[pansixt]

No trendy food science or techno babble for me. No top 10 lists or so called experts either to tell me what I should be eating. It's my body so I use IT as a gauge and pay attention to how it reacts with the food I take in. I do my best to drink lots of water, eat well, eat fresh and eat less. With a few exceptions, If it doesn't go rotten after several days than it more than likely does not belong in my stomach. I pay close attention to where and how the food I eat is grown and raised. I have no problem paying more for quality food because I don't overeat. I also believe in daily low level excercise, 2-3 short but intense workouts a week and getting LOTS of nookie from the wife. It's a formula that's been working quite well for me, and of course my wife

Well said. I just need to discipline myself to practice this more often.

All except for the part about your wife of course.

James

[Stu Pitt]

There's so many different 'expert' opinions on this stuff, and I'm pretty sure it's due to people's bodies/physiology being different.  Here's a classic example...

My father was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon.  Although he's been here for about 40 years, he still eats what most would call a Mediterranean diet.  Eats out maybe 5 times a year at most.  I'm struggling to recall a single time he's eaten anything that came in a box.  He eats a lot of good whole grains - bulgur, quinoa, etc.  He eats lean meat, but not like the portions that most of us in this country are used to, ie it's not the main focus of the meal.

His cholesterol is very high.  About 20 years ago, his doctor wanted him to go on cholesterol medication.  Rather than going on it, he started a regimen of diet and exercise - bike or rowing machine 45 min per day, 5 days per week; his diet consisted of fresh fruit and Greek yogurt for breakfast, and salad with lemon juice and black pepper for dinner.

He followed this self imposed regimen for the entire year.  The only times he didn't were a few holidays - Christmas, thanksgiving, New Year, and Easter.  On those days, he didn't overdo it by any means.

After that year, his numbers were exactly the same.  No change in anything.  His doctor rolled his eyes and thought my father was full of it when he told him what he's done all year.  My father's reply was "What possible reason do I have to make that up?  I have nothing to gain by misleading you."  I was at the appointment with him and told the doctor he's not kidding.

He went on the meds for 6 months, and still no change.

Long story (or post) short, everyone's body is different.  His body (more specifically his liver) naturally produces a lot of cholesterol.  This is normal for him, as it hasn't cashed any health problems.

My diet is far worse than his.  Not that mine's that bad.  If I went into what I eat, everyone here would think I had the cholesterol 'problems', not him.  According to my primary doctor, who happens to be a cardiologist, my numbers are "textbook."  He told me "keep eating what you're eating, your counts and ratios are perfect."  I should also mention that I smoke a pack a day, unlike my father.

Everyone's different.  As far as eating for your blood type, my father and I have the same blood type. 

[OzarkTom]

There are lots of studies out now that has found, just cut out the grains and sugar. That:

lowers your cholesterol
lowers your blood pressure
lowers the risk of diabetes
lowers the risk of heart disease
lowers the risk of Alzheimers
lowers your risk of cancer
lowers your chance of tooth decay

Insulin resistence is caused by grains and sugar, we eat way too much of it. This results in Inflammation of the body, which causes nearly all of the modern day diseases that Americans are experiencing today. The low fat diet, the USDA food pyramid, has been one of the biggest reasons. Turn the food pyramid upside down, then you have the diet right. That is more like the paleo diet, which is becoming more and more popular.

[Folsom]

You can actually tame the liver from making too much cholesterol. It does not mean you will have low numbers, but decent ones. There is a lot of work done on this by the blood type guy. It had to be done because these people are the exception to every rule, including the original blood type stuff.

[Æ]

He went on the meds for 6 months, and still no change.

Unbeknownst to most people who take them, one of the possible side effects of Statins can be memory loss. A certain amount of cholesterol is necessary for brain function, health.

[OzarkTom]

Unbeknownst to most people who take them, one of the possible side effects of Statins can be memory loss. A certain amount of cholesterol is necessary for brain function, health.

Another big side effect of statins is the depletion of the muscles. And since the heart is one of the biggest muscles, statins can lead to a heart attack. Women has a tougher problem with this than men.

I was listening to a local radio program recently when somethingyoushouldknow.net came on with their daily tip. They said diet will bring your cholesterol level down a lot faster than statins will. 

I know that for a fact from a few years ago. I was tested for a total cholesterol of 313 while on the low-fat diet. The doctor instructed me to go on statins, I went on a high fat diet without sugar and grains instead. In two months my total cholesterol reading was down to 208.  That proved to me my doctor did not know what he was doing, so I dumped him.

[JohnR]

It's an epidemiological study and therefore useless.

For future reference... what type of studies are not useless? (Serious question.)

[Folsom]

Is the study the problem, or our way or interpreting?

[jparkhur]

I think the real question is :  does this qualify as food?

These are the best things ever....  I am too obese and like them too much

[ctviggen]

For future reference... what type of studies are not useless? (Serious question.)

They all have problems, but from best to worst are:

1) double-blind, placebo controlled studies (you randomize people into two groups; one takes X and one takes a placebo; no one knows which is which until the study is over)

2) well designed, control-group scenarios (you randomize people into two groups:  one takes X and one does whatever they usually do; you know which is which)

3) epi studies (forward-looking, reverse-looking, etc.).  You ask people what they eat now and then see what happens to them over time (usually have a "control" group, but many times not) (this is "forward looking"; you find people who have (or don't have) condition X, and then see what they ate in the past.  Or, you compare groups of individuals (even in multiple countries, which is beyond belief). 

