Re: WTF?
 

My dad was one of 7 children.....and every single one of them died of a heart-disease related cause. My dad died a fortnight after his 61st birthday of a massive heart attack, and one of his brothers had a heart attack in his sleep and died at the age of 51 :ohmy:

Although I'm not overweight (US size 6) I had a bit of a shock about five years ago when I had a full medical exam. My good and bad cholestorol levels were high (they printed out the bad levels in red ink!). The doctor said that it was probably because of the genetic link.

Now I must admit that I'm not overly keen on exercise; I can't bear to run. I've done aqua aerobics but I'm bored silly with yoga and got bored with aerobics, running machine/rowing machine/cycling machine. I can barely cycle up a slope lol! Currently I try to walk approx 5 miles a day, at least five or six times a week.

However....I started to eat and drink things which are considered 'heart-healthy'. Oatmeal is one of the best things to bring cholestorol down - there are loads of breakfast cereals containing oats but porridge is the best. Try to have food containing Omega 3 & 6; many eggs are now fortified with those, including the cage-free ones. Dip crusty fresh bread in extra-virgin olive oil. Instead of using mayo on sandwiches, I use 'Olivio' spread (no trans fats/cholestorol). You could also use 'Smart Balance' spread and mayo.

Use less salt too; I use the "Salt Sense" with 33% less sodium.

Use no-fat or 1% milk and dairy products (although I do love cheese.....)

Eat oily fish at least 3 times a week! Avocados are good too.

Nuts are also very good, especially Walnuts which contain lots of Omega 3, and almonds.

Dark chocolate is also v. good for the heart; at least 70%. I buy Green & Black's or Lindt (they also have 85% and 90% dark choc but it's a little too strong for my taste).

Best of all......I printed off this article last year and have kept it...it's called "Wine CAN be good for you....so are you drinking the right stuff?" and I started to drink red wine, Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile or Argentina. I was able to get the Madiran wine from France recently, but the local wine shop has stopped ordering it in:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...ght-stuff.html

So.....most evenings I'll have a glass of Cabernet and will often munch on some walnuts or some dark chocolate at the same time.

And guess what? After a couple of months of eating the above food items...my bad cholestorol dropped down to the normal range! :thumbsup:

Give it a try! Good luck! :fingerscrossed:

Re: WTF?
 

I love dipping bread in olive oil, but olive oil was on the bad list the doc gave me. So was alcohol, but I have heard the same as you about red wine. I don't use mayo, but I am a big fan of mustard. I wonder if mustard is good or bad?

Re: WTF?
 

Better than olive oil - fry up some bacon (maybe a pound or two) and then fry the bread in it. Mnnnggggghhmmmmmmm. Do it for me - I can't eat bread as I'm gluten intolerant.

I hope the new diet takes. At least you'll get to try out new foods - like all those tasty salad dressings at the store.

I honestly don't like the excessive prescribing of things like Lipitor in this country. I genuinely don't know very many people who aren't on it. Which clearly means that culturally something is up and people should address the cause and not just paper over the symptoms at the end.

In all seriousness last year I had a massive epiphany. After finding out I was gluten-intolerant I altered my diet. I was never fat in any manner but I dropped 35 pounds. Then I figured out other ways to eat shit. Put it all back on. Then I was watching one of those ridiculous conference chats they have on CSPAN and, of all people, Bill Maher was talking with a bunch of others about health in the US. Two of the people, including Maher, very passionately and articulately argued that a great deal of problems people have health wise are purely based on the shit we all shovel into our bodies. High fructose corn syrup is evil, but we all also forget that the quality of stuff (and all the weird shit it's soaked in) are really bad for us. Which is why heart disease, liver disease and cancers are vastly more prevalent in the US than in any other country. To combat this everyone then takes umpteen medicines at rates and for lengths that they were never intended, without really altering their diet and behavior, and then as a culture we can't figure out the massive rise in liver problems and other issues caused by the massive increase in drugs we all take.

