Refined carbs, sugar, and cholesterol: My own experience

A few years ago I went to the doctor for a routine appointment, and I was told that my LDL cholesterol was elevated. I was in my early 40s. My lipid profile was the following - LDL: 156, HDL: 38, triglycerides: 188. The LDL was calculated. I was weighing about 210 lbs, which was too high for my height (5 ft 8 in). My blood pressure was low, as it has always been - systolic: 109, diastolic: 68.

My doctor gave me the standard advice in these cases: exercise, lose weight, and, most importantly, reduce your intake of saturated fat. I was also told that I would probably have to take statins, as my high LDL likely had something to do with my genetic makeup. Again, this is quite standard, and we see it all over the place, particularly in commercials for statins.

I told my doctor that I would do some research on the topic, which I am going to save for other posts. Let me get to the point, by telling you what my lipid profile is today - LDL: 123, HDL: 66, triglycerides: 46. Again, the LDL value is calculated. I am weighing about 152 lbs now, with about 13 percent of body fat.

The HDL and triglycerides numbers above are shown in bold font because my research convinced me that these two numbers are the ones most people should really worry about when trying to address what is known as dyslipidemia. Here I am assuming that only standard lipid profiles are available; there are better alternatives, such as particle type analyses, which are not yet standard.

Many people who suffer from cardiovascular disease have low LDL cholesterol, but very few of those have high HDL cholesterol, which is one of the best predictors of cardiovascular disease among lipids. More specifically, if you have an HDL higher than 60, you have a very small chance of developing cardiovascular disease. (It can happen, but it is very unlikely, with a percentage chance in the single digits.)

Interestingly, low HDL cholesterol is also associated with the metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by the following:

- High fasting serum glucose (hyperglycemia), which is one of many signs of insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes type 2;
- High blood pressure;
- Abdominal obesity (also known as pot or beer belly);
- Low HDL cholesterol; and
- Elevated triglycerides.

Now, you may ask, how did you increase your HDL? Well, I tried a number of things - diet and lifestyle changes - and had a blood test every 3 months. After a while I was able to put all of the measures in a spreadsheet table, and correlate them using a statistical software that I developed, to give me an idea of what was going on.

Weight was a big factor on LDL, and I was able to bring my weight down to 150 lbs and my LDL to below 100 at some point. For me, and many other people, body weight and LDL cholesterol are strongly and positively correlated (the higher the weight, the higher the LDL cholesterol - actually body fat seems to be the real culprit). Moreover, my LDL seemed to decrease more markedly when my weight was on the way down, and not as much when it was stable, even if low.

But the HDL would only increase if I increased my saturated fat intake. The problem is that every time I increased my saturated fat intake my LDL would go up; it reached 162 at one point, when my HDL went up to a modest but encouraging 47. That was my highest HDL until I eliminated refined carbs and sugars (e.g., bread, pasta, cereals, doughnuts, bagels, regular sodas) from my diet.

When I brought my intake of refined carbs and sugars down to zero, my intake of protein and saturated fat went up. Either that would happen, or I would starve, because you have to eat something. (I figured that I would not die by doing a low carb/high fat-protein experiment for 3 months to see what happened.) Also, I dramatically increased my dietary cholesterol - two to four eggs per day, organ meats, and seafood.

That is when my HDL shot up, to 66, and my LDL went down. Yes, my LDL levels seem to be negatively correlated with dietary saturated fat and cholesterol amounts, as long as I do not consume refined carbs and sugars. Moreover, it is very likely that my LDL particle size increased, and large LDL particles DO NOT cause atherosclerosis because they cannot penetrate the artery walls.

So, the bottom line is that, at least for me, an INCREASE in saturated fat and a DECREASE in refined carbs and sugars, happening together, seem to have taken me out of my previous path toward the metabolic syndrome.

Moreover, I feel a lot more energetic than before, my immune system seems to have gotten better at fighting disease, and even my pollen allergies are not as bad as they were before. Admittedly, these benefits may be strongly associated with the weight loss and the related reduction in body fat percentage.

I hope this post is helpful to others. The standard advice that people with high LDL cholesterol receive, which usually focuses on reducing saturated fat intake, has a big problem. When you reduce your intake of a type of food, you usually increase your intake of other types of food. Most people who try to reduce their saturated fat intake invariably increase their carb intake, usually with the wrong types of carb-rich foods (the man-made ones), simply because they go hungry.

