New diet, new concerns...

Good grief.

I recently had a blood test that checked these aspects of my blood:

• Lipids 
• Lipoprotein Particles and Apolipoproteins
• Inflammation/Oxidation
• Myocardial Stress
• Platelets
• Lipoprotein Genetics
• Platelet Genetics
• Coagulation Genetics
• Metabolic

And there was a total of 35 sub-categories under those headings. My doctor knows I am predisposed to heart disease and just wanted to go a little deeper to see what was going on. I know the list above probably sounds like a lot of gobbledy-goop, but once she explained everything and I went online to look up some of the words used in the explanation of my results, I understand most of it.

In a nutshell, the results of the test show that I am leaning towards becoming insulin resistant and have an increased risk for heart disease, stroke and blood clots. And because my Apolipoprotein E Genotype is 3/4 (including about 20% of people in the world from what I understand), diet works better for me than taking medications. So, at least that is a good thing.

But... I'm becoming insulin resistant? That was a shocker. But diabetes also runs in my family; my mother and uncle both had it. My mother got it when she was quite overweight, but my uncle was never overweight. So, I guess it's not that unimaginable that I could be leaning that way.

And one doesn't have to be overweight to become insulin resistant. But because of other indications of the blood test (it's way too detailed and complicated to write about here and would bore you to death), my doctor wants me to lose 10 pounds even though I am 5'10" and weigh 150, which feels ideal for me. But since I have such a small frame, I guess there is still just too much fat and can create problems. 

So, I am to lose 10 pounds and refine my eating habits. A lot! I was vegan and gluten-free for awhile, but felt I lost too much weight, but am now wondering if that was a good thing. I dunno, but what I need to do now (as does Mike since his symptoms are more extreme than mine since he is pre-diabetic) doesn't seem as restrictive to me. I've not been vegan now for over a year. I started eating eggs and a bit of dairy and put on those 10 pounds and felt better. 

My doctor recommended my reading Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution by Steven R. Gundry, M.D. He's not pro-vegan, vegetarian or carnivore; he's promoting eating predominantly greens/green veggies and protein, preferably with a lot of the veggies being raw. Most everything else -  even foods I considered healthy - turns into sugar and is what's causing my potential problems. He writes about how the modern diet is dominated by grains and how they have caused so many new health issues in the past 100 or so years. Humans never used to eat so much of their diet from grains; we used to eat more like the Great Apes - mostly greens with some bug/animal protein mixed in at about 6%. No, I don't want to eat bugs and lots of animals, but at this point I need to make some changes. The foods he recommends eating not only put you at your optimal weight, they help alleviate whatever is causing me to be leaning towards insulin resistance... and all my other leanings as well. 

Basically, I have to cut out all foods considered "beige" or "white", including pasta, all rice, potatoes, milk, crackers, chips, all baked goods, cereals and candy - forever, except for occasional treats. Fortunately, I don't eat that much of those things anyway. But I also have to give up some foods temporarily... foods I love, such as sweet potatoes, most fruit, quinoa and legumes. But once my system gets balanced out, I can eat them again... just not all the time. The problem is that all of these foods turn to sugar and can wreck havoc on a body.

I hope I can get my spring garden in; so far the weather has not cooperated. Mike and I cleaned it up yesterday, getting it ready to till, but the ground was way too wet. And it's supposed to rain again this upcoming weekend. Boo. Well, I want to plant in a couple of weeks, maybe it'll be done by then. I'll really be able to use the lettuce, kale and spinach in my new diet. I can always buy the stuff, but it's sure nice to walk down the hill and pick it. 

Life is always throwing us challenges, isn't it? This one isn't too hard to deal with since I love veggies and prefer to eat them over anything anyway... but what about that gooey brownie that I've been craving for months? I guess I won't be making any of those for the time being. But I can occasionally have some greater than 70% cocoa dark chocolate. Phew.