My Latest Numbers

This is a really short post, but I feel it is quite important. Today, I went to see my doctor. I knew he was going to comment on my Cholesterol, so I was ready. The conversation was actually almost funny.

He pulled out my lab work and said: Hmmm, your cholesterol is pretty high.
Me: What is my vLDL number?
Him: 18
Me: So I’m good then, since it’s less then 20.
Him: Yes, that’s a good number. But your LDL is really high and is right at the edge of being dangerous.
Me: well, actually, new studies are showing that it’s ok to have higher LDL.
Him: Oh?
Me: (reached down to grab the envelope I brought in) Here are 4 medical articles that talk about it.
Him: (Looks at it for a bit) I’ll have to read these, I don’t want to tell my patients wrong information.

The articles

You may be asking what the articles were. These are the ones I gave him:

LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review of the current literature
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512433.2018.1519391?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/6/e010401

Managing dyslipidaemia for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease
https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k946/rr-5
Total cholesterol and all-cause mortality by sex and age: a prospective cohort study among 12.8 million adults
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38461-y

You can get a general idea of what they are talking about from their titles, so I won’t go into great detail. The basic concept is that research is saying that you cholesterol level does not reflect cause for cardiovascular disease which:

are based on misleading statistics, exclusion of unsuccessful trials and by ignoring numerous contradictory observations.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512433.2018.1519391?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Another website that is not medical, but they are doing a lot of research, is https://cholesterolcode.com/a-simple-guide-to-cholesterol-on-low-carb/

Dave Feldman has spent years working with doctors and scientist to discover what cholesterol is all about and it’s importance. He created the site cholesterolcode to log his findings and educate others. He breaks it all down quite nicely.

Science is always changing, which is why it is important to question it, read up on it, review it.

I’ll be working on more fallacies to debunked in the coming weeks.

Latest from the American Heart Association

It’s been a few weeks since I last blogged, so my apologies for that. I am hoping to fix that now that my schedule is starting to even out. I did want to make sure that I posted about this, however, as it is BIG NEWS. I first heard about it from Dr. Ken Berry and his YouTube channel. If you would like to see his video on it, you can click here. So, let’s start on going through the gist of this 38 page paper, shall we?

First, you can find the PDF article here: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040

Abstract of article

Starting with the abstract:

ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in patients with diabetes. Cardiovascular disease in diabetes is multifactorial, and control of the cardiovascular risk factors leads to substantial reductions in cardiovascular events. The 2015 American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association scientific statement, “Update on Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Light of Recent Evidence,” highlighted the importance of modifying various risk factors responsible for cardiovascular disease in diabetes. At the time, there was limited evidence to suggest that glucose-lowering medications reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. At present, several large randomized controlled trials with newer antihyperglycemic agents have been completed, demonstrating cardiovascular safety and reduction in cardiovascular outcomes, including cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure. This AHA scientific statement update focuses on (1) the evidence and clinical utility of newer antihyperglycemic agents in improving glycemic control and reducing cardiovascular events in diabetes; (2) the impact of blood pressure control on cardiovascular events in diabetes; and (3) the role of newer lipid-lowering therapies in comprehensive cardiovascular risk management in adults with diabetes. This scientific statement addresses the continued importance of lifestyle interventions, pharmacological therapy, and surgical interventions to curb the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome, important precursors of prediabetes, diabetes, and comorbid cardiovascular disease. Last, this scientific statement explores the critical importance of the social determinants of health and health equity in the continuum of care in diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040

Ok, that’s a lot, so let me break it down for you. Obviously, there is a concern regarding the link between Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular disease. The study looked at 3 things: the use of antihyperglycemic agents (aka prescriptions drugs for diabetes), Impact of blood pressure control on cardiovascular events, and the role of new lipid-lowering therapies. So the next question is, what were the findings?

T2D indicators

First, let’s go over some indicators. We know that T2Ds have a higher blood sugar level, but what causes that? Surprise: it’s not just eating too much sugar. According to the article:

progression to T2D includes metabolic syndrome and prediabetes with glucose dysregulation attributable to liver, skeletal muscle, and adipocyte insulin resistance, along with proinflammatory cytokines

This means that to get to T2D, you suffer from metabolic syndrome, inability to manage glucose (aka sugar), which can be attributed to liver, skeletal muscle, and adipocyte (cells that store fat) insulin resistance, and proinflammatory cytokines, aka small proteins that are crucial in controlling the growth and activity of other immune system cells and blood cells.

According to the International Diabetes Federation, metabolic syndrome is defined as having 3 or more of the following:

  • a waist circumference ≥35 inches for women or 40 inches for men
  • elevated triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL)
  • a high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) <40 mg/dL in men or <50 mg/dL in women
  • hypertension (≥130/85 mm Hg)
  • elevated fasting plasma glucose (FPG; ≥100 mg/dL)

At one point in time, I suffered 4 of these 5.

The article then moves in to Lifestyle Management.

LIfe Management

In adults with T2D, greater adherence to an overall healthy lifestyle is associated with a substantially lower risk of incident CVD and CVD mortality (Table 1). The table is on page 4 of the study posted above. But what does that mean? In a nutshell, it advises that an overall healthy lifestyle will likely put you at a lower risk of CVD and CVD mortality.

What the study showed is through an intensive life management change (calorie goal of 1200 to 1800 kcal per day (with <30% from fat and >15% from protein)), the patients lost more weight then just calorie deficit and lowered their A1C faster. In addition,

intensive lifestyle intervention yielded improvements in other cardiovascular risk factors, sleep apnea, fitness, renal disease, peripheral neuropathy, and depressive symptoms.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040

There was not enough research on this study to confirm that it definitively will remove cardiovascular disease, but it is definitely in the right direction.

You know that I am a proponent of movement. This study found that

Physical activity

Increased physical activity and exercise have been shown to improve glycemic control, lipids, BP, insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory biomarkers in T2D

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040

This indicates that physical exercise (minimum of 3 times a week) also helps to lessen cardiovascular disease.

Nutrition

Here is where it starts to get interesting. To quote the article (again):

The Mediterranean, Paleolithic, low-carbohydrate, high-protein, vegetarian, and nut-enriched diets have demonstrated benefits on glycemic control and weight loss in T2D, with the Mediterranean diet producing the greatest improvements in glycemic control and a 29% CVD reduction over 4.8 years.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040

Keto is low-carbohydrate, high-protein. Obviously, this statement does not limit to only Keto, but this is the first study from AHA that includes Keto, so that is quite exciting.

Very low–carbohydrate versus moderate carbohydrate diets yield a greater decrease in A1c, more weight loss and use of fewer diabetes medications in individuals with diabetes. For those who are unable to adhere to a calorie-restricted diet, a low-carbohydrate diet reduces A1c and triglycerides. Very low-carbohydrate diets were effective in reducing A1c over shorter time periods (<6 months) with less differences in interventions ≥12 months

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040

The study showed that very low-carb decreases A1C more than a moderate carbohydrate, as well as more weight loss and less medications. It also showed to reduce triglycerides (which are well known for being higher on a diet of pasta and rice). Note that the very low-carb diet was more effective in reducing A1C over a shorter amount of time. THIS is very exciting.

Summary

So, this is the first study that the AHA has published where they are acknowledging the benefits of a Ketogenic way of life. Eating ‘Keto’ will reduce your A1C faster then the previous recommended diets and will improve overall health. So, let’s get started on your road to health with a Ketogenic, keto-vore, or carnivore way of life.

Food heals

The Keto, Ketovore, and Carnivore diets are not just for weight loss. It will help heal your body. The weight loss is a nice side effect, but should not be your primary reason. How do I know it heals your body? Let’s discuss, shall we?

I started Keto as a desperate action because I woke up and could barely move my legs. I had heard about Keto from a friend, and something told me to give it a try. My poor husband, who was starting to prepare Christmas dinner with all the traditional sides. He had to suddenly make extra dishes for me. He did great and I will always appreciate that he has supported me from the beginning.

As I got further into Keto, I started noticing that I was losing some of my bloat, and some weight. Then I started to notice that I was able to walk more, and faster. I was able to get up from a chair with less pain. I wasn’t feeling sick all the time.

Now, here’s the kicker. I have not lost hardly any weight (maybe 5 lbs) in about 18 months. Do I have weight to lose? Yes, about 20 more lbs. Am I worried? No, I am not, and here is why. My body is still healing. I’m 52 years old tomorrow, so I have 50 years of doing damage to my body to reverse.

I know that my body is healing with the protein and nutrients that I’m giving it. I know this because if I have too many carbs in a day, or if I accidentally have soy, my body hurts. But when I eat clean, it feel good, I have more energy, I can move. These, for me, are a correlation. Consider as well, what is called a Non Scale Victory (NSV). When I started my journey with Keto, I was moving into a 3XL shirt and a Size 20. Today, I’m wearing a L and a size 12. This is the inflammation being healed, as I’ve only lost about 20 lbs.

But it’s not just me. My husband has started to eat more Keto and he is noticing improved health as well. His joints do not hurt as much, and he’s able to recover each day faster than he used to when he has overdone it. This, is also why I know that eating this way heals our body.

So, how will I know that my body has healed and I can change the way I eat? Well, I’ll know my body is healed, or close to healing, when two things happen. The not as important thing is losing that last bit of weight, as my body will finally whoosh that weight away. The other? When I am able to exercise and lift a normal amount of weight. I will get there, slowly but surely.

So, are you ready to heal? I’m ready to help you. Let’s do this together, shall we?

Happy New Year

happy birthday to you wall decor
Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Are you ready for a change? I can help you with that.

I watch several YouTube channels, and one of them, 2KrazyKetos, released their January challenge today and Rachel was rather adamant that it is not New Year, New You, but New Year, New Do. I understand her thoughts on this. So, I am going to go with it.

the challenge

Now, before I go further, my husband had decided to participate in the BBBE (Beef, Butter, Bacon, Eggs) challenge, a challenge put out there by Dr. Ken Berry, before we knew that the 2KrazyKetos were going to do this challenge again. They did the challenge for 46 days this past fall. So, two days ago, we went and had our labs done, and a DEXA scan. We will have the same done after 3 months of just eating BBBE. This is not a requirement for anyone and I would never tell you that you have to do this, so please don’t think that I am. This is strictly for my husband and I to see what happens. He will go back to Keto and I to Ketovore at the end of the 3 months.

motivational simple inscription against doubts
Photo by Olya Kobruseva on Pexels.com

Why are we doing this?

We are doing this as a reset, to retrain our thinking on food. Beef and butter happen to be excellent ways to heal your body, so why not give it a try. Dr. Berry promises that our body fat will not go up and our blood work should improve. Please note that I didn’t say our overall cholesterol will go down. For some, it will. I do not expect that for us, as for most, it will go up. I will do a blog about why that does not bother me, in the near future. We are hoping that this will remove some of the inflammation that has built up in my body by unknowingly eating soy. As I type this, my arthritis in my fingers is truly flaring, and we believe it to be the pork and chicken I’ve been eating. Hence, the challenge.

What is BBBE?

Dr. Berry and the 2KrazyKetos go over this, so I’ll make it brief.

  • Beef – Any beef or ruminant animal. This includes Bison, Elk, Sheep, etc. If you can incorporate liver and heart in some way, even better, as they have a ton of nutrients
  • Butter – Butter, or Ghee. The 2KrazyKetos are incorporating tallow, which I would classify under Beef.
  • Bacon – Bacon, or pork belly. There is debate over whether Dr. Berry means all pork or just bacon or pork belly. We are looking at it as, what is the fat content and is it high enough.
  • Eggs – Eggs are one of the more perfect foods. 1-to-1 ratio of protein to fat. This part is actually going to be a challenge for me, as I do not like eggs. So, my egg intake will be lower than most during this time.

New ‘Do’

Therefore, taking the phrase from Rachel at 2KrazyKetos, a new ‘Do’ is in order. Are you ready to start a new ‘Do’ for your life? Let me help you with that. As a certified Keto and Carnivore Health Coach, I can and will help you with that. Coach Bronson (affiliate link) would say: Get after it. 2022, here we come. We can do this, together.

Closing out 2021: Focus on Health in 2022

My apologies that it has been must longer since my last post then I intended. December has been quite a busy month for me. That being said, let’s talk about the future.

Just the other day, I received my official certification badges as a Keto and Carnivore coach. I intend, once I save some money, to take the supplement course and receive my certification in supplements as well. With the official certification, I will now be working on coaching people officially. The new year is perfect for that, yes?

Help me, help you

So, with that, what do you want to see in a Health Coach? I intend to customize my program as much as possible to meet the individuals needs. Why am I doing that? It’s actually rather simple. I have weird allergies (some not so weird) and quirks. For example, I’m allergic to soy and all soy derivatives, allergic to tomatoes, intolerant to gluten, and I cannot handle shakes/meal replacements. So, my weight-loss is extremely slow, while by body heals, first. And that is my goal as a coach, is to help you heal first. The weight-loss is a nice side benefit.

How this all started for me

In case you haven’t read my about me, let me talk about why I need to heal. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when things started going downhill for me, but I’ll start when I was a Senior in High School. Suddenly, my chest and lungs hurt a lot and I was coughing a lot. My mom took me to the doctor and he said that it was just my chest muscles from having to carry such a heavy backpack. We tried to explain to him that I didn’t carry a backpack, but he didn’t understand that.

Asthma

Fast forward 10 years and the pain in my chest was really bad. I went to the doctor and his back up (my doctor was on vacation) ordered x-rays. I received a call that I had Pleurisy. So, I went back into the doctor’s office and as he opened the door to my exam room, I coughed. He asked me “How long have you had Asthma?” I told him I didn’t. He told me I did, as that cough was a classic asthma honk. Hmmm, this was new.

Soy

Fast forward another 15 or so years, I was having a hard time eating. I was feeling sick every time I ate. It got to a point that I couldn’t eat, as I started vomiting up blood. They started taking tons of tests, everything came out negative. The final test was swallowing a small camera to follow my digestive track. Results? Everything was working fine. Because of this, the doctor suggested I try an elimination diet. First three days, I could only have 6 saltine crackers a day. She advised us to look at all the ingredients and note when I reacted. My husband realized quickly that everything had soy in it. We confirmed my sensitivity to soy when I had my first cracker. It had soy flour, and I reacted. I immediately started making all my own food. Baking my own bread, making my own peanut butter, and my own chocolate even.

Why I went Keto

Fast forward to the last 4 years. My joints and whole body have just been getting worse and worse and more and more pained. Still struggled with eat, psoriasis and eczema were getting worse. I was at a loss on what to do. Then, Dec. 24, 2019, I woke up and could not move my legs. I was able to finally get them moved enough to get up and to the restroom. I had heard about Keto from a friend and had been looking into it for months. That morning, that was it, I made the decision to give it a try. Initially, I was only going to do Keto for 6 months, until I healed my body. I quickly realized that I have a long way to go to heal my body. I’m still healing. I can feel the inflammation, though it is not as bad as it was, and my stomach will tell me when the animal that I’m eating has been fed soy. So, I have to be extremely careful.

That brings us to today. After seeing the improvement that Keto and Ketovore has provided me, I want to be able to help others achieve that goal. I want to help you heal.

So, how can I coach you?