Diet/Exercise/Health/Wellness Support Thread

Parent Cafe
15501

<p>I think I’m the third poster to recommend oatmeal. My lipid profile started to edge out of optimum territory a few years ago. It was re-tested after 7 weeks of eating oatmeal almost every morning. The doctor described the improvement as “astounding.”</p>

<p>I mix it with cinnamon, a few walnuts or almonds, raisins, and Greek yogurt. Very filling and delicious.</p>

<p>I also take medical grade fish oil, ordered from omegabrite.com. My understanding is that this is the only brand that has the right ratios of EPA to DHA (7:1). It also has much more active ingredient in each capsule than other brands.</p>

15502

<p>Trader Joes Turkey Bacon:</p>

<p><a href=“http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/7365/photoqxj.jpg[/url]”>http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/7365/photoqxj.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15503

<p>I don’t know if I posted before- my LDL is 186, my HDL is 100 & triglycerides are 20.
Fish oil is a supplement I have been taking with my Drs approval to help with the fibro.
I have genetic high cholesterol, & in my 30’s it was over 200, but now is over 300.
My mother also had genetic high cholesterol, died from heart problems shortly after her 75th birthday.</p>

<p>I don’t even really like bacon & eat meat about once a week, fish or chicken three times & the rest veggie meals.</p>

<p>Saw that zinfandel supposedly has the good stuff to battle cholesterol. Never had it before, but book group is tomorrow night & I know they will drink what I won’t!</p>

15504

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<p>The bench I was jumping to has a well padded cushion, so it ended up being a non-event. Just a big ol’ (formerly) fat guy klutz moment. Otherwise, I felt like you did – really happy with the ease of jumping and landing well. I have to pay attention because the bench I’m jumping onto is only 11 inches deep. I do have it close to a wall so I can reach out if I overshoot!</p>

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<p>I was listening to Rod Stewart in high school. He was the singer on the classic 1969 Jeff Beck album, Beck-Ola along with Ronnie Wood on bass, and long-time Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane pianist, Nicky Hopkins.</p>

<p>[Beck</a> Ola: Jailhouse Rock](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EId-5G13Ns]Beck”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EId-5G13Ns)</p>

15505

<p>A lot more juice than the Blues Brothers version.</p>

<p>Worked out on the weight machines and heavy weights at the YMCA - still sore from all of the floor work from Monday in the abs.</p>

15506

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<p>You couldn’t pay me enough to even consider a statin with those numbers. Your ratio of HDL to triglyericides is off-the-charts fantastic. It’s a 99% sure bet that your LDL is the harmless large fluffy Pattern A particle size. Track down an AnyLabTestNow location near you and spend the $69 to buy yourself peace of mind. Those numbers would suggest a very low risk for coronary disease and keep in mind that there has never been a statin study that shows improved health outcomes for women. The best they can do is show a very slight improvement in the risk of coronary events, but with a higher risk of dying from other causes. Not to mention the joint pain.</p>

15507

<p>thanks for the tips!</p>

15508

<p>Study published 2 weeks ago:</p>

<p>[Statins</a> work as well for women as men: study | Reuters](<a href=“http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/31/us-statins-idUSTRE80U1GN20120131]Statins”>http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/31/us-statins-idUSTRE80U1GN20120131)</p>

<p>I think the jury is still out on women and statins. In reality, there’s not always a black or white answer to whether a given individual should take any particular drug because most drugs do have side effects and risks for some individuals (and that includes nutritional supplements) but for other individuals the benefits outweigh the risks.</p>

<p>IMHO, you need to 1) find a doctor you trust 2) do your own homework (understanding that you’re going to get a slew of conflicting opinions and medical study conclusions) and then make the decision that makes sense for your particular situation.</p>

<p>For example, if high cholesterol is your only risk factor, you might want to forgo the statin. On the other hand, a family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, being overweight, etc. might be enough to tip the decision in the favor of the statin. Taking the position that statins are the greatest thing since slice bread and will ensure you never get heart disease is naive and so is holding the belief that statins are evil.</p>

<p>This is purely anecdotal but I’ve known at least 4 people in the last few years who decided to see if they could get their numbers down via supplements and/or drastic dietary changes. All succeed when their lipids were checked within months of making those changes. And then… When they were tested the next time, the lipid results had bounced back to per-supplement/dietary change even though they continued on the regimen. Apparently, you can affect your lipids in the short term but it’s hard to maintain.</p>

