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Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
vandelee
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Hi everyone

Post by vandelee »

Hi everyone, what a difference a month makes ...
I am 51 years old , a bit overweight , 6.4 ' 235 pounds ( just lost 10 last month ) with pretty high cholesterol . ( ldl and tri over 200 with HDL around 40 ) . Have had high Cholesterol for as long as I can remember so last month my doctor suggested a coronary calcium scan to see if should take a statin. It came back at 835 ...90% .. I have no symptoms , I since started running 2-3 miles per day and I am fine .
Ever since the scan I have been living with Dr google . I ended up in the Cureality forum from Dr Davis and gave up all wheat for the last 4 weeks and lost 10 -15 pounds . A member there talked about his APOE status and how sat fats may not be suitable for him so I decided to get tested and learned a few days ago that I am 3/4.
So now I have spend at least 20 hours perusing this forum . First of all let me say thank you .. I am amazed by the info available .
My main confusion at this point is diet . Dr Grundy was the only person i found on speaking about this so I decided to follow his recommendations. Not sure were I stand with the avoidance of Lectins though ... it gets pretty restrictive and somewhat depressing.
Are there people here who do well with a less restrictive diet ? Somehow I am not that worried about AD right now , my main concern is my heart..
Anyhow thank you everyone and I hope to chime in occasionally .
vandelee
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by vandelee »

A few more things
Quit drinking in 1989
Quit smoking in 1999 ( still have 85% ) lung capacity
Quit grains and sugar last month
Gave up most fruits a few berry per day ( half a cup)
Started probiotic, aged garlic , fish oil , vitamin D&K , curcummin and grapeseed
Started working out and running,
Started lipitor 10 mg last month no side effects
Nancy
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Post by Nancy »

Vandelee, you're doing great! You just found all of this out about yourself and have been very proactive about improving your health...kudos to you! You're at the right place, too. This is truly an amazing board. I believe you can turn your health around. Have you checked out Stavia's Primer yet? As she reminds us, it is best to make changes gradually as you learn, so you don't get overwhelmed. She also wisely emphasizes reasonableness. You have made an excellent start. I personally have limited sugar, refined carbs and animal fats. I occasionally cheat if it's a special occasion like a birthday party, for example. Some are much stricter. Some less so. You'll figure it out.
3,4
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KatieS
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Post by KatieS »

Welcome to the forum vandalee. As another 3/4 who is on statins (rousuvastatin 10mg), be sure to add ubiquinol such as this. Co-Q10 levels decrease with all statins. With your lifestyle changes and supplements, maybe you have already perused Stavia's primer. Oh, 20 hours---this must be the shock of the CAC score & E4 all at once. Have you had your vitamin D level checked?

I'm assuming that your doctor did not want to stress test you prior to starting running, but I would focus on time (jog/walk) rather than sprint as you gradually adapt. Many times athletes dismiss a "twinge" in the chest, unfortunately my husband being one of them. As noted in a recent post, the E4 allele does increase our risks of silent damage. I wear a Polar monitor for feedback especially noting a healthy brisk heart rate recovery. Always recommended to cross train with non-joint pounding sport, while you continue your weight loss.
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Stavia
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Post by Stavia »

Welcome Vandelee. I applaud your desire to improve your health through lifestyle changes.
Diet is very important but its not 100% of the changes we recommend, please dont neglect exercise, sleep, stress management.
Nope, not everyone here follows Gundry absolutely. However there are a few crucial common elements. Minimise or eliminate refined carbs. Minimise starchy carbs if insulin resistance is an issue. Favour leafy and other coloured veggies, nuts. Prioritize omega 3s, can be done with fish or seafood or supplements. Avoid industrial seed oils and rather use olive oil, which has other benefits.
In car atm and getting car sick so Ive prolly missed some elements.
But mainly welcome!!!
Starfish77
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Post by Starfish77 »

Hello Vandelee,
I'm so impressed with all the positive changes you have made already. Stavia's diet suggestions are excellent in distilling the most significant elements. If you can do a good job keeping to these suggestions, you will get plenty of benefits. You can fine tune it once you have these features built into your daily routine. It is good not to attempt a huge number of changes at one time. I'm impressed that you are exercising too. The exercise part is the hardest one for me.
Starfish E4/E4 79
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Ruth
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Post by Ruth »

Welcome, Vandelee!
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SusanJ
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Post by SusanJ »

Hi Vandelee, and we're glad you found us.

I'd just like to throw a couple more in the mix:

Stavia mentioned, "Minimise starchy carbs if insulin resistance is an issue." Do you know you HbA1c and fasting glucose?

By cutting refined starches and sugars, hopefully you'll see your both your triglycerides, and if your A1c and fasting glucose are high, lab results come down.
vandelee
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by vandelee »

hank you everyone
Fasting glucose seems to be around 87 , do not know my Hba1c, will ask for it on my next check up in 2 months, I am taking Ubiquenol also . Eliminated fruits which seem to be my kryptonite, after eating a single pear my glucose went from 87 to 130 . Eliminating fruits dropped my weight 4 pounds this week. I eat primarily greens and shellfish ..not certain how sustainable that is long term , especially since I will be traveling to Europe for the next two weeks ..I guess I better load up on some food bards or so ...any suggestions ?

Thank you
Starfish77
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Re: Hi everyone

Post by Starfish77 »

Nuts are great travel food to carry in a suitcase.
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