As I look up from grading exams,

On Tue, 2 Jan 1996, Gary Jackson wrote:

> I went back to
> Atkins and read his section on cholesterol.

Coincidentally, I just finished reading Atkins.  I never tried
his diet, but I thought I should read the book just to be up to
speed on what everyone else in the lowcarb world is talking
about.

> I decided to take some
> supplements until I regained some control. I took four tablespoons of
> granular lecithin and 6 garlic caps per day.

Yeah, I made a similar decision in a hurry.  I have opted for
chromium, lecithin and flax oil.  He also recommends carnitine
for improving HDL/LDL ratios, but I can't seem to find any
outside support for this.

> I also went and got the
> highest strength multivitamin and mineral supplement I could find. I took
> this for 2 months and got my cholesterol down to 225.

That's an impressive drop.  What was that supplement anyway?

> I stopped the
> supplements about 2 months ago. My cholesterol continues to improve.

You stopped all of the supplements, with no rebound?

> Atkins
> does say that often cholesterol rises for a few months and then starts
> improving.

I don't remember reading that, although I do remember something
about cholesterol rising after the first couple of *weeks* on the
diet.

> I have heard some theories that say this is because the arteries
> are being cleaned out and this causes more circulating cholesterol. This
> may be bunk.

Sears says that the reason why some people feel crappy when they
start the Zone diet is because arachidonic acid is being
liberated.

The thing is, I *don't* feel crappy.  At least, I didn't before I
got these blood test results.

> You have not been on the low carb type diet for that long and
> with Zone and Neaderthin the carbs are not that low. I would decrease my
> carbs to more Atkins levels to improve the triglycerides further and to get
> the HDL up.

The Zone diet is low in absolute fat, and most of that is
monounsaturated.  But the carbs are fairly high, only considered
"low carb" relative to other kinds of diets altogether.  Of
course, I don't know what my blood looked like after two months
of Zoning.  Most people get very good results, but then so do
most people on other low carb plans.

> I would also get onto an aggressive supplement program. Atkins
> says he can always get cholesterol under control without prescription
> drugs. He lists about 10 supplements to take. Give this another month and
> check the results. If things do not start heading in the right direction
> then this diet may definitely not be for you. I bet things will improve.

I bought one of those home test kits.  My first move will be to
use the supplements and start favoring monounsaturated fats with
lean meats again for a while.  I'll test in two weeks and see if
there's any change.

The frustrating thing is that I really *like* this way of eating,
and I was certain that the steady weight loss, improved
muscularity and general sense of well-being meant that I was
doing something right.  It is very disconcerting to have all that
busted by a sense of cholesterol dread.

Todd Moody
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