I just started taking a statin, unsure which one starts with a "V". Like you I also changed my diet and lifestyle. I think it went up. The drugs are okay but they can make me feel like someone kicks me in the ribs on occasion, that's the worst of the bone pain. The rest I can live with. Don't know if it beats the alternative.. I'd prefer not to have a heartattack at 50-60.
Cholesterol -- are you taking anything?
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A friend of the family was taking Liptor and had a severe reaction to it. It somehow affect his motor functions and made even easy things like whisking an egg difficult. His doctor recommended that he drop it and about a month and half later he returned to normal. The side effects completely went away.
I love my greens, anyway you put them on the plate. But I also love my Barbeque Brisket. If that's bad for me, well, I will give my wife my password and she can notify all of you when I kick the bucket.
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
I just started taking a statin, unsure which one starts with a "V". Like you I also changed my diet and lifestyle. I think it went up. The drugs are okay but they can make me feel like someone kicks me in the ribs on occasion, that's the worst of the bone pain. The rest I can live with. Don't know if it beats the alternative.. I'd prefer not to have a heartattack at 50-60.
Oh, brother. I've been in and out of pains of one kind or another for last couple of years (bruised ribs from a fall, sore neck, a tooth cracked and had to be extracted, and now this bruised-feeling knee). Obviously I don't want to take something that will give me more pain if I can help it.
I just started taking a statin, unsure which one starts with a "V". Like you I also changed my diet and lifestyle. I think it went up. The drugs are okay but they can make me feel like someone kicks me in the ribs on occasion, that's the worst of the bone pain. The rest I can live with. Don't know if it beats the alternative.. I'd prefer not to have a heartattack at 50-60.
Oh, brother. I've been in and out of pains of one kind or another for last couple of years (bruised ribs from a fall, sore neck, a tooth cracked and had to be extracted, and now this bruised-feeling knee). Obviously I don't want to take something that will give me more pain if I can help it.
Fish oil alone cut my cholesterol way down and triglycerides in half.
Now I also take 800 mg of plant sterols a day as well as about 5 g fish oil a day.
Now I also take 800 mg of plant sterols a day as well as about 5 g fish oil a day.
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Drew,
or is it just that it doesn't do as much for you as cabbage or the others?
Bingo. Iceberg lettuce has very low nutritional content - hardly any vitamins. On the other hand, the deep deep green leafy greens are loaded to the gill with vitamins and nutrients that have been shown to reduce bad cholesterol levels...in addition to providing your body with a plethora of vitamins.
Some people don't like to eat these type of greens raw but I actually like it. If you soak them in warm water, then shock them in an ice bath and use a salad drier (if you have one - invaluable kitchen device), they'll end up a bit crisper like iceberg lettuce. Doing this will give you nice cool, crisp greens that otherwise will be a bit wilted.
They are also great lightly steamed with a light vinegar type dressing.
From what I've read, spinach, kale and collard greens are about the healthiest veggies you can eat - at least as a base for salads.
Would romaine lettuce work? And how does kale taste, anyway?
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Drew,
or is it just that it doesn't do as much for you as cabbage or the others?
Bingo. Iceberg lettuce has very low nutritional content - hardly any vitamins. On the other hand, the deep deep green leafy greens are loaded to the gill with vitamins and nutrients that have been shown to reduce bad cholesterol levels...in addition to providing your body with a plethora of vitamins.
Some people don't like to eat these type of greens raw but I actually like it. If you soak them in warm water, then shock them in an ice bath and use a salad drier (if you have one - invaluable kitchen device), they'll end up a bit crisper like iceberg lettuce. Doing this will give you nice cool, crisp greens that otherwise will be a bit wilted.
They are also great lightly steamed with a light vinegar type dressing.
From what I've read, spinach, kale and collard greens are about the healthiest veggies you can eat - at least as a base for salads.
Would romaine lettuce work? And how does kale taste, anyway?
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Kale tastes green.
I eat kale almost every day. If I don't eat kale (for example when I'm on the road or traveling in the boonies), I have some aojiru instead. Kale can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach. It sort of tastes like spinach without the taste of oxalic acid. I put kale on pizza. I grew up eating lots of kale, because it's one of the most popular veggies in Bavaria.