This stuck with me for awhile. Then one day I just got it and changed. I realized that a lot of my health issues - even mood based ones - are greatly affected by what goes in. So I changed. I pretty much grow most of my veggies. I buy arse loads of apples and bananas and eat those when hungry. Salad - with a little finagling - is much more satisfying than a Snickers. I barely drink shit like soda - maybe a Boynan's one (cane sugar based) every once in awhile. I don't eat anything with wheat flours in it. No pizza, KFC, burgers, sandwiches, donuts - nothing like that. I don't eat fast food - don't even crave it. Rice, potatoes and beans are tasty and very versatile. I don;t eat loads of meat, but if I wanted to I suppose I could. I drink water and coffee (my only vice - and I'm trying to change that). I'm not a food snob. And I'm never hungry.

And I feel much much better physically. I look like a frikking marine dude - and I didn't even have to do much working out to look good. I feel awake now. I even feel happier.

But that might be the new pills....

Re: WTF?
 

High Fructose Corn Syrup has been shown to suppress the bodies ability to tell the brain you are "Full", so people keep on eating.

Ever notice when you first moved here how EVERYTHING is laden with the stuff ??

Re: WTF?
 

:lol::lol:


Oh ABY, I'm sorry you've had a reality smack. Time to rethink some of those lunches.. you can do it, buddy, I know you can!

PS: cooked oatmeal for breakfast, that's a good start. It's not bad once you get used to it!

Re: WTF?
 

My numbers were similar to yours ABY. I've got more serious with the exercise, now doing cardio for at least 1 hour a week sometimes 2 and strength training for at least one hour also, cut out the butter, bacon and cheese, increased the Olive Oil, fruits, veg and water (red wine too was advised but I don't drink) No more soda, Oatmeal for breakfast with raw brown sugar or pure maple syrup on, no crappy HFCS, which works wonders cause I'm not hungry after eating that until past lunch time.
I do still eat all the forbidden foods, but in small quantities and only once in a great while.
No weight lost on the scale, but my clothes are loose now.
Good luck it's quite the life change.
Oh the doc tried me on a drug, Lipitor or something, totally messed up my liver and it's taken 2.5 years to get my Liver enzymes back to normal finally. No more drugs for me.

Re: WTF?
 

I can vouch for that. I couldn't eat the dreadful stuff a few months ago...after sticking with it I now have high fibre oatmeal every day...with 2 heaped desert spoons of flax seed and 1 of cinnamon.

Re: WTF?
 

I was looking at the label of Rice Crispies once, I think they always tasted unsweetened, basically bland but I was shocked that they had HFC in them too.

Re: WTF?
 

What do you mean by "cooked" oatmeal?:confused: The only oatmeal I know is the flavored "just add hot water" stuff with a good chunk of butter in it and I'm guessing that's not what you mean.:p

Re: WTF?
 

The old fashioned oats that you cook yourself always taste best IMO add a little maple syrup and they actually taste pretty good.

Re: WTF?
 

Mo doesn't go with the instant stuff like most of us...she actually cooks hers.

Re: WTF?
 

Old fashioned Quacker Oats... that was the name I was trying to remember.

Re: WTF?
 

My wife has been very interested in this sort of thing recently. It turns out that conventional thinking on saturated fat = high cholesterol is all based on a flawed study. The guy apparently fudged his results to make it fit with his ideas.

Newer thinking is focusing on lowering carbs such as bread and grain based carbs. The body's reaction to all these carbs is what causes higher levels of cholesterol. It's why people on the Atkins diet surprisingly didn't have higher levels of cholesterol despite all that saturated fat.

There is now a trend in so called Paleo or Primal diets that still include good carbs such as fruit and stuff but dramatically lower grain based carbs such as bread and pasta. The wife recommends a book called "Good calories bad calories" by Gary Taubes, "Paleo solution" by Robb Wolf and "Primal blueprint" by Mark Sisson. These are all science based books not trendy lifestyle diets.

Keep eating the bacon, just not on bacon butties!

Re: WTF?
 

OK, so pretty much the opposite of everything I've just learned.

Re: WTF?
 

I'm a carb junkie...especially anything sweet...doesn't seem to harm my chol levels.