Bloodwork after 7 months of low carb (LCHF)

[gardening momma]

When doing LCHF, I know you watch carbs very closely, but do you look at cholesterol/fat ratings? If so, what is a recommended range?

Do you mean intake of dietary fat & cholesterol? The theory and research by doctors & researchers who are looking into LCHF is that it's not dietary cholesterol that causes cholesterol build-up in the arteries, but insulin. I'll see if I can find a link or two that explains it.

[gardening momma]

Link

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.

The flour comment is not just referring to white flour vs. whole grain "healthy" flour. Any flour is a highly processed grain product.

Animal fats contain less than 20% omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labelled polyunsaturated. Forget the “science†that has been drummed into your head for decades. The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent. The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.

[Murphy101]

 

 

Thanks for this link - I can't wait to try this! For breakfast, I've been eating two sausage links and coffee with heavy cream, but I haven't been able to ditch the sugar in my coffee just yet. Bulletproof coffee almost sounds like an altogether different beverage and possibly just what I am looking for. We shall see :)

 

I hope you like it! It is like an altogether different drink to me. I've tried it out on a few friends and some just didn't like it. Some did want to add sugar, but they admitted they didn't need to add as much as normal. So if you need to add a dash of sugar, I bet it's still less than normal, and less is a good start. :)

[TranquilMind]

And my cholesterol and triglycerides are nice and low.

 

I'm going to go eat a lard and butter sundae. :D

 

I hope this finally shuts my Dh up about how my cholesterol would hit the roof, I eat almost nothing but eggs, veggies, meat and fat. He just shakes his head at my big wad of butter on everything, and heavy cream in my coffee, about 5 eggs a day. Who has the last laugh now, Mr BOH?

 

Muuuahhahaaa come, join me on the dark side.

 

 

eta: she also said that I'm almost underweight, to not lose more weight or when I fully hit meno I would be a mess, as women store estrogen in fat. I don't know if I agree with her about that, I think I have another 10 to go.

 

Good for you! And you are SO right.

 

Last summer I was eating high fat, low carb. I got lazy around the holidays. Since I'm menopausal age, that WONDERFUL time when you can look at a piece of food and gain weight, I gained many pounds!

 

I'm never doing that again. White flour and sugar are like crack, seriously. Once you start, you just can't stop, especially if your gut flora are out of whack.

[TranquilMind]

Link

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The flour comment is not just referring to white flour vs. whole grain "healthy" flour. Any flour is a highly processed grain product.

 

 

This is true, and interestingly, a lady just said these words to me at a Whole Foods check out line.

[TranquilMind]

Anything in the cabbage family-- broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, collards, kale, arugula.... :D I love them, so...I know they're not everyone's favorite, but we love them.

 

I hate them - but try to eat them. Note: Broccoli isn't a good choice if you are hypothyroid, as I recall.

[Stacia]

Link

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The flour comment is not just referring to white flour vs. whole grain "healthy" flour. Any flour is a highly processed grain product.

 

 

Thanks for the link.

 

Being (mostly) vegetarian (I eat dairy & fish sometimes), I'm not sure I can stick to the high in animal fats part. In that respect, Eat to Live is a better plan for me. My body just feels better that way. But, I will make sure to cut out flours. I had been back on Eat to Live for a couple of weeks (& had pretty much eliminated processed foods at that point), then tried to add in more animal fats (eggs, fish, cream)/combining Eat to Live w/ LCHF, but my stomach started hurting (probably from so much animal/dairy when I'm not used to it). Though Eat to Live (strictly followed) eliminates animal & dairy products, it also jives w/ the article you linked....

 

There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state. To build muscle, eat more protein. Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Cut down on or eliminate inflammation- causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.

 

What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.

 

Interesting discussion. I think my dh would do very well on an LCHF diet. (He is definitely not vegetarian, so Eat to Live is not a good plan for him.)

