For me, this is timely. Too bad it didn’t stop with the first bad study.
Support Stella’s Place
Prayer Requests
Recent Comments
Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… auscitizenmom on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… auscitizenmom on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Menagerie on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… auscitizenmom on Nick Shirley: I Investigated M… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… ernnburn on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… WeeWeed on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D… Lucille on General Discussion, Tuesday, D…
Stella's Place 
My cardiologist recommends a Mediterranean diet.
LikeLike
If you’re over 50 and work in the medical-industrial complex you’ve seen the ‘latest, best and most advanced information on many medical issues change…numerous times.
The cardiologist Czarina and I share is good but he’s part of a corporation and is cautious with his advice, staying with accepted data that doesn’t expose corporate to any liability, as do all corp-employed docs. He’s big on statins, which I can’t take, but when I said I’m lowering my bad fats by taking phytosterols he’s silent, even though the FDA’s approved them for addition to foods for cholesterol reduction.
We’re seeing a lot of work being done in tying inflammation to atherosclerosis and aspirin reduces inflammation but we’re hearing that the 81-grain aspirin but what we’re hearing is its use in preventing strokes. We’re also hearing that folks our age should stop taking the 81-g as it doesn’t seem to show that it has benefits to us and may (no explanation) do more harm than good. But that’s current research that still has a long way to go and ain’t writ in stone…but it helps limit liability. As ischemic strokes are the most common strokes, as 3/4ers of strokes occur to those over 65 and aspirin helps prevent blood clots…we think we’ll keep on atakin’ ’em and run the risk of minor tummy upset.
The other issue is processed foods. What’s the ratio of processed foods to fresh foods in the US diet and why isn’t the issue of processed food addressed in the ‘food pyramid’? OK, the pyramid was developed by a group of bureaucratic USDA geeks with an assist from Federal food Nazis but hey, I worked for the USDA so I’m a bit prejudiced as to their scientific abilities. Their sort of squinting at the issue of processed foods being lumped in with their more feral forms is troubling.
As a diabetic who chewed his way thru a mountain of junk food I’ve been looking at the nutrition labels on foods more closely. Scary how the carbs and sugars are through the roof while fiber is minimal and they have a preservative-made shelf life that rivals granite.
Another issue with ‘fresh’ food is where it’s grown. The levels of vitamins,minerals and micronutrients varies depending on where it’s grown, especially if it comes from the factory famlands that are intensively managed 24/7/365. Opps, there’s that USDA 3rd rail.
I worry that parents over-restricting their growing kid’s access to cholesterol can be a problem as it’s needed in growth, I’m more interested in keeping the kids away from overly processed and junk food but we know that’s not possible so we do what we can. What it boils down to is do you trust ‘experts’who may have a hidden agenda or do you do your own research?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Americans are also very salt-deprived, due to the hysteria that salt raises cholesterol.
As someone who spends a LOT of time reading the labels on food, it’s amazing how many “healthy foods” are carb nightmares. Carbs are not better for your than sugar. Your body just converts them into sugar and moves on. That Clif bar may be a good idea on a hike. At work? Not at upwards of 40 grams a carb per bar. And the idea that it has “whole grain” is irrelevant to me. Whole grains are treated like some kind of vitamin people should take. it’s a carb, for crying out loud!
And so-called “sugar-free” foods are sometimes higher in carb count than the sugared versions. It’s all very deceptive if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Junk food costs less, that’s why there’s so much of it in the US diet. Last time I was at WalMart I decided I wanted the little apple-pretzel tray they had in the deli/fresh food area. I could only buy the one that was about the expire; those ready-to-eat apples cost close to $3 full price.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lord, my old office used to be hell on wheels. Come ‘bring something in’ days and the carbs AND sugar offerings made tables groan. Now the main dishes that were fat-laden (and that’s everything in traditional NOLA) were not as fattening, mostly as you couldn’t eat that much before you were gacked-out.
Don’t start me on Walmart. I invariably get caught in line behind some person who weighs in at just a wee bit less than a Korean sports car, riding an electric scooter as s/he can’t walk, wearing an oxygen cannula and shoveling tons of junk food outta the cart onto the conveyor belt. They’re disabled for some strange reason, paying with food stamps and you know s/he’s on Medicaid. A lifetime of junk that the junkie can’t/won’t quit even though it’s within reach of killing the person.
BTW, Coffee-mate is a surprise food. I started using it rather than half-and-half in my coffee and noticed that my blood sugar shot up after the coffee. I looked on the can and it showed 1 tsp had just 1 gram of carbs. WOW! A Tablespoon with some cinnamon and I’m well below my 40 grams allowed per meal…no sugar listed on the label either.
Seems there’s a wordie game the Feds play with corn syrup solids so even though they’re made from high fructose corn syrup they don’t have to be listed as sugar or carbs. Tell that to our pancreases.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t have any trouble with the ID sugar-free creamers. Not sure why but glad about it. If I don’t have it, I have half&half with Aldi’s knockoff stevia in my coffee, which works fine and costs less to boot.
LikeLike
Problem here is finding the sugar free creamers – Czarina loves the French Vanilla one but unless you’re lucky you ain’t agonna find ’em, stores are usually out. I found two some 45 miles south while I was doing something there but in town and 15 miles west no such luck. It’s never boring.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True. Those need to be more widely distributed.
LikeLike
I’m constantly amazed that Walmart, as large a concern as it is, has so many holes on its shelves. The two I get stuck shopping, each ~18 miles east or west of my house, frequently has product stacked widely, one item deep, to cover empty spaces.
If they can tell me if a product is in stock on the shelf in a given store their computers should be able to use past sales data, matched with expected delivery/transit times to automatically predict sales and ordering. We had that some 50 years ago in the military, you’d think that as a profit-driven concern Walmart would have product-on-shelf.
LikeLike
I got used to drinking black coffee made with my Bialette moka maker. I use a good French roast coffee. It took about one week to get used to. Now, even if I sip a coffee with a little bit of milk, it tastes too sweet!
I lost 50 pounds since January on a combination of:
1. interval fasting
2. low carb / higher protein and fat diet
3. swimming every day
We don’t eat much processed food.
I have a long way to go to get back to my “fighting weight” but I feel so much better, sleep better, and all of my little aches and pains have vanished.
LikeLike
Well, my 20-gallon pot boiling on the diesel burner with a boot sock full of ground coffee seems so…inadequate..in comparison..
You’d mentioned previously you’d shed the equivalent of a svelte bulldog…I believe that I’d mentioned I’d found some of it. The ‘freshman 20’ for retirement’s turned into a post-grad course.
We eat almost exclusively, except for the infrequent pilgrimage to the redneck marterl of Popeye’s to bear homage to St. Shrine of Al Copland, food we prepare fresh. OK, there was that pizza yesterday but it was an artisan pizza so it DIDN’T COUNT!
What the hell, I spent many years in the military having to work off what I ate so I deserve a break today, so I’ll get up and get away…
LikeLiked by 1 person