The EssaysOnLife Diet

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Quentin Shanon Eaton
5 years ago
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1 The EssaysOnLife Diet Revised: First, this essay isn t abut what yu might think it is abut a way t lse weight, althugh that will almst certainly happen if the diet discussed belw is fllwed. This essay is instead abut what types f fd shuld be cnsumed fr maintenance and fr imprvement f health in particular, heart health. I m nt a medical persn s the standard disclaimers apply this essay represents nly my pinins and anything said here may nt apply t anyne else. Prper medical advice shuld be sught befre even thinking abut adpting anything discussed belw. Backgrund: I have high chlesterl, like many peple. My dctr put me n Lipitr, the mst cmmnly-used statin drug fr lwering chlesterl, in circa My dctr started me at 20 mg per day and then increased my dsage t 40 mg in 1999, where I ve been ever since. The impetus t mve frm 20 mg t 40 mg was a heart scan I had in 1999 which shwed sme small blckage in the crnary arteries. In April f 2006 I had anther heart scan which shwed significant blckage in the crnary arteries. This was very puzzling t me and, f curse, I Ggled fr an answer. I learned that, while Lipitr clearly lwers chlesterl levels, its ability t prevent heart disease is less certain where heart disease is defined as the buildup f plaque in the crnary arteries. I had naively assumed less chlesterl, less buildup. Wrng. I had less chlesterl but the buildup cntinued unabated. Of curse, my buildup was prbably less than it wuld have been had I nt increased my dsage f Lipitr but that was little cnslatin nce I saw hw much buildup I actually had in my recent heart scan. I cncluded that a pssible cntributing factr t the buildup was the fat, dumb and happy apprach I had twards my diet. Since I m taking Lipitr, wn t it flush ut any bad fds I eat? Isn t mst f the prblem genetic anyway and nt related t what I eat? Hw culd having a few extra punds n the frame cause any prblems? S, back t reality what shuld I d? My dctr recmmended taking Niacin, aka vitamin B3, at 1,500 mg/day. Niacin claims t raise the gd chlesterl (HDL) and lwer the bad chlesterl (LDL) and is available ff-the-shelf. Since Niacin causes skin flushing, I fund a slw release frm f Niacin that reduces skin flushing. Nte that 1,500 mg/day is a strng dse and shuld nly be dne under medical supervisin (which usually includes peridic mnitring f liver functin). At this pint, I als decided t make sme changes in my diet sme fairly drastic changes, including: Out with the bad fats (saturated and trans) and in with the gd fats (mnunsaturated and plyunsaturated). This has surprisingly majr implicatins n margarine, n ckies, n dughnuts, n trtilla chips, etc. Saturated fats seem t be everywhere. I n lnger eat anything that cntains chlesterl beef, chicken, fish, milk, cheese, etc. Gne is my belved pizza. Whppers are a distant memry. I dn t remember ice cream at all. OK, s maybe I have a chicken salad every nw & then