So, if you ask people what they eat and then from there group them into two groups (one that does the "bad" think like eat nitrates, and one that does the "good" thing like not eat nitrates), all you "prove" is correlation.  Also, the "correlation" may not be statistically significant (meaning that it's useless) or it may use a variant (can't remember the name right now) where they remove the denominator and blow up the significance.  An example, 20000 people are put into two groups.  2 cases of X are found in the "bad" group and one case of X is found in the "good" group.  Well, you have a 50% less chance based on 1/2 of not getting X if you are "good".  But your real chance of getting X -- even if  you're "bad" is (2-1)/10000, or 0.01 percent. 

So, when you see an epi study, it proves correlation (X could be cause by many other things) but not causation.  The numbers are invariably inflated.  Put it this way, the difference between smokers and non-smokers for the chances of getting lung cancer was hundreds of times (thousands of percent), not the paltry "21" percent or lower some of these epi studies have.  That's why one epi study shows something as being bad and another study shows the exact same thing as bring good. 

Check this out, for a pseudo-primer:

http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/

[Zero]

So after skimming through this thread, I realized that my reaction to it's content is likely very close to how a 'normal person' interested in building a decent sound system would react to a lengthy discussion that involved audiophiles waxing about the variables and caveats of hi-fi.  "Holy shit.. if getting good sound is THIS complicated, then I'll just say f*** it and get a Bose system".  Or in this case, it would go along the lines of:   "So basically, unless I eat nothing but fruits, veggies, fish, brown rice, and slim portions of meat - I'll stand a good chance of suffering from a myriad of health issues that could lead to an incurable case of deadness....    F*** this, I'm having Spaghetti tonight"

[Æ]

So after skimming through this thread, I realized that my reaction to it's content is likely very close to how a 'normal person' interested in building a decent sound system would react to a lengthy discussion that involved audiophiles waxing about the variables and caveats of hi-fi.  "Holy shit.. if getting good sound is THIS complicated, then I'll just say f*** it and get a Bose system".  Or in this case, it would go along the lines of:   "So basically, unless I eat nothing but fruits, veggies, fish, brown rice, and slim portions of meat - I'll stand a good chance of suffering from a myriad of health issues that could lead to an incurable case of deadness....    F*** this, I'm having Spaghetti tonight"

I'm going to McDonald's and having a McRib. Ha!
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/home.html

[geezer]

So after skimming through this thread, I realized that my reaction to it's content is likely very close to how a 'normal person' interested in building a decent sound system would react to a lengthy discussion that involved audiophiles waxing about the variables and caveats of hi-fi.  "Holy shit.. if getting good sound is THIS complicated, then I'll just say f*** it and get a Bose system".  Or in this case, it would go along the lines of:   "So basically, unless I eat nothing but fruits, veggies, fish, brown rice, and slim portions of meat - I'll stand a good chance of suffering from a myriad of health issues that could lead to an incurable case of deadness....    F*** this, I'm having Spaghetti tonight"

I think you summarized the situation just right. I went to a vegetarian plus fish diet (nothing processed) years ago in an attempt to mitigate my very severe allergy symptoms. It worked magically, and at the same time, to my surprise, it cured several other health problems I had.

And I did have spaghetti today for lunch; brown rice spaghetti, because I have to avoid gluten. But that's OK, because for me, it's the sauce that's important, and my (Italian) wife makes the best!

[pumpkinman]

I'm going to McDonald's and having a McRib. Ha!
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/home.html

Homer Simpson quote
“When you’re in my house you shall do as I do and believe who I believe in. So Bart butter your bacon.”

You gotta love Homer Simpson

[Æ]

So after skimming through this thread, I realized that
I'll stand a good chance of suffering from a myriad of health issues that could lead to an incurable case of deadness....    F*** this, I'm having Spaghetti tonight"

Doesn't it just kill you that there are people who never worry what they eat and they still live to be 80 or 90? My father smoked and lived to 84, he also drank a glass of wine everyday. I bet the wine had something to do with it.

[Tyson]

AE, you are right!  My advice - choose your parents very carefully

[Æ]

AE, you are right!  My advice - choose your parents very carefully

Insanity is hereditary. Parents get it from their children!

[Æ]

because I have to avoid gluten.

Do you have Celiac disease? Isn't it heriditary? An autoimmune disease.

[Tyson]

I don't think I have celiac disease, but I've not been tested for it.  I do have heart disease (almost killed me, already), and a small LDL patten, which has been difficult to get under control, and metabolic syndrome, which was pretty easy to get under control.  Got my first heart scan, which tells you your total calcium load in your arteries, about 9 months ago.  I will be getting a 2nd scan in 3 more months to see how I'm doing with managing my disease....Hopefully things go well.

[OzarkTom]

I don't think I have celiac disease, but I've not been tested for it.  I do have heart disease (almost killed me, already), and a small LDL patten, which has been difficult to get under control, and metabolic syndrome, which was pretty easy to get under control.  Got my first heart scan, which tells you your total calcium load in your arteries, about 9 months ago.  I will be getting a 2nd scan in 3 more months to see how I'm doing with managing my disease....Hopefully things go well.

Please read up all you can about Syndrome X. Mercola.com is the best place for that. paleodiet.com is a must read also. The low-fat diet over the last 30 years is the root of so many of our illnesses today.