Yearofhealth2023's Journal, 17 May 2023

Cholesterol is partially a hereditary thing, and partially a diet thing. Might help to look at what fats you're consuming. Iirc, butter is a big bad cholesterol source... but dammit, it tastes so good! 😭 

Is this with statins? 

That’s a good improvement on the hdl! Awesomeness 

2 “F’s” 2 “C’s” all “A’s” shows improvement … good work effort. 👍💖 

No no meds for it yet been trying to lower thru diet and exercise. Ive been borderline high since a teenager then tried to pretend it didn’t exist and ignored it for past 8 years and now am back with a vengeance. Am disappointed was hoping for ldl to be a better number 

Well your HDL, Trigs, and Ratio are wonderful, but the total and LDL are perplexing. Where is all the saturated fat in your diet? I dropped dairy and within 6 weeks my Lipids improved immensely. You might have to comb through your kitchen and check labels.🤔 

It’s genetic. Im not getting any saturated fat to speak of. Well a very small amount. My food diary is pretty accurate and boring. Occasional whole egg, 1 tb mayonnaise some days to make chick salad. It’s frustrating.  

Think i really need to force myself to eat more vegetables and fruit 

where did you get the fatty acid/omega check? id like to get that for myself 

Fiber's very helpful with the LDL. Oats, beans, lentils, apples & oranges, all the cruciferous veggies.  

Healthy kidneys-i have a private doctor. That’s not as snooty as it sounds. I pay a monthly fee and in return and i pay out of pocket for my labs. In return she runs this 11 page lab panel that is super extensive. She has an agreement with the lab so my out of pocket for the lab is about 300. Labs are run generally every 4 months, tho last year she did every 3 as i was improving. She’s also accessible to me via email, text message and of course phone. It’s a whole office she employs Im guessing maybe 30 people at her location including a nutritionist, couple other doctors that do what she does. She also is on the cutting edge of the latest information to improve health. I got covid early on before NAC was widely talked about and think thats why my case, while severe, wasn’t worse as she got me on that asap. Im sure there are other drs that operate on this premise also. It is a little pricey but worth it to not have to make an office visit to get a refill on a med IVE been on for a decade for example, if there’s an emergency i can be seen immediately because she ACTUALLY cares. If you are in Washington lemme know will send you her info privately. Jb-you are so right!!!! The only thing i am somewhat good about is oatmeal. Thanks for the reminder. Crap. I had so many apples last my year i got appled out. And beans beans the wonderful fruit….🤪although i do like beans i just forget about them. Starting tomorrow will have beans for lunch and an apple today. Thank you Jb.  

I looked at your menu, and the only 2 items that jumped out were the cheddar cheese and also the Slim-Fast Keto Bombs, which loads your arteries up with 15g of saturated fat. So the Keto Bombs would be my experimental drop for the next 3 months.  

Good idea Jb. I rarely have cheese but those keto bombs were my sad attempt at satisfying my chocolate craving…..any ideas for an alternative? 

What worked for me was to just break up from chocolate and eat a big bowl of fresh strawberries, blackberries, etc. instead. If that's too much, maybe buy a high quality bar of chocolate and have only a single serving on the weekends (there's less sat fat in real chocolate than in those Keto bombs). I really would not recommend it though; who really wants to struggle daily through the cravings it triggers? 

Yep thats the dilemma of it all. I can’t have really good chocolate in the house because, alas, i am a sugar/chocolate/ice cream and lays potato chips addict. Even when my brain says no i will consume till gone. Therefore i cannot have anything thats actually tempting to me in the house. Isn’t that crazy. Im in intelligent informed human that cannot reason myself out of something if it’s easily accessible. Tho i can prevent myself from buying it so doesn’t make a lot of sense. The keto bars were a little gross but just enough of an illusion to fool myself and even then i was eating 2-3 a day when in the house. Im hoping one day i will grow out of it. I know where and why it started and it was over 40 years ago so for Pete’s sake enough already of my crazy compulsions but…there it is 

Ps I’m having a Honeycrisp apple as i type thank you very much miss Jb. 

With keto stuffs and watching your cholesterol... generally the two don't mix because keto is high fat and protein. Generally keto isn't recommended as a long-term diet for that reason. Also, on the note of apples... do try pink lady apples, they crunch nicely and taste divine. 😋 

Thanks Cyrus, yep I’ve had those they are yummy. Also cosmic crisp. I just had so many apples last year i didn’t want to even think about them anymore. My better half eats 2 a day along with a big serving of cantaloupe honeydew pineapple and blueberries daily. I dont like cold fruits tho and forget to take out to get to room temp unless he leaves me a bowl. Days i show fruit on my food log are days he left fruit out for me, or like today,when justbananas reminded me to have an apple. Work in progress….. 

Fruit is always great, but don't forget the veggies, too. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, radishes, sugar snap peas, Brussel sprouts -- they have fiber, protein, vitamin C and a boatload of other micronutrients. If you don't like them raw, you can stir-fry them or roast or use an airfryer. Tip: rinse your fruit in lukewarm water to bring them down to room temperature quicker. 

O good point. You reminded me i have cauliflower in the frig. Was just telling my hubby on the phone about your advice Jb and he’s like, i always tell you to eat fruit and apples. I said, yep but i forget once you go to work and Jb reminded me when i was hungry😂. Thanks sis. I always always appreciate your advice.