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["Wendy" <crazygardens AT verizon.net>]

Bev,
What liver abnormalities are you experiencing?  A triglyceride drop from 
700+ to 274 is very good.  But if this was a sudden drop, unexpected, I 
would also raise an eyebrow.  Something has changed, or there were 
extenuating circumstances that gave you that 700 number.  If you want to 
lower your cholesterol numbers, let me give you some dietary suggestions.

Avoid red meat and pork.  Steak, hamburger and chops are your enemy.  If you 
want meats, eat fish and occasionally poultry.
Think high-fiber.  Toss refined grains out the window.  Eat whole grains.
Eat fruit and veggies.  As many raw as you desire.
Take a good multi-vitamin with an additional 500mg C and 400mg E.  The 
additional V's can be varied depending on your diet. Note: for those who 
smoke, always take a 500mg tablet of C daily.  It takes about 500mg to 
metabolize the nicotine in a pack of cigarettes.  Without the additional C, 
your veins and arteries will be suffer from lack of C because nutrients are 
used first to metabolize what is coming in before doing maintenance work.
Take 500mg of TMG, trimethylglycine daily.  I buy TMG from 
thevitaminshoppe.com in 1g tablets and chop them in half.  This is the best 
source of TMG I have found.  Crush the tablet.  TMG is taken up in the upper 
GI tract, so if you allow it to pass the lower tract in tablet form, it will 
do little good.  Depending on your liver abnormalities, I would also suggest 
a wine cooler or beer taken with it about twice a week.  BTW, if your imbibe 
in the foul poteen, TMG will prevent fatty liver build-up and cirrhosis. 
TMG is required by our bodies to metabolize ethanol.  Without it, your liver 
turns ethanol into a special fat and stores it waiting for TMG to finish the 
reaction.  In a high fiber diet, our bodies naturally make more ethanol, 
hence the added TMG.  Natural sources are dark green veggies and red beets, 
however, these must be eaten RAW.  TMG is destroyed by cooking.  The end 
product of ethanol and TMG is Sam-e (along with many other good stuff) which 
is the chemical our bodies use to tear down old and damaged cells so that we 
can make new ones.  Essential in healing and may ease the effects of aging.
Oh, and don't worry too much about dairy fat as long as it is not in excess.

Good luck,
Wendy
(who studied metabolic chemistry as a hobby...Oh, gawd! What a geek!  lol)


> I have the lab results:  My cholesterol and triglycerides are high.  Big
> surprise there. :)
> My results fit the American mold, nothing unusual about them, really,
> except that I personally feel that the conclusions drawn about my health
> from the results might be a bit different than Joe Six Pack who might
> have the same numbers as me.
> I'm giving my caveats first:
> 1. I had not fasted..bloodwork was taken 4.5 hours after a meal.  This
> should not affect HDL numbers but like Wendy noted, will affect
> triglycerides and LDL, etc.  PCP warned of high numbers, but I wanted to
> do it that day so I would not have to make another trip on another
> day.  Also, these are 'holiday' numbers-I admit that I eat more fat
> during the holidays than normally.
> 2. I was taking a round of oral prednisone after receiving 2 injections
> of IV steroids in the ER 3 days prior to the blood draw.  Steroids
> increase triglyceride levels
> 3. Even though my thyroid hormones are now within normal limits, I have
> historically had high triglyceride levels (even with 180 cholesterol
> numbers)...super high levels in fact.(700+)  This was my lowest ever
> test result.  I consider this part of my liver abnormalities.  Strange
> stuff.
> 4.  I do not eat very much fried food, but I get a lot of dietary fat
> from dairy-need to work on substitutions there..
>
> Total cholesterol 251 This is a personal record(normally 180-205)
> HDL 38  should be above 40
> LDL 164 should be very low
> Triglycerides 274 should be even low (my lowest result ever)
>
>
> These numbers are "bad" according to standard medical thinking.  I don't
> have the full report (it's in the mail), but the RN told me that the doc
> wrote on my chart that I was probably genetically predisposed to high
> triglycerides and that he wanted to discuss statins with me.  After
> reading Wendy's post, I kind of freaked a bit, and called back and spoke
> to him directly.  He has agreed that I can try diet and exercise, and
> have given me until the end of April to make a difference in the
> numbers. At that time, if the numbers aren't good, we have to discuss
> statins again.  So basically I am off to the races on lowering my
> cholesterol and triglycerides.  We did not discuss the effect of statins
> on my already stressed liver, I just told him that I really was trying
> to get OFF the meds, and adding another one would be admitting defeat
> that I couldn't do it.  I just told him that since I was able to quit
> smoking, I feel very empowered that I can do anything, and I wanted him
> to give me a chance, and of course, he was all for that.
> I honestly feel like I can do it.  Once I start exercising daily again,
> I can pull the HDL up into the 40's or better, I'm sure.
> With a few dietary substitutions, like avocados for sour cream and mayo,
> I should be able to pull the numbers into spec, or at least show enough
> of a change to keep that statin discussion off in the distance. :)
>
> Bev
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> "The world is my country, all mankind are my
>  brethren, and to do good is my religion."
>  Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809)
>
>
>
>
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