Todd,
Thank you for your comments on the blood type diet. One question: Does it
take less gastric acid and enzymes to digest chicken and fish than meat? It
would be interesting to know the answer.
As to the TRI:HDL ratio. See: JAMA, vol.276, p.882,'96; also Family Practice
News, vol.21, no. 23, '91; also Atkins newsletter, Jan & Feb. '97. These
studies indicate that the higher the triglycerides, the greater the risk of
CHD. I also attended a nutritional conference in NYC (Oct. '97) where Atkins
gave the keynote speech on glucose metabolism and disease. During the speech,
Atkins stated that the "surrogate markers" for insulin resistance is an
abnormal TRI:HDL ratio (I have a tape of the speech). The ratio should be
<2:1.
From a treatment standpoint, LDL:HDL and TRI:HDL are not co-variant.
Triglycerides are the easiest to correct (<100 is optimal), simply lower
starches and sugars in the diet. Your experience (50% reduction in
triglycerides) seems to verify this fact. So, even though your other blood
lipids remain a problem, you have lowered your risk factor for CHD to some
degree by eating a paleo diet.
You can try supplements like pantathine, and essential oils. However, you
made need to look at thyroid function and other hormone levels. Cholesterol
is used to make steroid hormones like DHEA, testosterone, and androstendione.
Perhaps your levels of these hormones are low meaning more cholesterol is free
in the blood. Exercise, particularly resistance training will raise HDL
levels.
If your in the NYC area, you may want to consider a visit to Atkins. By
looking at a variety of tests, an answer may be found.
Keep up the good work!
Ed Campbell, DC,CSCS
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