It was time once again this week to head into the doctor’s office Monday for a blood draw – and as expected my cholesterol was still high. The blood pressure was OK, but the whole thing got me to thinking that it’s time to haul out the “personal chemistry set” and do some more tweaking.
I have not been terribly worried about weight loss. I’m down to “pre-cruise” levels and the general energy levels are very high.
But in going through the “chart review” with the doc, I realized that many of the vitamins I have been trying have eventually fallen off my daily regimen. Most of them for the simple reason that they didn’t provide any noticeable improvement in cognitive function – which is what got me started on the whole process in the first place. That and gout.
As of this morning, my personal “things that work” include acetyl –L-carnitine which is written up over here at WebMD.
This one has a very gentle effect on cognition…but it seems to raise my Lumosity test scores a bit (5%) when I remember to go use the Lumosity daily brain-trainer.
Similarly, I get a further 5% bump in my test scores when I use Huperzine A, again described over here. Coffee helps, too.
The current combination of morning pills also includes celery seed (more gout prevention), black cherry extract (ibid or ditto, your call) the first of two Now Foods Adam Men’s Multiple Vitamins.
The last one is Source Naturals L-Arginine L-Citrulline Complex which I have told you about previously. I first became aware of this one years back in a conversation with Dr. Ron Klatz of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M which is worldhealth.net) and a visit to their website is always a rewarding experience to see what the current new directions in healthcare are.
For example, take the article on the reason to add a gram of turmeric to breakfast.
A footnote here: I find the effect of simple L-arginine almost immediate, but it doesn’t last for a long time. Seems (if I’m reading the literature right) that the Citrulline breaks down over time (converting into L-arginine). So the effect is energy and breathing enhancement over a longer period. At least with me.
This is not to be taken as medical advice. I am simply sharing my personal experience with you because let’s face it: We all live in bags of fluids and bones which seem to be here simply so our wandering souls have someplace to roost for a lifetime. But as long as the roosting must be done, no reason not to make at least some study of things to see if we can make the ride more enjoyable.
My doctor – who has gotten ahead of me by a good bit on weight loss – says his approach has simply been some self-control added at meal times and a lot more time walking his dog. His dog is big enough that he walks the doc, but the idea is activity above all.
He also made the point that with the right mix of foods, I wouldn’t need to mess with the amino acids – and I could just let my body do the work for me. But having no time to research all the foods to brew up exactly what makes me feel optimized (especially when comes to the mental acuity part) we have simply agreed to disagree. A handful of pills over cooking any time.
After the blood work (been sedentary so the cholesterol was high) the recommendation was made that I think about trying something called Tricor which is a non-statin approach and I have to admit that I’m thinking about it.
What gives me pause (and which I am thinking about) is this note on the WebMD site:
Lowering triglycerides in people with very high triglyceride blood levels may decrease the risk of pancreas disease (pancreatitis). However, fenofibrate might not lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Well, hell, if it doesn’t lower the stroke or heart attack rate (for sure, double blind, yada, yada) what’s the point?
I did get an important bit of intelligence about weight loss: Seems there is one of the new diabetes drugs that is being packaged for weight loss.
Whatever the name of this gem is, it works by modulating blood sugar and modulating fat use. At a level below what’s needed for diabetes, the stuff apparently does reduce weight gain tendencies.
In medicine, seems nothing is “free” (you have noticed Obamacare, right?). This weight-loss series my doc tells me is in the high hundreds of dollars per month (close to a thousand) so it’s easy to seed why other ideas are more attractive.
My Next Phase of the Weight and Diet Experiments
Everyone in my family loves bread. When I was a kid, we could hardly wait for Pappy to build his crusty outside, perfect inside French bread. The fresh loaves from Gai’s or the bakery in the Pike Place market were close. But like his son, Pappy studied the hell out of things and got deeply into the chemistry of perfect baking.
MY problem is that when I was a kid, I was diagnosed with allergies to some of the world’s finest edibles: wheat, eggs, corn, and oh yeah: chocolate.
Which made it impossible to eat sensibly.
But now that I am serious about health (eventually it had to happen) I am starting to look into the gluten-free angle and trying that.
