Fri, Mar-08-02, 07:33
|
|
Senior Member
Posts: 11,512
|
|
Plan: IF +LC
Stats: 287/165/165
BF:
Progress: 100%
|
|
Plum, yes, you're right about there being something that can effect your cholestrol levels - it is called arachidonic acid and it is found in both red meat and egg yolks. Some folks are sensitive to it. Here is what the Eades have to say about AA :
Quote:
There are some people who may have problems with large amounts of red meat and large quantities of egg yolks. These people: have elevated blood pressure and/or cholesterol, retain abnormally high amounts of fluid, and/or suffer from inflammatory conditions such as skin rashes, asthma, allergies, bursitis, or arthritis.
It’s not the cholesterol in red meat and egg yolks that is the problem. It’s the fact that they are high in arachidonic acid, which can promote or worsen the above conditions.
Here is the strategy for these folks to follow: Eliminate red meat and egg yolks from your diet completely for three weeks. At the end of the three week period, take stock of your health. Has it improved? Eat a large portion of red meat and eggs for a couple of meals and observe what happens. If your problems reappear of get worse, you are sensitive to arachidonic acid and should have these foods only once in a while. When you do have them, make sure to remove as much of the fat from the beef as possible. Grill the beef. This will reduce the arachidonic acid by as much as 35%. Another option is to marinate the meat in a combination of red wine and olive oil or light sesame oil for 24 hours before grilling.
As far as eggs are concerned, have no more than one or two whole eggs at a sitting, and eat egg whites the rest of the time. Also, you should avoid margarine altogether (as everyone should).
|
Also, if your cholesterol was normal prior to LC there might be a shift in the type of LDL that is being produced, reflected as a slight rise in LDL. This is what the Eades have to say about this Phenonemon :
Quote:
I've been on the plan for awhile and feel better than I ever have. I’ve lost weight, my blood pressure is down and my sugar levels are now normal. My most recent lab tests show that my cholesterol and LDL went up. What am I doing wrong?
First of all, be aware that you are not doing anything wrong. The most consistent finding after people go on our program is that triglycerides drop and HDL, the "good" cholesterol increases. This indicates that your insulin levels have dropped and you have stopped converting excess amounts of sugar into fats as trigylcerides. Cholesterol is a number that is composed of both good and bad fractions, therefore we don’t tend to track it nearly as close as more specific levels of HDL, triglycerides and LDL. LDL cholesterol is made up of different particles that vary from person to person. Depending on the type of particles that predominate, one is said to have either pattern A or pattern B. With pattern A, the LDL is light, fluffy, and relatively large. This pattern is actually thought to be beneficial. With pattern B, the molecule is heavy, dense, and relatively small. This pattern is thought to be detrimental. Pattern B is a partial consequence of excessively elevated triglycerides. When triglycerides go down after the Protein Power Plan has been adopted, a phenomenon called the "beta shift" occurs where LDL is transformed into pattern A. So, paradoxically, even though the level of LDL appears to increase, the type of LDL that is being formed is usually much healthier. The difficult part is that the lab testing to determine your levels of LDL "A" and LDL "B" can only be done in a research laboratory with electrophoresis methods. While we cannot be 100% certain that this is what happened in your case, the research strongly supports this view.
The most important thing is to look at the overall picture. With the Protein Power approach we look at the triglyceride/HDL ratio as one of the best measurements of risk for heart disease. An upper limit of 5 is considered desirable, with anything over that indicating an increased risk. Some measures to help bring down your cholesterol and LDL levels are: stay on the plan (some people panic and feel that the plan is causing the opposite effect), take a "no-flush" niacin 500 mg 2-3 capsules per day, increase your fiber intake with perhaps psyllium seed powder-1-2 TBS mixed in water per day, and avoid excessive saturated fats and trans fats (fried foods and margarine.)
|
Generally speaking, however, you will find that LC results in a decrease in LDL, triglycerides and total cholesterol with a rise in HDL. I would not worry, Plum.
Remember you have to fast 12 hours prior to a cholesterol test - but you can drink water.
Best of luck!
Nat |
Linear Mode