[gardening momma]

Being (mostly) vegetarian (I eat dairy & fish sometimes), I'm not sure I can stick to the high in animal fats part. In that respect,

I don't know if it was you or someone else who posted earlier, wondering how they could do this if they are vegetarian...I've been thinking about this lately, as my SIL is vegetarian also. I would think that it will work if you kept the beans, but in any other area of your diet where you would have consumed grains, other starches besides beans, and sugars (fruit included), then replace that with non-starchy veggies.

 

So for me, where I would once have had a plate of meat, starch, and veggie, I will now replace the starch with either more meat or veggie.... You might have had a plate with beans, other starch, and veggie, so your new plate would be beans, veggie, veggie.

[gardening momma]

I had been back on Eat to Live for a couple of weeks (& had pretty much eliminated processed foods at that point), then tried to add in more animal fats (eggs, fish, cream)/combining Eat to Live w/ LCHF, but my stomach started hurting (probably from so much animal/dairy when I'm not used to it)

Do you think overall you were fairly low fat before you tried to add in more animal fats? It seems that when people who are not used to eating much fat begin eating low carb and drastically increase their fats right away, no matter which source the fat comes from (although some fats give them more trouble than others, such as coconut oil), they have digestive issues. They need to slowly increase the fat.

[melmichigan]

I'll also add that for anyone who has a hard time imagining themselves cutting carbs so much--it's ok to start out by slowly cutting back. That's what I did this time around (did it 9 years ago following the birth of dd9, but never connected the food I ate as the cause of weight--if was the baby, of course!--so went back to eating "normal" after I was done). By cutting back slowly, I lost 5 lbs by the end of 2 weeks, and by the end of the 3rd week I had lost 7 lbs total. If you do it more quickly, be sure to include enough salt in your diet, or you'll get what's called the low carb "flu." This affects people in different ways, but tiredness is the most common issue. Sometimes achyness (achiness? sp?).

 

 

Maybe that's what's wrong with me this week. I've had almost no carbs, and am exhausted. Probably a combo of that and much, much, less soda.

[Stacia]

I don't know if it was you or someone else who posted earlier, wondering how they could do this if they are vegetarian...I've been thinking about this lately, as my SIL is vegetarian also. I would think that it will work if you kept the beans, but in any other area of your diet where you would have consumed grains, other starches besides beans, and sugars (fruit included), then replace that with non-starchy veggies.

 

So for me, where I would once have had a plate of meat, starch, and veggie, I will now replace the starch with either more meat or veggie.... You might have had a plate with beans, other starch, and veggie, so your new plate would be beans, veggie, veggie.

 

 

It was me who posted earlier about being vegetarian. I definitely need to keep beans in my eating rotation, esp. as I can't just do eggs & fish all the time. I tend to eat more veggies than fruit, but will probably stick w/ fruit. On EtL, fruits in their natural form are ok because you're getting the fiber too (esp. fruits like berries). I'm just going to try to cut out starches more, rather than increasing the amount of animal products I consume.

 

Do you think overall you were fairly low fat before you tried to add in more animal fats? It seems that when people who are not used to eating much fat begin eating low carb and drastically increase their fats right away, no matter which source the fat comes from (although some fats give them more trouble than others, such as coconut oil), they have digestive issues. They need to slowly increase the fat.

 

 

Hmmm. Not sure. I still ate cheese, milk, avocados, olive oil, yogurt, & junk food too. So, in addition to getting way too many carbs, I was probably also getting quiet a few fats, but I'm not sure if it was in the low/medium range or the medium/high range....

[kitten18]

What about South Beach Diet? Any thoughts on that?

It works great for some people. For me, it's too many carbs (creates crazy intense cravings) and too low-fat, I was starving and was ready to gnaw on my own arm.