Here's this weeks meal plan... and if you need a movie plan and want to stir up the way you feel about food and how it goes from the processing to your table--- check out the film "Food, INC." if you haven't seen it already. It will definitely get you thinking on what you buy and what you eat. (And if you're interested in some Grass Fed Beef and you live local, let me know, I have a great rancher that sells and drops off here from Tehachapi).

For now, the menu:

Monday: Steak Cob Salad

Tuesday: Dover Sol, Green Salad, Sweet Potatoes (the farming connections have hooked us up with a 40 pound box of sweet potatoes, so we have a lot of them to eat- Thanks Buddy!)

Wednesday- Firehouse Tortilla Soup **New Recipe**

Thursday- Turkey Chili, Asparagus and Cornbread

Friday- left overs

Saturday- out

New Stuff

1. Allagash Odyssey
2. Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper 2009 (2008 still in stock!)
3. Mikkeller To/From 2009 (2008 From/To still in stock!)

cheers,

dave hauslein
beer manager
415-255-0610

LIFE+LIMB IS BACK!!!

I only got in one more case. It'll be behind the counter. One bottle per customer, no shipping.

cheers,

dave hauslein
beer manager
415-255-0610

5 Minute Fudge

This is one of my favorite desserts to make and give away during the holidays, probably because it's so easy and yet so incredibly tasty! It really only takes 5 minutes to make (REALLY!), refrigerate until it hardens, and then it's ready to cut and serve!

Ingredients:

12 oz chocolate chips

9 oz butterscotch chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Super simple. Put your chips in a glass bowl and microwave them for about 1 minute, stop and stir, and continue in 30 second intervals until the chips are completely melted (be careful, the glass bowl will be hot!). Once the chips are melted and mixed, add your condensed milk and vanilla, give it another swirl, add your chopped walnuts, and mix until it's consistent throughout. Using a 8 x 8 greased baking dish and spatula, scoop the fudge out and smooth until it's evenly distributed. Refrigerate until firm, cut into squares and put on cute Christmas Plates! Wasn't that easy??? and it really was 5 minutes huh??

(Thanks for your request Katy~ sorry it took me so long! Happy Fudging!)

NEW STUFF FOR THEE.

1. Straffe Hendrik Tripel
2.Port Brewing Old Viscosity is back!
3. Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi
4. Lost Abbey Lost&Found is back!
5. Koningshoeven Bock
6. Grand Teton Black Cauldron Imperial Stout (delicious)
7.He'Brew Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah 13th Anniversary


cheers!

dave hauslein
beer manager
415-255-0610

Quinoa, Chicken, & Veggie Pilaf...

Ok, so here's what I do when I don't feel like a lot of prep (or brain effort) but still what a good meal loaded with protein and lots of yummy veggies. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WA) is a great staple to have on hand- it's packed with protein, calcium, and iron plus it cooks quickly! At the end of the week, I pull out whatever veggies are left, saute them, and throw them in this dish. It's different every time, but easy all the time!

Chicken pieces browning

Sauteing vegetables; red pepper, onion, & garlic

Everything combined in one skillet before adding it to the quinoa...

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken broth

1.5 cups quinoa

2 cloves garlic

1/3 onion (use what you have)

1-2 chicken breasts

veggies of your choice; I have used these combinations:

• red pepper, brocholi, red onion, chicken
• mushroom, snowpeas, yellow bell pepper, green onion chicken
• carrots, celery, onion, left over turkey pieces

Directions:

In a large skillet, add your chicken broth and quinoa, and let comet to a boil while you prep everything else. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 10-12 minutes. Wash & dice you veggies (if you are adding chicken, wash & dice that too and brown it in a separate pan, seasoning it with s & p and some garlic powder). Once all your veggies are chopped, add a TBSP of grape seed oil into a hot pan, add your veggies & garlic and let sautee for about 3-4 minutes. At this point, hopefully your quinoa will almost be done cooking, so add your veggies and chicken, stir altogether, cover and let cook for another 4-5 minutes. Add any seasoning you prefer, or leave it as it is with its light flavor and yummy vegetable taste.

*** Lots of times people give me feedback in person, so I will try to pass it on when I remember to add it to the post. A recommendation for this dish was to serve it with Soy Sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos if it is to bland for your pallet.