Romaine for sure is up in the category of the other's I mentioned. I love a salad made from hearts of romaine. Grilled chicken ceasar. mmmm mmmmmmmmm tasty.
Kale, chard, and collards taste like raw spinach with a hint of a nutty/minty spice. I enjoy it, but like I said, many others just don't like it. When you drown it with dressing, anything tastes good!
On a side note, one of my co-workers is into these lame frozen dinner delivery services - Nutrisystem and E-Diets. I tried some the other day - the absolute most bland, saltness/unseasoned cardboard I've ever tasted. Not even considering how wallet breaking they are. How hard is it for some people to grill chicken on the stove???
Kale, chard, and collards taste like raw spinach with a hint of a nutty/minty spice. I enjoy it, but like I said, many others just don't like it. When you drown it with dressing, anything tastes good!
On a side note, one of my co-workers is into these lame frozen dinner delivery services - Nutrisystem and E-Diets. I tried some the other day - the absolute most bland, saltness/unseasoned cardboard I've ever tasted. Not even considering how wallet breaking they are. How hard is it for some people to grill chicken on the stove???
"Cholesterol -- are you taking anything?"
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There's little doubt that I'm taking cholesterol.
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There's little doubt that I'm taking cholesterol.
2000 mg Niaspan per day to help boost HDL
My cholestorol is (Feb 08):
Total: 129
Triglicerides: 112
HDL: 30
LDL: 77
Ratio: 4.3
I was getting blood work every 6 months, but now have to go in three because of the liver enzyme is higher from the Niaspan.
My cholestorol is (Feb 08):
Total: 129
Triglicerides: 112
HDL: 30
LDL: 77
Ratio: 4.3
I was getting blood work every 6 months, but now have to go in three because of the liver enzyme is higher from the Niaspan.
Good. Some doctors don't pay attention to the need to do regular blood work when a patient goes on statin drugs.
Originally Posted By: MarkC
Fish oil alone cut my cholesterol way down and triglycerides in half.
Now I also take 800 mg of plant sterols a day as well as about 5 g fish oil a day.
Glad to see someone bring up Omega 3's from fish earl. I work in the finance department of a cardiology group and we have reps come in twice a week to feed us all and tout their particular . I can't think of the name of it, but there's a cholesterol-lowering out there that uses a synthetic form of Omega 3. I'd say the fact that most docs and companies poo-poo the mere mention of nutritional supplements speaks volumes to the effectiveness of Omega 3 fatty acids when they use it, albeit a synthetic form, in their .
I always have to chuckle on Wednesdays and Thursdays when the reps bring in lunch...usually pizza, hamburgers, Mexican...all the good stuff to drum up more business for our docs and the reps!
Fish oil alone cut my cholesterol way down and triglycerides in half.
Now I also take 800 mg of plant sterols a day as well as about 5 g fish oil a day.
Glad to see someone bring up Omega 3's from fish earl. I work in the finance department of a cardiology group and we have reps come in twice a week to feed us all and tout their particular . I can't think of the name of it, but there's a cholesterol-lowering out there that uses a synthetic form of Omega 3. I'd say the fact that most docs and companies poo-poo the mere mention of nutritional supplements speaks volumes to the effectiveness of Omega 3 fatty acids when they use it, albeit a synthetic form, in their .
I always have to chuckle on Wednesdays and Thursdays when the reps bring in lunch...usually pizza, hamburgers, Mexican...all the good stuff to drum up more business for our docs and the reps!
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My reservation about fish oil is that it seems most fish is rather contaminated with mercury or other bad stuff. Such contaminants tend to reside in the fatty tissues, which I suspect is where the oil comes from. So, how do I know in taking fish oil tablets I am not slowly poisoning myself?
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Buy your fish oil from a reputable manufacturer that can be trusted to remove contaminants. Don't by sewage fish oil at the discount store.
I used to get blood tests every year for work, among the things tested for were various heavy metals, nothing appeared in my tests that were even close to the worrisome levels of mercury, etc.