I may have mentioned that I’ve started to prepare a big for this: We have loaded up on rice. The Rice Flour which will become gluten-free pancakes this morning has been in the fridge all night…and I am trying to sneer at bread.
The afternoon Martini is like to take a hit on this gluten-free deal, too. While many vodkas, especially European, are made from potatoes, a few American vodkas (Tito’s Texas and Smirnoff) are made from corn.
Turns out there is some debate even within gluten-free world as to whether gain-based vodkas still have long enough chains of gluten protein after the distilling process to be problematic. Still (*a bad distillery pun , sorry) there are lots of alternatives now including rums, whiskeys, and even a gluten-free beer called Glutenberg.
I checked with my daughter (the one who was hospitalized with severe celiac sprue when she was young (two weeks at Children’s in Seattle) to see if she was gluten-free. “No…”
One theory is that she has outgrown it, but a more workable theory is that in the middle age part of life, your body immune system is much more robust. It’s around the edges (very young or getting well-past middle age) that it can come back.
So over the next couple of weeks, I will be phasing into a completely gluten-free diet for a week or three to see if there are any noticeable effects, other than tears in the grain producing states. Folks in Idaho may see an economic boom as potato flour and rice flour roll into my lifestyle.
Elaine thinks is stupid. (There’s a non-zero chance she’s right…) But this is one of those home chemistry set experiments that I’ve been meaning to get around to.
As to whether this will actually help me shed weight more easily? Well, that remains to be seen. Here’s a column that says it won’t because only 1% of Americans are really celiac disease prone.
Except – unfortunately, I am definitely in THAT one percent since I have some of the associated symptoms (*including wheat allergy test results) and a daughter who has celiac as well, regardless of her joy of baking pastries.
On the other hand, there are plenty of reasons why gluten-free can help shed pounds, as defined in this article. Mainly, a “splurge” to grab a cheeseburger on the way by Mickey D’s is off the table.
The whole matter of fast food and gluten-free is of interest: Here’s a discussion about whether McDonalds has much to offer. And the point that is terribly disappointing is that the few fried foods that I really like (Ivar’s or Harbor Lights fish and chips in Seattle _) come off the table.
So do a million and one other great things to eat. I don’t do KFC, but every now and then a bucket of Original Recipe and a couple of Bud Lights…well, a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.
We don’t have an IHOP here in East Texas, but there’s a Denny’s And you know that Chicken Fried with…oh-oh…gone, too. Floured. No toast, no gravy. So if I hold off ham, that brings me down to either a hunk of fish or meat, maybe a potato, and a glass of wine.
Or, as this morning, mixing up rice-flour pancakes…and having them with real (no high fructose corn crap) syrup.
Sheesh.
All of this aside, I’m not sure it will make much – if any – difference. But that’s the joy of us each being born with our own “chemistry sets.”
Whether you want to tinker with yours is up to you…but I’ve learned a good bit about myself.
The most important part of which is that if I want absolutely top mental performance, the right menu for me is a lean hunk of meat, a couple of eggs, my vitamins, a handful of friend potatoes (potatoes are “brain food”) and two cups of half-caf coffee.
Try it some time…just don’t have pizza the night before.
Any personal experience you care to share on going gluten-free would be appreciated…leave a note below.
We Are Surrounded by Idiots Dept.
Reader Jeffrey (in real life a mostly reasonable attorney) has spotted yet another sign of terminal madness in End Times:
And now, from the grab bag of galactically idiotic ideas, we are offered this little gem:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/us/politics/campaign-to-lower-voting-age-to-16-in-local-races-ignites-a-debate.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share
Generation Citizen says its campaign aims to spur civic engagement among youth, but critics question whether 16 is too young, and whether the push is a partisan one.
Hell, that’s nothing! I’m waiting for some religion or other to lower the age of voting to the age of confirmation. Was I ready to vote at 12? Oh, uh, no. But was I also ready to make an informed decision about which religion to side with? Uh…not the answer you wanna here, more’n likely.
Ure’s idea on voting: You file a tax return? You vote. Why should freeloaders decide who has to buy all the free lunches?