2 I switched t three primary surces f prtein: Eggbeaters As yu prbably knw, Eggbeaters includes nly the whites f the egg and cntains n chlesterl nr saturated fat. I nw make an incredible Eggbeatersbased tmat-mushrm-nin melet -- wh needs cheese in an melet, anyway? Whey Prtein Pwder Whey is a milk byprduct, as in curds & whey. I was very surprised t find ut that mst f the whey prtein pwders als cntain saturated fat and chlesterl. I m aviding meat t get away frm saturated fat and chlesterl, why wuld I want them in a prtein pwder? I fund that BiChem s whey prtein pwder des nt cntain saturated fat nr chlesterl s I ve been using it. Sy Prtein Pwder This prduct des cntain plant estrgen which I m assuming is inncuus t me. I nw have t make sure I get enugh prtein since I n lnger cnsume high prtein meats. I take 30 grams f prtein 5 times a day, r 150 grams ttal. This is higher than is nrmally recmmended and is based n the fact that I exercise fairly strenuusly. I nw eat fruits and vegetables galre plus whle grain breads. I dn t knw why it tk me s lng t figure this ne ut. I switched t Kashi s GLean series f breakfast cereals because they re high in prtein and cntain n fats. A typical breakfast: A bwl f Kashi s GLean cereal with a sliced banana and 30 grams f BiChem whey prtein pwder mixed in water t simulate milk, albeit very prly. Or ne f my tmat-mushrm-nin melets. A typical lunch: Bush s Vegetarian Baked Beans mixed in with a cuple f chpped Garden Burgers. A typical dinner: Sme cked rice with steamed brccli and cauliflwer. A typical snack: A banana/whey prtein shake (r a banana/sy prtein shake) mixed with ice & water in a blender. Interestingly, n a recent crss-cuntry drive, I fund that abut the nly fds I can eat frm a cnvenience stre are Fig Newtns and pretzels everything else has saturated fat and/r chlesterl. I nw take a few supplements, like calcium, t make up fr dietary deficiencies. Mre n supplements belw. Here are the results f my new diet and Niacin regimen ver the last tw mnths, since starting it n May 1 and having a bld test n July 1 (actually, June 30): May 1, 2006 July 1, 2006 September 1, 2006 Chlesterl (lwer is better) ? HDL (higher is better) 48 46? LDL (lwer is better) 97 42? Triglycerides (lwer is better) 78 81? Weight ? - 2 -

3 I m particularly pleased with the lwering f my chlesterl, my LDL and my weight and smewhat baffled why HDL remained essentially unchanged. Accrding t sme dctrs, the lw LDL numbers are sufficient t cause an actual reductin in artery plaque it certainly wuld be nice t have turned the crner n plaque buildup. I ll have a new heart scan in a year t see if this is the case. T attack HDL, I m ging t increase my level f exercise there seems t be a brad cnsensus that exercise increases HDL. I expect that I ll cntinue t lse weight and wuld like t be arund 190 punds by September 1. On r abut September 1, I ll have a new chlesterl bld test and fill in the September clumn. Let me mentin ne f the supplements I ve been taking Cenzyme Q10, cmmnly called CQ10. I stumbled acrss it n the web with articles like: CQ10, is energy n call," says, Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a bard certified cardilgist at the New England Heart and Lngevity Center. "I have lng cnsidered CQ10 a wnder nutrient because f its ability t supprt heart health." In additin t energizing yur heart, CQ10 has als been shwn t supprt the immune system, bld pressure and healthy chlesterl levels. Mre than 100 clinical studies at majr universities and hspitals have dcumented the actins f Cenzyme Q10 and nw new studies have researchers heaping mre praise n this nutrient. If yu are taking any f the statin family f drugs such as Lipitr, Zcr r Crestr t lwer yur chlesterl yu shuld nt be withut CQ10. These drugs can literally "kill" synthesis f CQ10. [emphasis mine] S, I added CQ10 t my list f supplements (2 tablets per day at 60 mg per tablet). While ne has t be cautius abut medical infrmatin n the web (including the web page yu re reading nw), the supprt fr CQ10 seemed t be ubiquitus and it is available ff-the-shelf. Because I changed multiple factrs in my daily regimen at the same time (added Niacin, changed diet and started taking CQ10), it s hard t say what changes cntributed t my imprved results this is an experimental scientist s wrst nightmare. Relative t the lwer chlesterl & LDL, I suspect that Niacin and my imprved diet bth cntributed t that. Relative t the weight lss, I suspect that CQ10 played a rle alng with my imprved diet. Let me mentin anther supplement Omega 3 fish il. There seems t be a brad cnsensus that Omega 3 is gd fr cardivascular health. It s in the plyunsaturated family s it s a gd fat. I purchased a brand that is saturated fat-free, chlesterl-free and which (allegedly) has had the envirnmental cntaminants (such as mercury) remved. I began taking it n July 18, S, in summary, here are the changes I m making leading up t my next chlesterl bld test n r abut September 1: 1. Increase my level f exercise t hpefully increase HDL. 2. Cntinue t lse excess pundage. 3. Begin taking Omega 3 fish il

