieces and parts.
We got a nice letter from the eyebank telling us that 2 people can now see who couldn't before because we donated my SIL's eyes. 6761. thoughtful - 3/19/2007 5:27:34 PM Wow Arky, you've got a good memory.
I think the plan I was referring to was the XBX for women and 5BX for men...it was developed by the royal canadian air force. I looked on line and don't see it posted neatly anywhere though there are links to buy one of the books.
Only thing is I stopped doing them as it was shortly thereafter I needed neck surgery. Have no idea if it was causative or not, but I figured I'd better quit.
Instead I now do weight lifting in the evening and walking in the a.m. to keep fit. I use an old joyce vedral book to guide me on the weight lifting...done at home with free weights. 6762. thoughtful - 3/19/2007 9:42:59 PM I've been very concerned about hubby as doc has him on statins to lower his cholesterol. Well it worked...his total cholesterol is 168!
But I understand it blocks co Q10 and I'm concerned about hubby and dementia as it runs in his family. Turns out that statins seem to help prevent dementia, which is a good thing. Even tho doc says it's not necessary and there's no evidence that it helps, I think I'll start hubby on co q10 supplements anyway. Can't hurt.
and just another excuse for tmesis to hate me. 6763. wonkers2 - 3/19/2007 10:34:13 PM I managed to get my cholesterol and the other measurements under control by reducing my intake of fat and taking a low dosage of Lipitor. As far as dementia is concerned, I worry, too, because Google is slowly destroying my memory. I never tried to remember phone numbers because they were easy to look up. Now Google has compromised my memory of people's names (actors, politicians, et al) as well. 6764. thoughtful - 3/19/2007 11:09:14 PM wonks, reducing intake of fat won't do it...it's the lipitor, and it's reducing sugar shock and insulin rush that will help your heart. Rather, shoot for a balance of fats in the diet.
See for instance Atkins diet best for weight loss - US study
"Compared with women who were assigned to follow diets having higher carbohydrate content, women assigned to the diet with the lowest carbohydrate content had more weight loss and more favourable changes in related metabolic risk factors at two and six months," wrote lead author Christopher Gardner in JAMA.
Despite previous concerns over low carbohydrate diets adversely affecting blood lipid profiles, the current study did not report any such adverse effects.
This is also consistent with the research on 'syndrome x' which suggests that diabetes, with excess carb intake and excess insulin, excess weight around the abdomen and high blood pressure go hand in hand with heart disease.
Frankly it will take time for heart docs to catch up with what the endocrinologists know about the damaging effects of excess insulin and the low fat diet cannard that pushes people into excess carb intake and increased risk for obesity and heart disease.
My MIL always said if you want to lose weight, cut out the bread and pasta and desserts. It's taking another 40 years for the medical profession to catch up with what we knew back then. 6765. wonkers2 - 3/19/2007 11:58:47 PM Well, I try not to eat a lot of carbohydrates, either. One or two pieces of toast and a lot of vegetables and salads. My wife has turned into a semi-vegetarian. I sneak out for a couple of sliders or a Coney Island a couple of times a week. We eat a fair amount of fish and fowl. I do miss steaks, lamb chops, etc. Whatever I'm eating my blood tests are all okay according to my internist, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, etc. That's why he okayed my taking a Lipitor 10mg pill every other day instead of every day. 6766. wonkers2 - 3/21/2007 4:44:07 PM For temesis--Are you getting your "fair" share of this loot? Pharmaceutical companies bribing our doctors 6767. wonkers2 - 3/23/2007 4:01:54 PM Diagnosis as Art, Not Rocket Science 6768. judithathome - 3/23/2007 8:34:48 PM One or two pieces of toast and a lot of vegetables and salads.
Wonk, try Pepperidge Farms Very Thin sliced breads...two of them are about 18 grams of carbs and 80 calories. (A serving is 3 slices but I always do only two...brings the numbers down that way and is still satisfying.) Toasted, they give you that crunch and a bread fix without a lot of damage to your numbers. 6769. wonkers2 - 3/24/2007 3:02:10 AM That makes a lot of sense. It's amazing that for the past couple of weeks we've been buying unsliced bread from Breadsmith, a local franchise bakery, and slicing it thinner ourselves. That way I can still have two slices for breakfast and a grapefruit. How does that sound? 6770. judithathome - 3/24/2007 7:35:22 AM Sounds great! I like my toast very crunchy and with this thin stuff, it's perfection every time. I can't stand a piece of toast that is limp and chewy. 6771. wonkers2 - 3/24/2007 2:47:52 PM Same here. 6772. thoughtful - 3/24/2007 3:41:42 PM great ideas...but make sure you're eating whole grain breads...far healthier than the white stuff.
