Maddy,
Thank you for your very comprehensive post re: the various markers for heart
disease. I agree this is a very complex issue and most likely, as you say,
not dependent upon one lipid marker. In spite of what I read, it's still
hard for me to break free from the cholesterol state of mind/worry because
of my mother's early death.
I haven't had my lab profiles done this year because I want to have several
months of Paleo under my belt to see what results, but I'm posting below the
profiles from 1994, 2000, 2001. (Also have the Lifeplan book and am reading
now for the third time.)
Beginning with a very SAD diet--
********
Jan 1994:
Total Cholesterol 237.0
HDL 29.0 (Low)
LDL 184.0 (High)
VLDL 24.0 (Normal reference range)
CHOL/HDL 8.17 (H)
Triglycerides 120 (N)
Iron 56.0 (N)
Glucose 80.0 (N)
My cardiologist handed me a copy of the AHA diet. I decided to go one
better and did Ornish ( haha haha) for a few months. Out of sheer unabated
hunger I finally went to AHA and no more than 6 oz of meat per day. I
gradually evolved right back into SAD ("gimme more meat, I'm stilllllll
starving") but with lots of very healthy whole grains and pasta (haha haha).
It wasn't long before I was taking an anti-depressant. I wonder why? (haha
haha)
(Note to Tsayonah: I'm not sure what part of my original post about
saturated fat made you think I'm a poster child for low-fat. Believe me, I
*know* what low-fat/no-fat is, and I haven't done the fat-free trip since
'94.)
I quit taking the anti-dressant in '98, but still was having low mood
problems that would seem to come and go. I'd never tied it to diet.
*********
Feb 2000:
Total Cholesterol 273.0 (H)
HDL 37.0 (N......barely)
LDL 179.0 (H)
CHOL/HDLC 7.38 (H)
Triglycerides 286.0 (H)
Glucose 99.0 (N)
Same cardiologist as above handed me prescription for Baycol and
instructions to take 1 aspirin every day. Immediate warnings popped up in
my head that--hey!--this stuff might hurt me. (haha haha) I took one tablet
of Baycol and never took another one. Still have the original bottle full
in the cabinet. And no aspirin--I've NEVER been able to take it, eats my
stomach alive.
I knew I didn't want to go these routes, so I saw a holistic MD for
alternative help. Well, shades of Ornish, she was a pudgy grain-gobbling
vegetarian (haha haha). Right--I need more grains and juices in my diet.
(haha haha) So one day in despondency in Mar. 2000, I was moping around a
grain-stocked health food store (Gee, maybe I just wasn't eating enough
whole grains & fiber) when the owner asked if he could help me. I told him
I hoped so.........and he did. He told me not to worry about dietary
cholesterol, to eat enough protein from meat & eggs, handed me a copy of the
glycemic index from Rick Mendosa's site and told me to choose veggies from
it, told me not to eat bread (which he amended to no more than one slice of
sprouted Ezekial bread per day), severely restrict other grains to
infrequent consumption, limit fruit, no juices at all, and absolutely give
up sugar. (I found out from another source that this was called a
"low-carb" diet.) He also recommended several supplements but did not push
me to buy them. (I do take some supplements, but I'm able to get them
wholesale from a source.) I owe him a debt of gratitude because he
empowered me with some basic nutritional advice which allowed me to further
read/learn more to empower myself. I really didn't know where to begin
before I met him. I found Atkins and felt worse than ever. Found Protein
Power and felt better. Found Lifeplan and felt much better.
And should I mention exercise. We are meant to move. I disagree with
anyone who says not to exercise because it screws up the metabolism. My own
experience is that it ramps it up in very positive ways.
And should I mention that it was by following low-carb that I discovered
that I'm grain intolerant. For years my guts had suffered miserably (and
probably my widdle brain too). Funny thing, I always knew from the time I
was a little kid that I didn't like sandwiches. Now I think I know why--my
little kid self knew they made me feel bad........but SAD culture overrode
this intrinsic knowledge.
Some of my profiles still weren't so very great as of a year ago, but they
were improved overall.
**********
Apr 2001:
Total Cholesterol 233.0 (H....sigh...but improved)
HDL 45.0 (N.......cheery hooray....higher than it had been!)
LDL 173.0 (H.........more sigh)
CHOL/HDLC 5.18 (H.......but improved)
Triglycerides 77.0 (N........big grin)
Apolipoprotein A1 119 (N, ref range 101-198)
Homocysteine 8.2 (ref rng <9.0 = mortality ratio 1.0)
I had C-Reactive Protein tested separately and can't find that report. I
remember that it was in the normal range. I've called the dr. to get
another copy of the report.
I found Ray's book in April and began Paleo in early May and will get more
lab work done in a few months to see what results. With the exception (Don,
I'm still working on it ) of 2T or less a day of half 'n half with coffee,
I'm completely in sync with the program, probably more with Ray than Cordain
or the Eades since I eat fatty meat.
Okay, you Cavemen out there, close your eyes and no peeking because this
last part is meant for certain-aged Cavewomen among us. After being fully
menopausal for over year and a half, my periods have returned since going
Paleo, althoughbeit in the same polymenorrheic form they had been during
perimenopause. Weird, huh? I wonder if there's a correlation? My
gynecologist says he doesn't know why they would return, but everything is
completely normal (i.e., no disease).
Theola
----- Original Message -----
From: "Madeline Mason" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2002 7:16 AM
Subject: Re: Lean/Fat Meat
> There is far more involved in the generation of heart disease than
> cholesterol levels. I don't know the exact number, but I have read that a
> substantial portion of those suffering fatal heart attacks do not even
have
> high cholesterol at all. Other important factors to consider are
> CRP(C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation), fibrinogen,
homocysteine,
> iron stores, triglycerides, and LP(a) (Lipoprotein little A). Anyone with
a
> strong family history of heart disease should consider testing for these
> markers, as some of them are very amenable to dietary changes.
Triglycerides,
> for example, will generally drop like a rock on a lowered carb diet, and
some
> doctors believe this is a far more important measure of heart health than
> cholesterol. The Eades, in Protein Power Lifeplan, go into great detail
about
> this. Adopting Paleo dietary changes such as the addition of a good
source
> of Omega 3 fatty acids will generally raise beneficial HDL cholesterol,
> improving the HDL/LDL ratio.
>
> Women lag behind men in heart attacks by about 10 to 15 years, and then
catch
> up once going through menopause. Some doctors believe it is the protective
> effect of estrogen, but HRT has not borne this out. Other doctors now
think
> the cessation of monthly blood loss leads to the accumulation of excess
iron
> stores which then becomes responsible.
>
> Heredity definitely plays a part, and some factors are controllable,
while,
> of course, others are not. The Eades book, again, goes into much detail
about
> most of the factors mentioned.
>
> Maddy Mason
> Hudson Valley, NY
>
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