 

 

Some good informational resource books are: The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Volek and Phinney Good Calories, Bad Calories by Taubes Wheat Belly by Davis Diabetes Solution by Bernstein Cookbooks Low Carbing Among Friends vol. 1 Low Carbing Among Friends vol. 2 Low Carbing Among Friends vol. 3 Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking by Reinhart & Wallace Low-Carb Gourmet by Barnaby Any books by Maria Emmerich Websites/blogs http://www.lowcarbfriends.com http://yourlighterside.com/ http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/ http://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/ http://247lowcarbdiner.blogspot.com/ http://healthylowcarbliving.com/category/blog/ http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/ http://wifezillasway.blogspot.com/ http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/ http://www.atkinsdietgeek.com/ http://peaceloveandlowcarb.blogspot.com/ http://lowcarbfamily.com/ http://www.gourmetgirlcooks.com/ http://lowcarboneday.com/ http://www.lowcarbcrock.com/ http://www.lowcarblayla.blogspot.com/

Great list. I just wanted to mention that some of these books are available as audio books. I know my library system has the Taubes books and some of the Atkins books on audio. :hurray:

[Chocolate Rose]

Great list. I just wanted to mention that some of these books are available as audio books. I know my library system has the Taubes books and some of the Atkins books on audio. :hurray:

 

I should have mentioned that the blog list includes varying levels of LCHF. Just because they call themselves "LC" doesn't mean that it's aligned with what you consider LC. You will still have to weed through the recipes to find what's appropriate for your woe or also, revamp some recipes to meet your needs.

[wapiti]

I hope you like it! It is like an altogether different drink to me. I've tried it out on a few friends and some just didn't like it. Some did want to add sugar, but they admitted they didn't need to add as much as normal. So if you need to add a dash of sugar, I bet it's still less than normal, and less is a good start. :)

 

Ok, so I found some Kerrygold unsalted butter at my local grocery. Not cheap, but hey, it's probably cheaper than cream in the long run. Then just now I found this in comments on a random site:

 

Costco sells 3x8oz Kerry Gold for almost $7 and big tub of organic coconut oil for $15 and organic mold free Ruta Maya coffee beans dark roast 2lb bag cheap, nice.

 

I need to swing by Costco this week anyway...I hope it's unsalted. So, even though it's the middle of the afternoon, I fired up the blender thingee for a cup of bulletproof coffee. Wow - I can't believe how foamy it is! Yum!! It really does look (and kinda taste) like a latte. I put in a pinch of sugar, but I bet I can adjust that downward if I add more butter and coconut oil. Now that I've had half a cup, I better stop or I'll never get to sleep tonight.

 

Eta, it's amazing to me that the fat and coffee haven't separated. It still looks like a latte, more than 20 minutes after I blended it. Y'all have got to try this. I only used 1 tbsp of butter - I think I'll need more for the calories.

[justamouse]

Ok, so I found some Kerrygold unsalted butter at my local grocery. Not cheap, but hey, it's probably cheaper than cream in the long run. Then just now I found this in comments on a random site:

 

 

 

I need to swing by Costco this week anyway...I hope it's unsalted. So, even though it's the middle of the afternoon, I fired up the blender thingee for a cup of bulletproof coffee. Wow - I can't believe how foamy it is! Yum!! It really does look (and kinda taste) like a latte. I put in a pinch of sugar, but I bet I can adjust that downward if I add more butter and coconut oil. Now that I've had half a cup, I better stop or I'll never get to sleep tonight.

 

Eta, it's amazing to me that the fat and coffee haven't separated. It still looks like a latte, more than 20 minutes after I blended it. Y'all have got to try this. I only used 1 tbsp of butter - I think I'll need more for the calories.

 

 

I'm going to try it tomorrow morning--I already keep Kerrygold in the house because of the high mineral content. :D

 

I wish my costco carried it, I've not seen it in mine yet, but I have seen to the coconut oil.

[Alte Veste Academy]

So I find sunflower oil interesting. Some of it (the vast majority, I'm guessing) is bad for you, inflammatory or strongly inflammatory. It freaked me out to read that in gardenmom's post above. I buy organic sunflower oil (started using it for baking and stuff like skillet potatoes, etc. when I found out the canola everyone said was so good for you for years is actually terrible...boo). Anyway, I looked it up and apparently high oleic sunflower oil (the kind I buy, also organic) is highly anti-inflammatory. Go figure. Anyone know why the difference?