Thanks and write when you break-even,
George george@ure.net
For years I have made my favorite pancakes with 100% buckwheat flour (gluten-free). I don’t have a gluten problem that I know of (I’m now 79 years), but just enjoy the taste.
I think buckwheat flour is actually grain free. I always read there’s no wheat in buckwheat.
I second the use of buckwheat flour though I do half that and half coconut flour in my pancakes. :)
If you want the best diet guide I’ve found…look up Dr D’Adamo’s blood type diet. Your blood type is due to antigens in your system and that sets the kinds of foods to which you are “literally” allergic. (and cause weight gain, indirectly) In a nutshell…type O are meat eaters, A are vegitarians and B are best on dairy. With a few details thrown in. I’m type O and can eat chocolate, meat, and mozzarella. Three main food groups :-)
We use TheFresh20 gluten free menu and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
Kitchen Alchemy — I never had any idea when I was young that I had any problems with any food. However, I was sick ALL the time with colds, flu, earaches, and every childhood disease you can name except polio. This extreme susceptibility to infection followed me into adulthood and has severely compromised my health — eventually turning into chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Doctors of all stripes wrote me off. I had to figure it out for myself if I wanted to get well.
The list of what I have tried is very, very long.
One of the things I have tried that began to make a marked difference is dietary change. Rooting out the things that caused me problems. Since I have no “food allergies”, only “sensitivities”, whose bad effects show up in hours or days, not minutes, finding the problems is challenging.
Going not only gluten-free, but grain-free, has stopped — really just stopped cold — all those colds, flus and earaches that plagued me all my life.
Read that sentence again for memory retention.
I kid you not.
Additionally, I found, thanks to a gluten-free blogger, that most gluten-free products on the shelf have xanthan gum, or some other gum, added to take the place of gluten’s ability to stick the batter together for proper baking. These gums VERY OFTEN cause intestinal problems in those predisposed to gut issues. And they are being added to shelf foods of all kinds for improved texture.
I had to eschew anything bread or cake-like for years.
Then quinoa began to come on the scene. This year I put my Vitamix (dry grinding unit) and quinoa ‘grain’ (more like a weed seed – not a true grain) together and began to make very respectable quick breads and cornbread-like baked goods. The textures resemble pound cake to cornbread, and have become good enough to offer to anyone without apology. (Whereas most gluten-free baked goods will NOT be eaten by someone who does not have to avoid gluten).
Quinoa, and the chia seed which I occasionally use instead of eggs as a binder, do not cause me the problems that grains caused me. And instead of being the empty calories of most baked goods — they are nutrient-rich.
PS–Another avenue of dietary investigation is to do an elimination diet on nightshades.
try Slo-Niacin (look it up) from the drugstore — it helps with lipids and viscosity
Anyone can file a tax return, even if they report zero income. I think the(valid) point is that nobody receiving a benefit from the government, and perhaps that includes government employees, should have a vote.
Social Security Retirement beneficiaries are NOT receiving an entitlement, simply the payout they were required to fund through employment tax. They are legitimate voters, all other things being equal.
Regarding voting, Machines should never list party affiliation for any candidate, and should shuffle the sequence of candidates randomly for each voter. This is trivial using electronic machines. That way, an uninformed voter cannot be told to “just vote row A on everyone”. There should also be an option for “no vote” for those positions where you’re not familiar with the candidates and/or have no valid choice.
gluten free: I feel best when I avoid grains. Parboiled rice is ok (all the nutrients but not the hulls). I also need to avoid nightshades (ugh!) and simple carbs which is a task for a carb addict. When I do all these, and eat just poultry, eggs, fish, dairy, and veggies, the fat pounds roll off, joint pain disappears and energy goes up. We are as unique biochemically as our fingerprints, so trial and error method works best. Good luck!
Have you tried talking to your body’s immune system since you’re into all “this weird stuff?” I am NOT kidding ;-)
There are 2 IHOPS in Tyler, George.
sir, you might want to check out the book, “wheat belly” by dr. william davis. his claim is that the wheat we eat now is not the your father’s wheat.. i had chronic hip pain at night.. went wheat free(though i love pasta) and after about 2 weeks, the pain vanished. seems the wheat we eat now causes inflammation.. check it out.