I so enjoy whole grain breads now that I skip the white stuff even in restaurants...tastes like eating paper and it isn't the least bit filling or worth the calories.
We've been making our own homemade graham crackers and they are wonderful. They are crispy and chewy at the same time. Easy to make with honey and molasses...yum and no trans fats. 6773. judithathome - 3/24/2007 4:01:52 PM Yes, I thought "whole grains" was a given...can't imagine eating white bread myself, either.
However, I will do it at restaurants...our fave Italian place makes THE best garlic yeast rolls and I always have one even though I know it's "waisted" calories. 6774. judithathome - 3/24/2007 4:03:09 PM Wonks, I can't recall if you are on cholesterol meds or not but I am and mine had a warning that I not consume grapefruit at all. 6775. wonkers2 - 3/26/2007 1:58:29 PM Insurance companies make money by not paying claims So what else is new? 6776. robertjayb - 3/26/2007 5:45:22 PM Drugs for "good" cholesterol fail tests...(NYTimes)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The hot new strategy of trying to prevent heart disease by raising good cholesterol had more setbacks Monday as new studies showed that experimental drugs didn't work and also had safety problems.
The news follows Pfizer Inc.'s abandonment in December of an $800 million investment in torcetrapib, the leading contender in this class of drugs, because it raised the risk of heart attacks and deaths.
Heart specialists have been anxious to know whether the problems extend to all such drugs and doom this approach.
6777. thoughtful - 3/26/2007 6:02:58 PM won't be long before they figure out that reducing cholesterol is not the way to avoid heart attacks...
I'm keeping hubby on the statins though since I read that they can postpone the onset of dementia... 6778. wonkers2 - 3/26/2007 11:20:32 PM Your point on cholesterol differs from what I've read and been told by my internist. What do you base it on? 6779. thoughtful - 3/27/2007 2:08:10 PM Uh oh...do we really want to start another 'global warming like' discussion here? Where you can tell me I'm in the pocket of the gopers? Or i must work for wesson or crisco? Or that I'm in denial or insane or just plain stupid? All because I'm not willing to accept the "low fat" paradigm as the be all and end all to a healthy heart and a long life? Because I don't drink the kool-aid and keep an open mind and recognize that science is not only all one way but often results in conflicting data and that science also frequently reverses itself as more data comes to light.
But we've been through all that.
But since you asked, I base this on the fact that
- multiple studies have shown the atkins diet which includes lots of fat but restricted carbs results in the best cholesterol profile of participants as well as the greatest weight loss
- 50% of women who have heart attacks have acceptable cholesterol levels
- the 'new' syndrome x which relates high blood pressure with diabetes and fat around the abdomen also greatly increases the risk of heart disease. Other studies have shown strong relationship between abdominal fat and risk of heart disease.
- cholesterol is an essential element the body requires to make necessary digestive biles and to support cell walls
- 80% of the cholesterol in your body is made by the liver and diet accounts for the minority of cholesterol in your system. Further if you eat less saturated fat, your body will make more. That's why many people will find that even with low fat dieting, they may reduce their cholesterol at first, but then it will start to rise again. That your cholesterol levels are largely genetically determined.
- the body lays down plaque in arteries because of inflammation and inflammation is triggered by excess insulin
- high carb intake leads the body to convert the sugars into fat immediately if it's not burned off in order to protect the brain from excess glucose, and that this fat is largely laid in around the abdomen
I could go on, but you get the idea. The cardiac guys need to start listening more to the endocrinologists who understand the impact of insulin on the body. In excess it can be very damaging, and they are only beginning to learn how damaging it can be.
But of course, this requires breaking paradigms and a whole nutrition machine (which has been politicized by everyone from the beef growers to the sugar growers to the corn lobby) to eat a low fat diet where the fats are replaced with sugar and the mainstream medical community is left scratching their heads as to why diabetes and heart disease are now epidemic.
If you want to learn more about insulin and its impact on the body, I recommend reading "The Schwarzbein Principle". While I don't support her hormone replacement therapy at this point, the rest of her program makes incredible sense.
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