 

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/623/2

 

 

[stansclan89]

So...if you are using butter, cream, cheese...do they all need to be organic or grass fed? And is your bacon nitrate free? I'm finding the cost of all these things to be prohibitive.

[justamouse]

So I find sunflower oil interesting. Some of it (the vast majority, I'm guessing) is bad for you, inflammatory or strongly inflammatory. It freaked me out to read that in gardenmom's post above. I buy organic sunflower oil (started using it for baking and stuff like skillet potatoes, etc. when I found out the canola everyone said was so good for you for years is actually terrible...boo). Anyway, I looked it up and apparently high oleic sunflower oil (the kind I buy, also organic) is highly anti-inflammatory. Go figure. Anyone know why the difference?

 

http://nutritiondata...-and-oils/623/2

 

I have no idea why, but that's great to know.

 

So...if you are using butter, cream, cheese...do they all need to be organic or grass fed? And is your bacon nitrate free? I'm finding the cost of all these things to be prohibitive.

 

I make sure my milk is hormone free, but the rest is whatever I can get. My bacon is nitrate free. The butter-I keep regular on hand, and the kerrygold or organic valley on hand to give everyone, too.

[Brilliant]

 

 

 

I'm going to try it tomorrow morning--I already keep Kerrygold in the house because of the high mineral content. :D

 

I wish my costco carried it, I've not seen it in mine yet, but I have seen to the coconut oil.

 

I'm going to try it too. :)

 

My Costco carries the KerryGold and coconut oil, but not the coffee someone else mentioned. :(

[Miss Peregrine]

So...if you are using butter, cream, cheese...do they all need to be organic or grass fed? And is your bacon nitrate free? I'm finding the cost of all these things to be prohibitive.

 

 

Grass-fed is better. I wish our Costco carried Kerrygold Butter. As far as nitrate-free bacon, I don't worry about it. There are nitrates in many vegetables, including celery which is added to many "nitrate-free" bacon brands as a "natural" source of nitrates so they can claim "No added nitrates"

[Lynnae]

An update on my bloodwork and a request for advice.

 

First the good news. I had my first AIC bloodwork done since my diabetes (and since going low carb/high fat) and my AIC went from 9.2 to 4.9. I was shooting for a number somewhere in the 5s, and my doctor would have been happy with anything less than 6.5. So now I get to go off meds. I'm still laughing at the look on my doctor's face. He said he's never seen anyone drop their blood sugar so far so fast.

 

Now here's the bad news and the request for advice. My cholesterol was high. My bad cholesterol was 171. My doctor wants me to cut back on the eggs & heavy cream, but that's my breakfast every morning. Eggs & coffee with heavy cream.

 

This is the first cholesterol check I've had done in 5 years, so I have no idea whether my cholesterol was higher or lower 3 months ago when I started LCHF. I have 6 months to bring the numbers down or my doctor wants to talk meds. I really don't want cholesterol meds.

 

So, does Dr. Hive have any suggestions? Can I keep my eggs & coffee? Any natural suggestions for bringing down the cholesterol? TIA!

 

I do eat a lot of bacon. Perhaps I should cut back?

[stansclan89]

I would think it depends on the type of cream, eggs and bacon. Free range chickens, grass fed cows have good cholesterol instead of bad. Not sure about the pigs.

[AK_Mom4]

Since you asked for an opinion.... I would keep my diet EXACTLY the way it is now (LCHF) and request that the retest the cholesterol levels in 3 months instead of 6. Find out if the numbers are on the way down, going up, or staying steady. IMO, keeping that A1C number down is way more important than sabotaging your diet in the name of cholesterol numbers.....

[Lynnae]

Since you asked for an opinion.... I would keep my diet EXACTLY the way it is now (LCHF) and request that the retest the cholesterol levels in 3 months instead of 6. Find out if the numbers are on the way down, going up, or staying steady. IMO, keeping that A1C number down is way more important than sabotaging your diet in the name of cholesterol numbers.....