Do like mori said, and also try to buy oil made from smaller, lower on the food chain fish.
Do like mori said, and also try to buy oil made from smaller, lower on the food chain fish.
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fish oil and mercury
In case you have to log in, it says that in a test that could detect 0.1 micrograms of mercury, none of the tested fish oil supplements showed detectable levels of mercury. They tested:
Twinlab Emulsified Super Max EPA
Twinlab EPA New & Improved
Twinlab Omege-3 Concentrate
Nature's Way Max EPA Fish Oil
Amni Omega-3 Marine Fish Oil
Nordic Naturals DHA Junior
Atkins Diet Essential Oils
Health From The Sun Ultra DHA 50
Kyolic-EPA (Aged Garlic & Fish Oil)
In case you have to log in, it says that in a test that could detect 0.1 micrograms of mercury, none of the tested fish oil supplements showed detectable levels of mercury. They tested:
Twinlab Emulsified Super Max EPA
Twinlab EPA New & Improved
Twinlab Omege-3 Concentrate
Nature's Way Max EPA Fish Oil
Amni Omega-3 Marine Fish Oil
Nordic Naturals DHA Junior
Atkins Diet Essential Oils
Health From The Sun Ultra DHA 50
Kyolic-EPA (Aged Garlic & Fish Oil)
Wife's worked for years as a travel nurse all over our home state in cardiac units. At her insistence I went to her pick of the best cardiologist in the state. AT 54 my numbers are lower than normal. Almost never eat any of that green stuff, and very few vegies. Cardiologist says it's not human to abuse diet for as long as I have and be so disgustingly healthy! Since quitting smoking a bit over 2 years ago, I have put on over 20 lbs of lard, but the numbers are great and blood pressure stays at high normal without meds.
Figure gastro/intestinal system may have a "blowout" one of these days, but cardio is great.
Bob
Figure gastro/intestinal system may have a "blowout" one of these days, but cardio is great.
Bob
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Yeah, on paper I'm doing not too bad. I've lost my hypertension ..which I thought was impossible. No exercise change. No diet change...nada. When I asked my doctor he said he didn't understand why an otherwise walking risk factor become non-hypertensive. He also said that if I die from some unexplained condition, they'll list loss of hypertension as a symptom ...and name it after me.
Cholesterol is not the root cause of heart disease. It builds up on the artery walls as an attempt to repair damage that has been done by something else. It might be an excessive immune response to a bacterial infection of the artery walls. There are even some theories that airborne particles can trigger inflammation which leads to plaque buildup. Keeping a healthy immune system and keeping dirt out of the system might be more important than checking cholesterol levels.
I gave blood over at Bethesda awhile back, their incentive was a free "cholesterol test". They sent back a card with the number 111 on it. We don't have any history of heart trouble in our family (they all die at 90-plus, many over 100). But they didn't cut the number up between HDL or LDL cholesterol, numbers I read about but never had evaluated. I know my blood pressure is 105/68, my vision is 20/15-20/20 but that's about it. I smoke too many cigarettes I know, I have my drinkies, I grill my steaks and roast my standing ribs rare, and smoke my pig butts over hickory. I mess with more broads than is wise, too I suppose. I'm lucky not to have weight-gain issues or back trouble too. I wonder, but don't worry. I figure I wake up one fine day and it all comes upon me. The bad back, vision shot to [censored], hemorrhoids, ulcers, whatever attacks someone that gets old. Meanwhile, I turned 51 last week.
While I'm ok, I just don't worry about it. I walk the golf course when they let me (bag on a hand-puller, I can't haul a tour bag and play at the same time), but none of my friends do. I'm lucky with the family history and physical makeup, and I'm very, very lucky with my habits but one wonders when the risk factors piling up start to manifest themselves. Maybe the secret of all these worries is not to worry.
While I'm ok, I just don't worry about it. I walk the golf course when they let me (bag on a hand-puller, I can't haul a tour bag and play at the same time), but none of my friends do. I'm lucky with the family history and physical makeup, and I'm very, very lucky with my habits but one wonders when the risk factors piling up start to manifest themselves. Maybe the secret of all these worries is not to worry.
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