In mid-November, I was half-listening to a daytime television show. I don’t remember what show, and I don’t remember the name of the doctor being interviewed. However, she said something that caught my attention.
She listed five things to add to your diet that could lower your cholesterol as much as 30%, which is as much as a statin drug will do. Essentially, this is what she said to add:
- A handful of nuts a day
- A soy product (she suggested substituting soy for meat)
- A plant sterol, such as Benecol (a buttery spread found in the dairy case at the grocery store)
- As many fibrous fruits and vegetables as you can stomach
- A fiber powder at each meal (yes, something like Metamucil)
Add to your diet? That sounded good to me. I have high cholesterol. It’s not a “little bit high” — it’s in the range that a doctor looked at me incredulously and said, “How are you alive?”
My family doctor wanted to put me on a statin drug, but I refused. Quite frankly, her record at treating ailments for me this last year is not impressive. I think she just plays a guessing game, and I don’t trust her much farther than I could throw her. It’s not just her, though. Of the six doctors I’ve seen over this last year, I don’t have faith in any of them. A statin drug, with all the side effects, will be my last resort.
At the time I heard this interview, I was working on the podcast I shared yesterday, I actually listened to what I was saying. Amazingly, I made sense to myself. I decided that I would change directions. I decided to do what I could with changes in my diet to lower my cholesterol. I incorporated those five things.
It will be two months before I have my cholesterol checked, so I have no clue if these are lowering the numbers. But, another change is happening —and that’s the good news that I’ll share with you on this Only The Good Friday (an exercise in optimism that I started in October). I hope this doesn’t jinx it:
In the last month and a half, I’ve
lost nine pounds without depriving myself!
Well—I don’t eat bacon much anymore, but other than that I haven’t cut anything out of my diet. I eat more than I ever have in my life. In fact, I have dark chocolate every day! You can see the “trail mix” I make on my Posterous account.
Now, if you are wanting to lose weight, I don’t know if these changes would work for you. They certainly couldn’t hurt, so you might want to give them a shot. Losing the weight will certainly make you feel better. I know it has for me.
With that nine pound weight loss, the arthritis in my knees seems to have subsided. I have a lot more energy. And the best news of all? On New Year’s Eve, I was able to slip my wedding ring on my finger for the first time in a year!
Yep. It’s a good way to enter the New Year.
Now, what’s going on with you that’s good? Don’t just ignore me. Stop and think! Find the good in something in your world and share it (you can even write a post about it, if you want). I promise that if you will exercise your “optimism muscles” it will change your attitude for the better.
I hope your day is filled with only the good!
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So wait, what you’re telling me is that I’ve put all this work into Jenny Craig and all I needed to do was add dark chocolate to my diet? Damn!
But seriously, I’m so glad this is working for you on an unexpected level, nice bonus if it does that AND lowers your cholesterol too. Very cool!
My only the good is up here: http://tinyurl.com/9wch37
OH, and by the way, I was cleaning out my jewelry box yesterday (okay it’s more like a jewelry armoire the thing is so huge) and among the many things I found (can anyone say gaudy 80’s earrings?) I found a TON of charms for your medicine bags. They will all be in the mail to you this week and that’s a promise. I’ve been saying I was sending you some for too long now but this week you’re getting a WHOLE BATCH of them.
Karinas last blog post..Year End Meme – 2008
!st: I’m excited to get charms! I’ve got to get working seriously on the Medicine Bag Project to get some more help. I appreciate you!
2nd: I appreciate you for helping spread this optimism virus! Thanks for being in on it each week.
3rd: Crap, if it’s the chocolate that is doing this weight loss thing, I’ll buy a shopping cart FULL of it! But, I don’t think it’s the chocolate (except that having a taste of it stops me from craving).
Finally, I hope you have a great day. I liked your videos!
Great post! My MIL lost 10kg this year on doctor’s advice – he only said “instead of sitting down to 1 sandwich for a meal, cut it in 4 and eat 1/4. Wait an hour before having the 2nd 1/4″ and so forth. She ate the same amount, just smaller and more often – worked a charm.
jeanies last blog post..2009 and all the trimmings
Sounds smart to me!
I won a Ninetendo Wii this week!! WAHOO – how good is that???
WIIIIIII!
Now if only I could remember to get the walnuts out of the cabinet and buy more dark chocolate and actually eat them…
Congrats on leading into the New Year the right way!
My only the good is up, late, but up… and I am so glad it is still snowing on your blog, I couldn’t get mine to snow….
Marcias last blog post..A great way to start the new year
I don’t know what I did right to make the plug-in work so it would snow. Just lucky. Now, if I can continue the new year the right way….