If you are 40 and over and want to lose weight try DHEA it works pretty good it gives you plenty of energy it works on the master hormone glands I think it’s called a pituitary, just don’t drink more than one or two alcoholic beverages or it will cancel out the DHEA effects, some people that have tried it including me have exclaimed that it makes them feel 18 again with plenty of energy I believe this is so because it increases your natural testosterone which gives you energy and sexual desire
Another way to lose weight is to do isometrics which is pretty much non physical exercise what it does is causes those muscles to engage and burn calories what it really does is raise your heart rate which in turn burns calories, so besides starving anything that will raise your heart rate up for a little while will cause you to lose weight
A third way to lose weight is to go see your doctor, walk there, ditch the car, haha lots of laughs
I was an avid baker of homemade bread, pies and other goodies for years, and after a rise of some chronic joint pain I decided to give gluten free a try to see if it would help resolve my issues. It’s been five years now and I haven’t looked back. I don’t miss or crave it. People can eat breads, cakes, pizza around me, and it doesn’t bother me.
A period of extreme stress about two years ago triggered the onset of an autoimmune condition, which I manage with diet and lifestyle modifications and without the use of the heavy duty conventional drugs that rheumatologists push for big pharma.
For weight loss try the win hof breathing exercises combined with push ups. There is plenty of information about this technique all over the web. Also a spoonful of tumeric mixed in with pancake mix gives you a very colorfully red savory cake which I quite enjoy.
I grind my own flour from wheat, rice, oats, rice and oats being gluten free. LDS manuals advise to freeze the flour as soon as you grind the grain. I use 1 qt mason jars.
I store wheat, rice, and beans in food quality air tight containers. Waffels turn out very well with oat flower.
Red Dog
The younger the voter, the more likely he is to support left wing politics. Which, given enough time, will fail.
Its not just gluten, you need to eliminate all grains to give it a good test for 3-4 weeks. I lost belly fat and got off 5 years of B/P medication when I gave up grains…… its not just gluten, its the grain. My whole life changed for the better.
In fact when I gave blood every 8 weeks in the late 60s, my b/p was always 130/90ish. Three days ago on a routine exam I was 124/65. For many people (esp. pre diabetics) grains are not good. You might try 23andme.com to get your genome and then transport data to Prometheus and get a $5 report on all your genetic predispositions. Its a great “take control” exercise for $200.
My wife’s rheumatologist suggested she try gluten-free products for a number of reasons. I tried eating this way and was rewarded with much clearer thinking, a reduction in energy slumps, and much less bloated/heavy feeling after eating. I suppose I may be sensitive to gluten and never knew it but the change has been worthwhile & positive. I’m also trying a more paleo-based diet which seems to be helping also.
Have to agree with JDN, not just gluten-free, but grain-free. That means no rice, corn, potatoes, etc. Check out Dr. Davis’ Wheat Belly diet book to read about the effects of grains!!
“One theory is that she has outgrown it, but a more workable theory…”
Suggest you consider the robustness and diversity of microbiota as the cornerstone of good health. I’ve always found ‘germ theory’ to be highly dubious – the same bacteria that helps you in one place in your body will kill you in another (e. Coli is one example). Blaming germs for ‘making us sick’ is reductionst nonsense, IMHO. More often than not, germs protect us, work with our immune system, and even communicate with our brains. Modern science is starting to come around..
http://news.yahoo.com/friends-life-good-bugs-keep-healthy-op-ed-174644359.html
Quote from article:
“Huge numbers of people worldwide suffer from allergies, the researchers acknowledged. But why do they suffer from specific allergens, like birch pollen or peanut? The researchers examined thousands of protein sequences from common allergens and compared these to protein sequences from parasitic worms. The investigators found more than 200 protein sequences common to both allergens and worms.”
http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004546
Makes you appreciate the impact of all that is taken in on on the body – food, “germs” and anti-biotics included.
Food for thought. (and thought for food) ;)
If you really want inspiration as to what to eat and not go to this doctor’s website: http://www.drperlmutter.com/about/grain-brain-by-david-perlmutter/
His books, Grain Brain and Brain Maker by Dr. David Perlmutter is not just an addition to Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, but takes it to a new level for health.
Happy health, BEAT big pharm.
