Friday, February 8, 2008

WooHoo! I beat that Cholesterol thingy!

In the last couple years my cholesterol numbers have been creeping up, even as the suggested 'healthy' numbers have been creeping down. So, last year my doc suggested I tackle bringing the numbers down a bit. He's a pretty cool dude and is quite good with numbers, risk factors, etc. so he was convincing...

So, when Annie and I got sick last November, we decided to take advantage of the two week hiatus from normal eating and modify the diet. I cut out all dairy (yikes!), substitute Benecol for butter, eat eggs maybe once a week, red meat maybe once a month, added a lot more fresh veggies and fruit (the fruit bowl is always stocked), and cut out sugar (I use only raw agave nectar - very sweet, I don't miss sugar one iota.)

Without doing anything regarding exercise (I'll start tomorrow!), I've lost ten pounds and my numbers have changed thusly:

Cholesterol - 213 --> 148
Triglycerides - 150 --> 76
HDL - 45 --> 44
LDL - 138 --> 90
Cholesterol/HDL - 4.7 --> 3.4
LDL/HDL - 3.1 --> 2.1

So, I'm a happy camper! Anyone else dealing with this?

2 comments:

  1. I had my levels checked a few years ago and it was HDL-65 LDL-114. I only eat eggs 4-5 times a week, I use real butter and put half & half in my coffee. Only eat red meat 3 times a week and use only real pure cane sugar. I might be a pound or two overweight but at least I don't have to worry about a heart attack.

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  2. Glad to hear that through intense will power and self-control that you've managed to keep a healthy heart. Actually, I think it has more to do with a sense of humor than anything else, which means you're OK!

    I read somewhere that in ten-twenty years there are going to be a lot of granola-eating, organic choosing, vitamin swallowing folks who are going to be really pissed off as they die from nothing...

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