<p>I don’t think there’s anything wrong with giving diet a shot and see what happens but if someone has always had a history of high cholesterol (mine has been high since I was in my early 20’s and in great shape) it’s more likely to be genetic and not controllable through diet and exercise. My best friend has worked out religiously 5-7 times a week for the past 30 years, not a ounce of extra fat on her body and still has high cholesterol. Always has. She even consulted a cardiologist and had some genetic testing done. She has a genetic risk factor and the cardiologist wants her on a statin. Said even though she is the picture of excellent health, genetics are hard to overcome.</p>

15509

<p>There is a huge risk factor with “metabolic syndrome” (insulin resistance) that is associated with obesity, diabetes, and coronary disease. With those HDL and tridglyceride numbers, there is zero chance of insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. With those numbers, you probably aren’t overweight, you don’t smoke, and you probably get quite a bit of exercise. And, if you have the Pattern A LDL, the correlation will be with reduced heart disease from the entire lipid profile. So, what exactly is lowering your LDL number supposed to do for you? The relevant issue is not some arbitrary cholesterol number, but your risk of heart disease looking at the big picture.</p>

15510

“The 17 Daggers of Arterial Disease”

<a href=“Vitamins and Supplements Rooted in Science - Life Extension”>Vitamins and Supplements Rooted in Science - Life Extension;

From this article, which I think provides a pretty interesting review of things. Cholesterol is only one piece of the puzzle.

[Media</a> Says: No Cure for Heart Disease ? Life Extension](<a href=“Vitamins and Supplements Rooted in Science - Life Extension”>Vitamins and Supplements Rooted in Science - Life Extension)

15511

<p>What is the thinking on taking cholesterol meds in old age, like 80s & 90s. My Dad had a terminal cancer diagnosis and still took BP & chol meds until the very end. It seemed like a waste of time & money to me, plus he loved grapefruit juice, but it is not recommended with those meds.</p>

<p>If cholesterol lowering meds have a slow long term affect, is there an age at which it is no longer necessary to take them?</p>

15512

<p>Good information on that Life Extension site especially on the heart page. Thanks for posting the link, notrichenough.</p>

15513

emerald:

Here is how they determine the cut-off for for statin therapy.

Assuming that you do not currently have coronary heart disease, then score yourself using these risk factors - 1 point for each

Cigarette smoking

Hypertension (BP 140/90 mmHg or on antihypertensive medication)

Low HDL cholesterol (<40 mg/dl)*

Family history of premature CHD (CHD in male first degree relative <55 years; CHD in female first degree relative <65 years)

Age (men 45 years; women 55 years)

<ul>
<li>HDL cholesterol 60 mg/dL counts as a “negative” risk factor; its presence removes one risk factor from the total count.</li>
</ul>

Note: in ATP III, diabetes is regarded as a CHD risk equivalent.

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For example, I have 1 risk factor from my age, but that is offset by my high HDL which is a -1 risk factor. So my overall score is 0 risk factor.

With 0 or 1 risk factors, the guidelines are:

a) lifestyle changes with LDL above 160
b) statin optional from 160 to 189
c) statin recommended above 190 LDL.

[NHLBI</a>, ATP III At-A-Glance: Quick Desk Reference](<a href=“http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atglance.htm#Step3]NHLBI”>http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atglance.htm#Step3)

15514

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<p>Statistically, there is no improved mortality from taking statins in either men or women over 60 years old. Now, those statistics are driven by the fact that people over 60 are going to die more frequently – from another thing if it’s not one thing!</p>

15515

<p>[Berkeley</a> HeartLab](<a href=“http://www.bhlinc.com/pati_results.php]Berkeley”>http://www.bhlinc.com/pati_results.php)</p>

<p>This is the cardiac panel a good friend of mine who is a P.A. uses in her practice; she swears by it, but says you need someone who can interpret the results, although the labs does offer that for practitioners who order it.</p>

<p>No one has mentioned anything about perimenopause and elevated cholesterol. I’m assuming you know there’s a correlation. I’ve been told by several specialists that often times a physician will hold off on statins, if a woman’s cholesterol rising corresponds with entering the perimenopause stage. Often once you’ve entered menopause, the body will adapt on its own and the cholesterol will drop. Something to consider, although you have not mentioned where in your life cycle you are.</p>