Jason Beard
Correction, please visit the website.
lol
for weight loss, ;nothing beats chromium picolinate. you will lsoe weight so fast, that ppl will think you are ill. crzy but it works!! it is a sugar destroyer and prevents diabetes also so be careful. available otc.
The most immediate thing I noticed when I did my own gluten free experiment was that in about a week I stopped passing gas and my stools didn’t stink. I’m guessing the gluten was feeding certain gut bacteria but not others and possibly overwhelming the “friendly flora.”
Most of our health problems these days come from several sources. GMO crops, the pesticides and herbicides used on them and the air (chemtrails with all kinds of nasty chemicals). Only in the last ten years or so has the ‘gluten’ problem arisen. Why??? Growing up (I was born in ’42), we rarely heard about these kinds of diseases. Up until the late ’80’s and on…guess that’s because it was the time period that Monsanto, duPont, and others were doing their ‘test’ crops…mainly on corn. A little ‘dot connecting’ will hit you sooner or later. The key…eat as much organic as possible!! Even meat…you’ll avoid all the hormones and antibiotics, etc. that they do to their CAFO cows, pigs and chickens. But….
You are going to have to decide for yourself as to what’s more important in your life…your health or all the other stuff you do. Gotta take care of yourself or you won’t be around to do the other stuff.
Instead of going into details (which I could do and this would be rather lengthy!), instead I suggest you check out Dr. Mercola’s web site and do some searches for articles on any particular problem you might have. http://www.mercola.com/
He has suggestions for many of the problems you speak of. Do yourself a favor….do it!!!
Nice to see all of the helpful ideas for you George.
—-life is in our blood. Though people do not have healthy blood and yet their symptoms are showing them they don’t.
Older people they become less active – a sedentary lifestyle shows up via less oxygen in the blood. We all know we need oxygen, yet people don’t even breathe correctly. It’s a no wonder laughter is the best medicine, because it oxygenates the blood. Also, cancer thrives in a low oxygen environment – anaerobic. As processed sugar got cheap, and a huge part of the diet, cancer grew. Dirty blood contains sugar and low oxygen. I must add, when people are stressed they tighten up and do not breathe properly. Forget exercise, most people do not like it. Just learn to breathe properly, take deep breaths while taking breaks from work, whatever it is.
Symptoms of low oxygen blood –
– fatigue
– memory loss
– negative attitude
(hostility, irrational, depression)
– sleep more
(needing to medicate with sugar, caffeine, etc.)
– heart issues (sweating, shortness of breath, palpitations etc.)
– blood pressure
– cholesterol/diet beets issues
oxygenated blood =
heightened concentration,good memory,calm
natural remedy for headaches
regular sleep patterns
Links –
THE IMPORTANCE OF OXYGEN
http://altered-states.net/barry/newsletter395/
DO YOU HAVE ‘DIRTY BLOOD?’
http://altered-states.net/barry/newsletter397/
Regarding cholesterol –
“Think cholesterol and blood fats, think blood sugar. The best way to lower your cholesterol naturally is to lower blood sugar by eating less food that spikes blood sugar and by eating less food in general.”
http://criticalhealthnews.com/health-news/25-ben-fuchs-articles/97-cholesterol-and-sugar
Sending the very best~!
I just cut back on the food intake and no snacking works great just takes a little longer than all of the magic diets and pills, At 82 still passing my Flight physicals and enjoying life.
I also highly recommend the blood type diet but just as a place to start. Grain free is also important The GRain Brain is the book to start that research. My vitamins are a recipe from vitamins called living energy, future biotics quit making. They claimed to have all the vitamins minerals and amino acids and fatty acids the body needed and they give me a great amount of energy.They have alfalfa,spirulina,chorella bee pollen astragalus ginseng schizandra and royal jelly. I buy the ingredients and pill them up myself. I may put wheatgrass in if my body tests good with it. My healer can test my body for this. Most of the ingredients are superfoods. I can take as many a day as I need even more if I skip a meal. Being hungary is also a god thing and fasting to cleanse the body of all the toxins.
I forgot to say I use almond meal and Bobs grain free(I try to use less of the latter) and can make anything breads pancakes waffles pizza and no one complains ever!
