Reduction on lab numbers from No S???

~hf · Post by **~hf** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:01 pm

I am hoping someone (or several someones) will chime in with a resounding YES.

My labs are through the roof (cholesterol almost 400 and triglycerides over 200).

The good news for me is that my Dr. wants to avoid putting me on meds if I can get improvements with diet and exercise. Supposedly, according to him, I have youth on my side so he wants to give me a chance to avoid what he says will be a life time of medication.

I know I can get rapid results following another plan that will remain nameless but I'm pretty positive that I wouldn't be able to stick to it over the long haul. I have considered doing it for the interim until I see the numbers (labs) that I need then transitioning over to NO S *BUT*....

I don't wanna (whine, whine). I really want to eat like normal people do. I don't want food to be an obsession or an economical hardship (I have enough of those already...hardships, that is)...but I do need to see those numbers improving...

I would love to hear your personal experiences good or bad...

Heidi

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:24 pm

I think Brother John has seen some significant improvements in his numbers?

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:25 pm

Well, certainly you can reduce the numbers with diet and weight loss alone. I think the best thing to do is follow No-S and do what Michael Pollan says: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. There are lots of ways to achieve that and none have to break the bank.

janmarie · Post by **janmarie** » Fri May 01, 2009 1:19 am

hi, i had high cholesterol (was 260) but this was before no-s. i decided to take red yeast rice (sold over the counter at walmart, cheap) and niacin. I take two capsules of ryr at night along with one 500mg slow release niacin. my number dropped to normal within 3 weeks. i am still going to have monitoring as if i were on a statin cause red yeast rice is pretty much a statin. i tried a real statin and i didn't like the way it made me feel. niacin is one of the few things that raises the good cholesterol. 500mg still gives me a flush (one of the side-effects) but i take it before i go to sleep so i don't notice it.
my doc was fine with this...skeptical until he saw the numbers!

~hf · Post by **~hf** » Fri May 01, 2009 2:22 am

Nice, this is good to know. I'll look into it. Thanks for your insight.

TunaFishKid · Post by **TunaFishKid** » Fri May 01, 2009 3:13 pm

becauseIcan wrote: I know I can get rapid results following another plan that will remain nameless but I'm pretty positive that I wouldn't be able to stick to it over the long haul. I have considered doing it for the interim until I see the numbers (labs) that I need then transitioning over to NO S...

Just a couple of weeks ago I bought "The Engine 2 Diet" book, a low-fat vegan plan that promises to lower your cholesterol dramatically in a month. I did it for 2 days and stopped. The food actually seemed to have a "negative satiety" effect, if that's possible. I felt hungrier after I ate!

I wouldn't suggest something like that even briefly, because it's just another impossible-to-sustain diet that might cause a rebound binge effect and make NoS even harder. Even after learning about NoS I toyed with the same idea as you (just to impress my doctor

) but decided the sooner I get started eating normally, the sooner I will reach a lasting solution.

Post by **reinhard** » Fri May 01, 2009 5:15 pm

I did a some quick searching on the bulletin board and found a few relevant posts:

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... &highlight

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... ides#11098

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... erol#55533

Reinhard

~hf · Post by **~hf** » Sat May 02, 2009 5:57 am

reinhard wrote:I did a some quick searching on the bulletin board and found a few relevant posts:. . . .

Reinhard

Ok, thanks. This is what I needed to see. If I know others have seen success with a change in labs I'll give it a go myself. For the past several months I've toyed with the idea of going towards an ultra low fat mostly plant based diet . . BUT. . . that just isn't realistic for me. I've decided slow and steady wins the race so I'm opting for one new habit or goal a month. The April and May challenge topics have inspired me. I've posted May's goal in that thread and I'll be sure to keep it updated.

I was beginning to see results with No S last year with my first time around. I wasn't weighing myself but my clothes were beginning to fit differently.

This will be good!

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat May 02, 2009 11:49 am

becauseIcan wrote:For the past several months I've toyed with the idea of going towards an ultra low fat mostly plant based diet

I know people for whom they have worked (me, included) and I know people for whom it hasn't worked at all in terms of reducing cholesterol and triglycerides and sometimes even weight. There's nothing wrong with those plans/programs, but they're not easy for most of us to follow.

I no longer follow one of those programs. Though it worked in terms of health, it didn't work in any other area of my life. As I've done more and more reading I think part of the reason they do work is not because they're ultra low fat or because meat is limited or excluded, it's because the junk is gone. The followers eat real food.

The funny thing is that I realized that the way I eat now is a variation of one of those programs.

becauseIcan wrote:I really want to eat like normal people do.

I think you have to consider that eating like normal people do may be what raised your cholesterol and triglycerides. But doing what it takes to lower them doesn't mean you have to eat so differently that you can't enjoy eating or eat with others without calling attention to what you're eating -- or not eating. Initially, at least, it may take some thinking and planning.

I think the two most important things you can do are:

1. Increase your intake of vegetables, especially leafy greens, and fruits, and...

2. Eat real food.

apomerantz · Post by **apomerantz** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:11 pm

Heidi,

Cholesterol is oftentimes due to genetics more than anything related to diet. If you are overweight, shedding the extra pounds is great to try, and exercise can really raise your HDL (which is a good thing as the ratio of HDL to LDL is important). I think any sensible eating plan combined with some vigorous exercise will soon let you know if your cholesterol is responsive to those measures . . .

The nice thing for women is that we have some natural protections from heart attack until menopause. So if you are young, you have a little more time to figure out how to best get those numbers under control, whether it be losing weight/exercise or medication.

Good luck with it all. Please let us know how it goes!!

Everyday Systems

Reduction on lab numbers from No S???

Reduction on lab numbers from No S???

Re: Reduction on lab numbers from No S???