Know your numbers: Cholesterol
There is so much information out there about cholesterol and more recently, about how statins are ineffective and can be harmful. This seems controversial and yet statins continue to be described like it's on autopilot.
My doctor didn't prescribe statins for me when I had my last annual check up done 3 years ago. I know, I know--what's that? An annual? That's not an annual when I skip SO many years. That's a failure to check in with my health.
I was scared. I admit it.
My lab test results from 2016 felt like a defeat. And it was entirely my doing. I wasn't eating as healthy as I should have. I was cutting corners due to work deadlines and my personal at home life was so hectic that I forgot to take care of me and just let it slide–you know the drill.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking, "I'll schedule an appoint next month." And I would. But I kept pushing it off. So here I am 3 years later.
Aside from that procrastination, there was the health issue. For the 2 of the 3 past years, I hadn't really done anything to change. Despite my 'Diabetes" diagnosis, I was at a loss as to what to do. Yes, I knew how to "Eat healthy", but the definition of what that 'Eat healthy' was–was so different than what it used to be. Now there was news about "Low-fat, high-carb" diets are out and "High-fat, low-carb" diets are in.
It was Paleo this and Paleo that. Keto this and Keto that. The buzzwords about it were everywhere. Many folks are sold on this and yet there is still the other camp with the rallying cry of "Low-fat, high-carb", although both sides are now waving the "Whole Foods" flag whereas I never used to hear that word associated with any Atkins (the most famous "High-fat, low-carb" plan, although not the originator) related plans decades ago.
You can't go wrong with "Whole Foods", right? But then there's the anti-lectin doctor, Dr. Steven Gundry with his plant parodox book (link at the bottom if you're interested in checking him out) and he's all about not eating many things that are whole foods like legumes or tomatoes. What are vegetarians supposed to do, eat air?
The thing that seems to be working for me is being more careful of the fats I add to my diet, limiting the kind of carbs due to my diabetes, and fasting. I fast 3 days a week and I check my glucose levels 2 or 3 times a day.
And I recently did my labwork. Yup. Finally. It's the holiday period right now, so I haven't gone in for my actual annual physical yet, but it's scheduled for next month. The doctor's office sent the paperwork for the labwork in anticipation of the annual check-up so I went into the lab to get 3 tubes of blood drawn for the tests which I'll share. Today it's cholesterol and you'll see the comparison of 3 years ago vs this month with highlights in red to show where my results exceeded the range in 2016:
My doctor didn't prescribe statins for me when I had my last annual check up done 3 years ago. I know, I know--what's that? An annual? That's not an annual when I skip SO many years. That's a failure to check in with my health.
I was scared. I admit it.
My lab test results from 2016 felt like a defeat. And it was entirely my doing. I wasn't eating as healthy as I should have. I was cutting corners due to work deadlines and my personal at home life was so hectic that I forgot to take care of me and just let it slide–you know the drill.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking, "I'll schedule an appoint next month." And I would. But I kept pushing it off. So here I am 3 years later.
Aside from that procrastination, there was the health issue. For the 2 of the 3 past years, I hadn't really done anything to change. Despite my 'Diabetes" diagnosis, I was at a loss as to what to do. Yes, I knew how to "Eat healthy", but the definition of what that 'Eat healthy' was–was so different than what it used to be. Now there was news about "Low-fat, high-carb" diets are out and "High-fat, low-carb" diets are in.
It was Paleo this and Paleo that. Keto this and Keto that. The buzzwords about it were everywhere. Many folks are sold on this and yet there is still the other camp with the rallying cry of "Low-fat, high-carb", although both sides are now waving the "Whole Foods" flag whereas I never used to hear that word associated with any Atkins (the most famous "High-fat, low-carb" plan, although not the originator) related plans decades ago.
You can't go wrong with "Whole Foods", right? But then there's the anti-lectin doctor, Dr. Steven Gundry with his plant parodox book (link at the bottom if you're interested in checking him out) and he's all about not eating many things that are whole foods like legumes or tomatoes. What are vegetarians supposed to do, eat air?
The thing that seems to be working for me is being more careful of the fats I add to my diet, limiting the kind of carbs due to my diabetes, and fasting. I fast 3 days a week and I check my glucose levels 2 or 3 times a day.
And I recently did my labwork. Yup. Finally. It's the holiday period right now, so I haven't gone in for my actual annual physical yet, but it's scheduled for next month. The doctor's office sent the paperwork for the labwork in anticipation of the annual check-up so I went into the lab to get 3 tubes of blood drawn for the tests which I'll share. Today it's cholesterol and you'll see the comparison of 3 years ago vs this month with highlights in red to show where my results exceeded the range in 2016:
Whew! I feel like the past several months of my diligent attention to health that it has paid off.
Total cholesterol in column one is currently 165, whereas it used to be 217.
LDL cholesterol is currently 93, whereas it used to be 137.
The cholesterol/HDL ratio is currently 3.6, whereas it use to be 5.
My non-HDL cholesterol is currently 119, whereas it used to be 119.
So it is possible to lower cholesterol levels without statin prescription drugs and all the side effects that accompany it.
Regarding the plant "Lectin" thing (not to be confused with Leptin, which our body produces), Dr. Gundry shares research on how it effects the body. There are some things that I think may be valid, but when I looked at the list of foods to avoid, I find it very limiting and wonder if the positive effects of food with lectins, may outweigh the negatives. For instance, legumes (beans), which I don't eat daily, but on a weekly basis I have it at least a couple of times. Seriously, how could I live without Chana Masala at my favorite Indian restaurant? There are work arounds like using a pressure cooker to break down the lectins. And I have a pressure cooker, but rarely use it.
As a counterpoint, there's also a link to Dr. Gabriel Cousen's "Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine", a book I've read twice in the past decade. It was published in 2003 and is a proponent for the benefits of raw food, juicing etc. The doctor has had many diabetics in his program who have either eliminated the need for meds or lowered it considerably. I definitely believe in the benefits of raw food and did a diet of 75% raw food for over 6 months several years ago and really felt the benefits and stopped only because of the time involved in preparing the yummy raw foods that motivated me to stay with the plan.
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