I agree with what your other readers are saying regarding grains. It is best to avoid them completely. I found a recipe for pancakes made from almond flour in one of the Wheat Belly books that I really enjoy, but I only have them occasionally.
Good place to start ’til you begin making your own:
http://www.katzglutenfree.com/
We enjoy their sliced challah bread, hot dog and hamburger buns.
The buns are the best I’ve ever bought, gluten or no.
You will find that many things that are gluten-free still cause problems – Dr. Mercola says it is the gliaden, not just the gluten.
You will also be surprised to find many things have wheat in them that you wouldn’t suspect – most milk-shakes seem to have wheat mixed in.
Hi George, I still see you are going to doctors to get your cholesterol checked. I hope your not taking any cholesterol drugs. I learned a long time ago to leave the cholesterol alone. These crookers will have you dead before your time. Cholesterol drugs will kill you.
Snazzee
My primary oncologist told me there is absolutely no downside to adding turmeric to one’s diet. It’s one of those can’t hurt, might do a lot of good sort of supplements. I’ve had good luck with PureSun’s Turmeric Curcumin with BioPerine® Black Pepper Extract. (The pepper is needed to make the turmeric more bio-available.)
Never wandered off into the gluten-free arena. I will be watching with interest your reports of results.
Almost all nonorganic wheat in the USA has been sprayed with glyphosphates (roundup) shortly before harvest. This causes all the undeveloped kernels to fill out and increases yield by 5-15%. Glyphosphates WITH THE ADJUVANTS FOUND IN ROUNDUP are the second most toxic thing sprayed on food crops according to French testing. Only one fungicide was more toxic. Monsanto tested the glyphosphates without the adjuvants and submitted this to the FDA to get roundup approved. There is gluten intolerance and there are wheat allergies which are totally different conditions but often treated the same. A lot of the gluten intolerance is quite likely resulting from chemical contamination of herbicides and pesticides use in producing wheat.
Secondly, allergies are a symptom of a compromised immune system. Allergies can absolutely be ELIMINATED. My wife is a practitioner of this technique, and she has miracle stories every month of chronic medical conditions just disappearing out of people’s lives after eliminating their allergies. If you have external symptoms of allergies, your immune system is compromised and you will never have optimal health in your lifetime no matter what you do with diet or supplements, which are just band aids for the problem. For example, gout can be caused by an allergy to certain COMBINATIONS of proteins. An allergy to B vitamins will result in chronic brain dysfunction. Elimination of this allergy cleared my chronic depression. Allergies are the equivalent of salty soil for a plant. It may grow, but never really thrive.
http://www.naet.com
This process uses kinestethic testing so your body tells the practitioner what allergies are present. Interestingly enough, my wife has found two Ecuadorians in the last year that had absolutely NO allergies. Something she found only twice in six years of practice in the USA.
George, I sent you the NAET book a few years back. Unfortunately for you and your daughter you ignored it. As humans age, their immune system naturally becomes weaker, and allergies more severe and can eventually cascade into something much more serious requiring steroids to suppress.
Daughter and I “did” NAET. It worked well for daughter more than me. But she was only 8 at the time. I see NAET as one of those layers of onion peels that you do in order to undo damage of modern living. Recommend people remove their old mercury fillings as well. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice.
I am 55; no allergies ever. There are plenty of people that have no allergies. Yes, I ate my share of dirt, played in the rivers, creeks, drainage gutters, and mud. Most of my childhood was spent outdoors. I take no daily meds, also I still have a regular menstrual cycle proving that women CAN get pregnant in their 50’s even if it is not ideal. Why don’t they study people like me? The people that I know that ‘treat’ their allergies are, as you said, immune compromised, once they get on that vicious medication treadmill, few ever get off of it.
George,
Years ago I told you about supplementing with iodine. Now I’m telling you to supplement with diatomaceous earth (food grade of course). You want to lose weight, perhaps a couple of parasites and lots of other nasty things inside, this is the way to go. Your hair might even go back to its natural colour….
These two are the only supplements I use and people are usually surprised when they learn my age….