<p>I’ve been on a statin for years. Anyone who’s read any of my posts knows that H works for major pharma and is a chemist. While he currently has good ratios (which is what any doc should really be looking at), his bad cholesterol might be considered high, if taken as a number on its own. He has said to me, knowing what statins can do to you, someone would have to come up with something better than what’s out there now for him to take any statin. His parents died in their 60s, basically through self-abuse of smoking and alcohol, so we don’t know if they had any heart disease. My mom had a silent heart attack in her 50s, but because she had a hysterectomy around 42 and I don’t know if they prescribed synthetic HRT back then when someone had a total hysterectomy, her heart disease may have been in part due to a lack of hormones at a young age. However, my oldest brother developed heart disease and required a stent in his late 50s, so I definitely have a history of heart disease at an early age in my family. </p>

<p>I do have to say that I’m on 20mg. of Lipitor, and have not had any experiences with muscle soreness, etc. After I’d been eating well, and exercising consistently for over two years, I decided to take a Lipitor vacation last fall. My cholesterol shot up really, really high (300s); so I agreed to go back on the Lipitor, for now. After I’m through perimenopause and am thoroughly in menopause, I may try a Lipitor vacation again and see what happens. I only did it for two months (and this was during a two-month period when I was hardly eating anything; of course, I wasn’t doing any exercise or moving around much at all). The doctor didn’t have any problems with my experiment, and hopefully I earned his trust when I went back on it again as recommended. </p>

<p>My mother had also been a smoker, which likely contributed to her heart disease, and her diet was the typical starchy, sugary diet of many families in the 60s and 70s. She did live to 83, and eventually died because she developed peritonitis, and due to her heart being so weak (she then had CHF), she chose not to do surgery, as she likely would not have survived it, and if she had, would have ended up in a nursing home for the rest of her life (which she deplored).</p>

15516

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<p>Perhaps the doctors were afraid that if they recommended stopping those drugs, and he then died of a heart attack a month before he was expected to die of the cancer, they would have to defend a malpractice lawsuit.</p>

<p>After receiving the diagnosis of terminal cancer, did he ask his doctors if he could stop taking the drugs?</p>

15517

<p>I should also add that I did get some unexpected good news last November. While I was having an ultrasound of right half of my thyroid that I have left, they were able to get a good look at my left carotid artery. I guess when you have half of the thyroid removed, the carotid artery tends to shift over a bit into the place where that half of the thyroid had been. He said my carotid was as clean as a whistle!</p>

<p>I also had an echo stress test in December and they said everything looked fine. That was an interesting test. They do a pre-stress test echocardiogram, then put you on the treadmill for about nine minutes, raising the speed and ramp every three minutes. The bed you lie down on for the echocardiogram is no more than two feet away from the treadmill, literally. And the second that treadmill stops, if it takes you more than two seconds to get from the treadmill to the table, and lying on your left side just right, then they get all flustered. They want that second echocardiogram to be at the instant the treadmill stops. I didn’t exit the correct way (how I exited the treadmill was not at the top of my priorities at the time… breathing was!), and started to get tangled up in the wires; you’d think I was about to give them all a coronary because I hadn’t gotten back on the table fast enough.</p>

15518

<p>terriwitt:</p>

<p>I think that you and your husband are perfect examples of how you have to look at the big picture and evaluate your own overall risk. It’s not just the LDL cholesterol number; there are so many other factors.</p>

<p>For example, I add into my mix the fact that I am not overweight, I exercise five or six days a week, my resting heart rate is under 50, and I recover 30 beats per minute after within 60 seconds of spiking my heart rate to my max (which I do on a regular basis). Over and above the standard cardiac risk factors, these all correlate strongly with low risk of cardiac disease. So, with my “big picture”, I wouldn’t take statins even with borderline high LDL because honestly, I think any reduction in my cardiac risk would be negligible.</p>

<p>But, each person has their own individual “big picture”, just as you and your hubby have made different cost/benefit calculations.</p>

15519

<p>Couldn’t they have the echocardiogram sensors stuck on you while you were on the treadmill (running or stopped)?</p>

15520

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<p>Is uncured bacon still bacon? Seems to me it’s more properly called pork belly at that point.</p>