 

That is a really good idea. I don't want to do anything to sabotage my AIC. I would be really upset if both the AIC and the cholesterol were bad.

 

I need to work on improving the quality of my eggs/fat/bacon. I can't afford to do everything free-range/grass fed.

[ktgrok]

That is a really good idea. I don't want to do anything to sabotage my AIC. I would be really upset if both the AIC and the cholesterol were bad.

 

I need to work on improving the quality of my eggs/fat/bacon. I can't afford to do everything free-range/grass fed.

 

Also, find out what your HDL was, and your cholesterol ratio. Those numbers are important in giving the overall picture.

 

Also, I've heard that numbers jump up for a bit before going down when you are losing weight, as your body clears some stuff out and heals.

 

Finally, do NOT do the meds without your doctor giving you some darned good research backing up the idea. (there isn't any. NONE). There is NO research showing that statins do a darned thing for women. And they have many potentially serious side effects. Wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.

[Ellie]

An update on my bloodwork and a request for advice.

 

First the good news. I had my first AIC bloodwork done since my diabetes (and since going low carb/high fat) and my AIC went from 9.2 to 4.9. I was shooting for a number somewhere in the 5s, and my doctor would have been happy with anything less than 6.5. So now I get to go off meds. I'm still laughing at the look on my doctor's face. He said he's never seen anyone drop their blood sugar so far so fast.

 

Now here's the bad news and the request for advice. My cholesterol was high. My bad cholesterol was 171. My doctor wants me to cut back on the eggs & heavy cream, but that's my breakfast every morning. Eggs & coffee with heavy cream.

 

This is the first cholesterol check I've had done in 5 years, so I have no idea whether my cholesterol was higher or lower 3 months ago when I started LCHF. I have 6 months to bring the numbers down or my doctor wants to talk meds. I really don't want cholesterol meds.

 

So, does Dr. Hive have any suggestions? Can I keep my eggs & coffee? Any natural suggestions for bringing down the cholesterol? TIA!

 

I do eat a lot of bacon. Perhaps I should cut back?

 

Don't cut back. See how things are in six months.

[MicheleinMN]

:lurk5:

[Lynnae]

 

Also, find out what your HDL was, and your cholesterol ratio. Those numbers are important in giving the overall picture.

 

Also, I've heard that numbers jump up for a bit before going down when you are losing weight, as your body clears some stuff out and heals.

 

Finally, do NOT do the meds without your doctor giving you some darned good research backing up the idea. (there isn't any. NONE). There is NO research showing that statins do a darned thing for women. And they have many potentially serious side effects. Wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.

 

I have serious concerns about statins, too. If he wanted to talk drugs, I'd want to talk another 6 months of trying something different first.

 

HDL was 40, LDL was 171. Total 231. So overall, I'm borderline high, but the LDL number is pretty bad.

[AK_Mom4]

There is research out there showing a link between high A1c and high LDL. Keeping the A1c down and eating high fiber is a proven way to lower that LDL number ( triglycerides too).

 

 

[TranquilMind]

And my cholesterol and triglycerides are nice and low.

 

I'm going to go eat a lard and butter sundae. :D

 

I hope this finally shuts my Dh up about how my cholesterol would hit the roof, I eat almost nothing but eggs, veggies, meat and fat. He just shakes his head at my big wad of butter on everything, and heavy cream in my coffee, about 5 eggs a day. Who has the last laugh now, Mr BOH?

 

Muuuahhahaaa come, join me on the dark side.

 

 

eta: she also said that I'm almost underweight, to not lose more weight or when I fully hit meno I would be a mess, as women store estrogen in fat. I don't know if I agree with her about that, I think I have another 10 to go.

 

Awesome.

 

You go girl. I eat butter and meat and avocados and all that too. And I use loads of sea salt. My bloodwork is great every time.

[Lara in Colo]

This video really made sense to me