4 Let me mentin ne ther dietary change I ve made. Over the years, I ve had a fairly strng dependency n Diet Pepsi. After reading abut the negative impact f sda s phsphric acid n bne density, I made the cmmand decisin n July 26, 2006, t give up Diet Pepsi and all sdas. If yu Ggle n phsphric acid and bnes, yu cme up with an minus 218,000 hits. Despite the sft drink industry s denials, I believe there is a cnnectin between cnsuming phsphric acid and the leaching f calcium frm bnes. Here s a typical article I fund n the web: Phsphric acid leaches calcium frm bnes and is a majr cntributr t the rising increase in steprsis. Animal studies shw that phsphric acid, a cmmn ingredient in sda pp, can deplete bnes f calcium. And recent human studies suggest that girls wh drink mre sda pp are mre prne t brken bnes. The sft drink industry denies that sda plays a rle in bne weakening. Animal studies, mstly invlving rats, pint t cnsistent and clear bne lss with the use f sda pp drinks. But as scientists like t pint ut, rats and humans are nt exactly the same. One cannt always wait fr a cnsensus n health issues such as this, especially when the particular industry invlved has a huge financial stake in the answer. Frm my perspective, the evidence is cnvincing that phsphric acid is detrimental t bne density. Nw let me transitin frm a fcus n me and prvide a suggestin t yu: Please get a heart scan!! They re abut $500 and are smetimes cvered by insurance. Dctrs, including mine, dn t seem t recmmend them but my dctr was very interested in seeing the results nce I tk the initiative t get a heart scan -- well, actually my wife scheduled me. Yu can t g wrng with a heart scan it will either shw yur heart arteries are clear, which is gd t knw, r it will shw plaque buildup in yur heart arteries, which is als gd t knw. Yu can d a heart scan nw t establish a baseline and then predicate the timing f yur next ne based n what the first ne shws. I shuldn t have waited 7 years fr my secnd heart scan since my first ne did shw sme buildup. I ll prbably have annual heart scans frm nw n. Keep in mind that I m 50-smething and my first heart scan was when I was 40-smething. I suspect heart scans dn t make a lt f sense fr smene in their 20 s r perhaps their 30 s althugh we ve all heard f peple having heart attacks in their 30 s. Frm an ROI (Return n Investment) perspective, a heart scan in yur 30 s prbably desn t make ecnmic sense but it s yur life hw much risk d yu want t take that everything is OK? It might be tempting t say Well, my bld chlesterl levels lk fine, why d I need a heart scan? My Lipitr-treated chlesterl levels met all medical guidelines fr the 7 years between my first heart scan in 1999 and my secnd ne in 2006 yet I had significant plaque buildup in thse 7 years. Bld chlesterl levels dn t seem t be a reliable indicatr r predictr f heart health this is why a heart scan is needed. Feedback: T be hnest, the "Essays n Life" diet sunds pretty hrrible t me. Once things are lking appreciably better, are yu ging t be able t integrate sme f the gd stuff back in? I dn't knw if I culd survive n rice, baked beans, and whey prtein pwder. The abve represents a cmmn theme regarding the feedback I ve received. Frm my perspective, I dn t really have much chice -- desperate times call fr desperate measures. Based n the amunt f blckage detected in my heart arteries n my mst recent heart scan, I need t take majr steps. Sure, I can squeeze in sme real fd every nw & then but I believe I need t fllw the EssaysOnLife Diet - 4 -

5 fairly rigrusly. Of curse, t add variety, I can add new fds t my diet as lng as they meet the criteria f n saturated fat, n trans fat and n chlesterl

Understanding Your Total-Cholesterol-to-HDL Ratio

Understanding Your Total-Cholesterol-to-HDL Ratio Understanding Yur Ttal-Chlesterl-t-HDL Rati Yur ttal-chlesterl-t-hdl rati is measured during a bld test called a lipid prfile. This wrksheet will help yu learn mre abut this rati. It will als help yu: