bp2go
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Post by bp2go on Mar 29, 2021 17:03:42 GMT -8
BP hovered around 140/85... Uh,...wow? Always? And your doc never mentions that is rather high? When my BP was around 130-135 and I thihht it was fine, a visiting nurse, who checks vitals at every visit, brought me a sheet of info ex[pplaining that I was in fact prehypertensive! Not so good to hear. In fact the standards have recently been lowered and now we are to shoot for 120± systolic. I'll let you Google that. Your GL numbers sound great, so at this moment I would suggest to give some time to the BP. I can bore you to tears with my speech about how I handled that nurse's info. I had already read about the positive effect that eating BEETS can have on BP, so I started really eating lots of beets! Nothing special other than steamed beets I found in the produce section, but now easy to find at my local Trader Joe's. I started eating several a day, in less than a month my BP numbers were so low I called my doc to see if I was doing something wrong? My systolic was actually down to 100! She said I was fine. I still eat beets and my BP is usually closer to 120+ now. Oh, I will mention that it is Nitric oxide that the beets bring to the party. Nitric oxide deserves some Google time. It won a few doctors a Nobel Prize in 1990 for finding how how important it is, after it had been ignored for way too long. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, and you may think this is all joke when I add that this discovery led to the introduction of Viagra! You will find ads and products at big prices, but plain l'beetroot powder is easy to buy at Walmart, not expensive at all. But if you can find the beets at Trader Joe's, that is a great choice. PS: even canned beets are good for your BP. Google "Nitric oxide and blood pressure". As for your GL: Sounds really good to me, I guess I think you are doing just fine. I will suggest that since you want to track any changes in GL levels, you ask the doc fora GL Meter. You might not get one if insurance gets to vote (you get one free with Medicare) but your random tests are maybe too infrequent for your answers? Of course you can buy one, but test strips are about $1 each. So testing once a week ought to be okay. EDIT to add: I can suggest you visit you dad and ask to use HIS meter! It's all perfectly safe, you change the needle and use a new strip. Easy peasy.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 29, 2021 18:48:36 GMT -8
zeke just picked on me about his size because a) he thought I was where I couldn’t chime in and b) he knows I like little skinny short guys . I did laugh at M claiming he is getting too skinny.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Apr 1, 2021 6:58:40 GMT -8
Uh,...wow? Always? And your doc never mentions that is rather high? Oops! That should be 130/85. LOL! Yes, pre-hypertensive but literally like that since at least high school. I've had several doctors throughout that time and none have appeared worried about it or suggested any actions other than monitor. Partially could be due to my tensing up whenever they put that cuff on me. Not sure why, but I do. Dentist, fine. Needles, fine. Blood pressure cuff, yikes! But since you've brought it into the spotlight, once I get used to this new diet and (hopefully) see positive results re blood sugar, I'll tinker with the BP. My wife has a BP monitor at home, so maybe I'll start testing myself at various times throughout the day to serve as a background level. Could help train me to relax more as well. I love beets (already have a plot in my garden reserved for them) so I'll have to incorporate them more into my diet and see if they have an effect. Off the top of your head, is it just the tuber, or the greens too? I've also heard about endurance athletes taking nitric oxide (or precursors) as supplements for performance. A neighbor who is a competitive runner takes it as a supplement. I'll look into it more. I could probably reduce my caffeine consumption as well.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Apr 7, 2021 7:40:45 GMT -8
Mmmm... "sugar-free" pumpkin pie. And super easy:
2 packets of sugar-free vanilla pudding mix, 2 cups whole milk, 1 can pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice. Mix and pour into a graham cracker crust. Done.
I added some wheat germ for additional fiber, and a touch of flax seed oil for Omega-3s.
Not bad for a sweet snack.
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bp2go
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Post by bp2go on Apr 7, 2021 9:50:54 GMT -8
That sounds pretty good. I might also add thatt I have made real pumpkin pie with Stevia, and I just skip the crust! Of the many sugar substitutes, I thing Stevia is the one to prefer as it is not chemically created, it is a natural plant! You can buy it at the nursery and have it in your garden! And BTW, I have not found any reference to beet GREENS providing NO (Nitric oxide). The beet roots take nitrogen out of the ground, it gets converted to produce the NO we seek. I say again, Google Nitric oxide Nobel Prize. I only tripped onto this interesting bit of history after a lot of general searches. Spoiler: NO was long known as a gas, but always assumed to be useless, in fact probably just a by-product of car exhaust! Then a few guys were doing research with mice on something that led them to discover, quite by surprise, that NO is very important to out circulation. One medical report says it is the third most important molecule to use, after oxygen and carbon! So the guys won the Nobel in Medicine in 1999. The mice? No fame, no glory.
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Post by Coolkat on Apr 9, 2021 5:06:56 GMT -8
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Apr 28, 2021 5:22:18 GMT -8
If you recall from above, I went on a Keto/Paleo hybrid diet a couple months ago because although my sugar and lipid numbers were still in the "normal" range, they were on the verge of becoming "of concern". At the 8 week mark, I got bloodwork to see if the diet 1) lowered my blood glucose, and 2) raised my lipids (because the diet substitutes fat for carbs). Well, I got my bloodwork results back yesterday, and WOW!
My serum glucose had been in the high 60s to low 80s when I was a strappin' young lad. It had been in the 90s the past few years, with the occasional slight breach of 100 (102, 103, etc.). Yesterday's result... 85! My A1C was 5.5, which is normal. I never had it checked before, so there's nothing to compare to. Intuitively, it seems a little high compared to my serum glucose level. Maybe because it takes more time to change A1C?
The biggest surprise was my lipid panel. In the past, my total cholesterol had almost always been around 210-230 (borderline high), and my LDL was also borderline high. But that was offset by a good HDL number, so my T Chol / HDL ratio was always good. I figured the current numbers would be high because I have been eating more fat. And not just more fat, but the way things worked out... a higher proportion of red meat / saturated fat than I would normally eat. Boy, was I wrong. My total cholesterol was the lowest it's ever been (175), my LDL was reduced but still a bit elevated... but that was due in part to my VLDL being rock-bottom and my HDL being a bit lower than my running average (though still stout). My ratio was also the best it's ever been. Triglycerides were normal, but they've always been.
My kidney function numbers (creatinine, potassium, etc.) had also been high end of normal / borderline concern, and those numbers improved as well.
I also had a vitamin panel done and everything was good there, too.
This was all done in 8 weeks. So I'm a happy dude today, and I'll gladly continue on this diet.
PS - I also lost 8 pounds, and my blood pressure down to one of my best readings (I don't have the numbers in front of me but I believe it was 124/78). I'll be planting beets this weekend!
PPS - This prompted me to make an Excel table of the past 20 years of my results, which I should have done much earlier.
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Post by Coolkat on Apr 28, 2021 8:35:31 GMT -8
Well, I got my bloodwork results back yesterday, and WOW! This is/was my whole point practically. Diet is a game changer in getting your sugar levels back to normal. Sure, you can keep sugar spikes down by watching your sugar and simple carb intake but you will never get back to normal without loosing weight and reducing the intramuscular fat. Which is the real cause because this limits your cells from receiving the insulin that your pancreas produces.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Apr 29, 2021 7:29:27 GMT -8
Sure, you can keep sugar spikes down by watching your sugar and simple carb intake but you will never get back to normal without loosing weight and reducing the intramuscular fat. Which is the real cause because this limits your cells from receiving the insulin that your pancreas produces. I don't believe it is that simple (i.e. - only one factor), and I also believe that genetics/epi-genetics play a part. There is a known connection between body fat and insulin uptake, but I've been at a similar weight (similar % fat... nowhere near obese) in the past and my numbers haven't been as good. Also note that your linked videos reference intraCELLULAR fat within muscles, not intraMUSCULAR fat (which is fat stored between the muscle cells). The referenced study that shows fat intake increases blood glucose is a also a bit disingenuous. Yes, eating both together slightly raises blood glucose FOR A SHORT TIME, but then the fat moderates the level in the long term. Also, adding just a bit of fiber significantly reduces the increase in both the short-term AND long term (and more fiber has an even more pronounced effect). Off the top of my head, the only sugary/fatty no-fiber food that I can think of is chocolate milk. I also believe that eating lots of fruits and veggies (which I do) off-sets many of the problems associated with saturated fats. Prior to my new diet I did some research, and surmised that maybe my body just doesn't respond well to spikes in glucose levels, which leads to inflammation, which causes other cascading effects. So far, the results are supporting that position. Especially my cholesterol levels. I ate MORE saturated fat and cholesterol, yet ALL my numbers IMPROVED. I should also mention that my energy levels haven't suffered one bit throughout this process. All in all, this diet appears to be working for me. Hopefully future tests keep showing the same results. If not, I'll change it.
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Post by Coolkat on May 2, 2021 7:31:59 GMT -8
I don't believe it is that simple (i.e. - only one factor), Ok, maybe I admittedly overstated it a bit. You're right it's hardly ever just ONE factor but in my experience it's by far the largest contributing factor. Epigenetics also plays a role, there is no doubt about that. But if you're familiar with epigentics you know that you can "turn on" good genes just by changing your diet and yes, that is probably simplified a bit also. Also note that your linked videos reference intraCELLULAR fat within muscles, not intraMUSCULAR fat (which is fat stored between the muscle cells). The referenced study that shows fat intake increases blood glucose is a also a bit disingenuous. Yes, eating both together slightly raises blood glucose FOR A SHORT TIME, but then the fat moderates the level in the long term. You're right I used the wrong term there. However, I'm not concerned about short term spikes or rises in blood sugar. It's the long term that I'm concerned about. You can "control" the short term rises/spikes by avoiding sugar but that doesn't help the long term. If you only avoid sugar you will at best lower it a bit but doing just that one will probably never make it back to normal or close to normal levels.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on May 17, 2021 7:15:19 GMT -8
My lab work for May came back today. I am holding steady at 6.4, which is OK by me. My BP was good, my cholesterol total was good. I need to continue to work on getting my HDL up a touch, and my LDL down a little. My diet experimentation for reducing my cholesterol doesn't seem to have had any effect over these last 4 months. I'll continue the experiment for another 4 months before drawing any conclusions.
I am still walking or riding a bike daily, and am nearly at 2 hours. This exercise is what keeps me on my path. I find it easy to stay on the diet regimen of keeping my carb intake under 200g per day, with a couple of treats per 120 day testing period. Nothing too overboard, just not denying myself a dessert for the rest of my life.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Sept 2, 2021 10:47:33 GMT -8
I back slid a little bit this time around. A1c of 7.1, when it needs to be under 7, at the very least. Back to watching what I eat, as I succumbed to too many evening of popcorn, and maybe a pan of brownies. LOL All in all, not too bad, but I need to not let this become habitual.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jan 6, 2022 13:25:21 GMT -8
New lab work reported a 6.1 so well back within range. All of the other stuff, cholesterol, etc... is good. Heart Rate was only 48, so the Dr was laughing he might need to wake me up.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 7, 2022 8:22:02 GMT -8
Heart Rate was only 48, so the Dr was laughing he might need to wake me up. Do you find yourself drawn to basking on warm asphalt on sunny mornings?
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jan 7, 2022 15:21:29 GMT -8
basking on warm asphalt on sunny mornings? No, why would you think that?
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