Be well,
Diana
Good luck with your health efforts. Here is what I started a couple of years ago, when a practitioner said “I think I need to put you on cholesterol meds”. I said hell no! Here’s what I did. And note I don’t overeat at mealtimes.
-Avoid high fructose corn syrup (this is huge!)
-Organic green tea every day in the afternoon (Sam’s Club bulk if fine)
-Italian spice bread dipping sauce, in olive oil/flax seed oil and Parmesan cheese
-Walk the dog an extra lap around the half mile block
Cholesterol went from 270 to 202 in 6 months.
But the exciting future that I’ve been waiting for is the “Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD)”. Unfortunately the Docs and university who developed it took it under wraps and are coming out with their diet “plan” to sell to the masses. It will be available when the marketing department has maximized their model $$. Only 5 days out of the month you follow their diet. And some people would only need to do those 5 days four times a year. Shocks you system into lots of good healthy things the rest of the month where you have fun. I do a google search every month to see if it is released to the public yet. Rejuvenates the body in shocking ways according to the study. Apparently they stopped the study early due to it being so overwhelmingly successful.
I have to say that after I quit smoking 8 years ago I put on 20lbs, and wife and I did the South Beach thing for a couple of months (very low gluten) and I lost those 20lbs and have kept it off for over 6 years.
Keep an eye on FMD though. Check PubMed for more info from the legit source.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26094889
Vitamin B3(Niacin) in large doses(more than 1g/day) increases the levels of good cholesterol(HDL) substantially. HDL helps eliminate LDL(bad cholesterol) from the body by transporting it to liver where is processed and flushed from the body.
Check Abraham’s Hoffer book “Niacin the real story”.
Gluten–consider that one might have ‘leaky gut’, an inflammatory condition from the wrong flora in the gut. (has been linked to obesity also) Normal, old-fashioned birth was a messy affair. And, babies put anything in their mouths.
An excellent local homeopath helped me clear this condition. Probiotics help.
Turmeric–can be harmful to kidneys, avoid if one has kidney disease or a transplant. We found out the hard way, with a biopsy, it fortunately reversed.
I also recommend the whole 30 approach to grain free living. http://whole30.com Also research protein added to wheat in the 1940-1950s so they could get two crops a year. That particular protein is really hard to digest.
Hi George,
I am a pharmacist and as such, people are coughing in my face every day, in season and out. I used to have 1 to 2 colds a year. For 5 years, I did not get a flu shot, and took 6000 units Vit D3 daily from Oct to March, and 4000 units/day the rest of the year. No flu, no colds. At 190 lb, this amount of Vit D3, for me, gave a Vit D blood level of 50 to 60 ng/ml. The highest natural level of D3 (in migrant workers in So Cal) is 80 ng/ml, and there’s no evidence of benefit above 100 ng/ml. Above 30 prevents rickets; So 50-60 is probably a good target range.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine may keep your brain working better at ages over 60, but you may need something like 1500 – 2000mg a day. Seems to help me. :-)
Cholesterol: I was on Atorvastatin and Fenofibrate for years. It lowered my cholesterol and Triglycerides somewhat, but not enough.
If we think about it, humans thru the aeons have mostly starved for a couple of days until they could hunt and gather some food, then feasted, then starved again. Maybe “Starve-Feast-Starve” is a cycle of Nature. Only in modern times do we insist on flat, steady blood levels and constant, low calorie intake.
So against all medical advice, I started to skip some breakfasts and lunches; At first, once a week, then worked up to 3 times a week. At dinner, I would eat as much as I wanted, but just steamed veggies and baked meats (chicken mostly, some beef). I ate some grains, but cut way back–no more pizza. After 6 months of daily walks with this regimen, I had lost 10 lb and my cholesterol and triglycerides were normal. Blood pressure also down 10 points, to 130/70!
TIP: For over-50s like us, triglycerides persist in the blood much longer after the grain-meal that created them (than when you were 20). If you can, try to skip breakfast and lunch the day before your bloodwork, and eat only veggies and possibly a baked meat dish, no later than 5 pm the night before. That may give you and your doctor a better idea of your baseline triglycerides (vs. TGs that are elevated due to yesterday’s meal). Doctor thinks I am crazy, but he’s taking me off my cholesterol meds. :-)