FracturedRabbit

Actually you have a valid point ... my mother was the same ...she had enough of life in her mid 80's and asked for DNR on her bed ...
 
However I'm sure there are some who have said I'll be happy to die when I'm xx years old but when they get to xx-1 years have a slightly different opinion

27 minutes ago, swissie said:

Lots of valuable information. Much appreciated. So, what will I do?

- For now, I will go with the list of foods that Sheryl has provided in Post #14. As I am a bit of a "carnivore" already, I will expand on this. Considering the fact that the diet of Stone-Age People consisted mainly of meat, it can't be all that bad. Otherwise we woulden't be here today!

- It was also mentioned that Distilled Spirits will not contribute to increased Blood Sugar (as opposed to Beer). So I will switch from Beer to Spirits in combination with Soda-Water.
Hoping that those measures will have a positive effect. Time will tell.

I have a friend who eats nothing but meat; it's known as the carnivore diet; and he is flourishing. 

2 hours ago, madmen said:

I think for the most part your expiry date is hardwired in your DNA. Generally long lives in family history will be passed on and yes you can drink and smoke while others fall down around you. Going Vegan and drinking spring water form the spring guarantees nothing

Going Vegan will guarantee a nutrient deficiency.
It's a comforting thought that is all down to the DNA; but the truth is that lifestyle (food and exercise) has a major impact on both the quality and length of your life.

22 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Interesting topic. My FBS readings have been borderline for the past 5 or so years, perhaps longer than that. Between 99 to 104. I exercise regularly, 30 minutes to 1 hour of intense exercise 5 days a week and have been doing this for the past 2 years. Unfortunately, no improvement in FBS. Also, improved my diet, greatly cut down on carbs such as white rice, white bread, snacks, etc. But again, no improvement. I am 56 years old, 181 cm and my weight varies between 79 to 80.5 kgs. At a loss as to how to bring down my FBS.  

If you are eating well and exercising, which you are, shouldn't be anything to worry about. FBS is not a great indicator anyway, perhaps an HbA1C reading will give you a better indicator? Time of day will also impact the reading. If you test FBS shortly after waking up, you will get a higher reading due to the body flooding the system with glucose to get you going. Mine is 90 when I wake, drops to 80 2 hours later.

4 hours ago, Kohsamida said:

To Fractured Rabbit and anyone else living in Jomtien/Pratumnak:  Can any of you recommend restaurants that can accommodate keto or low-carb?

 

Just moved here and need help finding a place.  I don’t care if they focus on keto menus (and doubt any restaurants in Thailand do), but just want to find a place that I can say “low carb”, and they’ll make a low carb meal for me without looking at me funny.

We (my wife is low carb too, apart from durian season..) tend to eat at home more than we used to. However:

1. If we go to a standard Thai restaurant my wife tells them not to use MSG. We avoid fried food and of course no rice.

2. Most big chain restaurants offer dishes which are low carb, although you will have to spot them, they won't know what you mean. Black Canyon actually has a Keto Menu, which is very surprising, but it is presently only offered in Bangkok. 

3. Places that offer breakfast menus are OK, get them to change out some of the carby stuff or just leave it out. We go to Bake n Brew where they will swap stuff around if you ask, and I have my daily carbs there with a slice of their excellent sourdough bread (my wife brings a little tub of grass fed butter along to smother on it).

4. Zen for a sashimi treat.

5. Tree tales in Naklua has a good menu of healthy food.

It seemed a bit daunting at first, but you eat low carb in many places. The most risky are the Thai food outlets because of msg, the hidden sugar and dubious oil.

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Here’s a review:
https://www.westonaprice.org/book-reviews/prevent-and-reverse-heart-disease-by-caldwell-b-esselstyn/

His “science” does indeed seem rather shaky. LDL level is not, in isolation, a predictor for heart disease. And if part of the solution is taking statins...

Perhaps most importantly, if you have atherosclerosis, you need vitamin K2 to remove calcified plaque from the arteries. K2 is not present in a vegan diet.


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1 hour ago, TravelerEastWest said:

Just to start:

 

http://www.atkinsexposed.org/

 

Dr Gregor's book; 

Carbophobia

 

I have read many references to the long term health problems of Keto low carb diets I am not worried about the short term problems because not everyone has them and they don't seem too bad...

1. Atkins isn't Keto
2. The references are at least ten years old; science has moved on. I could provide you with endless references to the benefits of low carb diets.
3. Still not provided a reference to long term health problems of keto/low carb. Don't bother, I have friends who have been on it for years and are extremely healthy, and I am massively more healthy than I was two years ago.
4. Gregor is all about a plant based diet, that it is fine if that is your thing; but plant based eating has the same potential problem with carbs (see graphic).

Here's a fact. Excessive carbohydrate intake (irrespective of nutrition source) leads to insulin resistance, leads to metabolic syndrome, leads to diabetes (and heart disease and Alzheimer's). Limiting your carbohydrate intake is good for your health.

1 minute ago, VincentRJ said:

You don't want to lose weight because you are not overweight, or because you prefer to be overweight? Which? ????

I used to be 84kg, now I am 69kg with a 31" waist. I class this as not overweight.

5 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Everyone fasts every day, without exception. I've never heard of anyone who eats continuously for 24 hours each day. ????

 

Try fasting for 23 hours a day. In other words, have just one meal per day. Initially, you might eat as much during that one meal as your previous breakfast, lunch and dinner combined, but gradually your stomach will shrink, and you will probably, eventually, be eating no more during that single meal per day than the largest of your previous three meals, and will lose weight as a consequence.

Probably; but I don't want to lose weight!  I do occasional 24 hour fasts; but find 18/6 is the most convenient.

6 hours ago, TravelerEastWest said:

This thread is very interesting and my thanks to the posters.

 

I am not an MD or research Ph.D. so I have a difficult time understanding the research out there. I barely survived statistics in grad school, and you need a solid grounding in statistics to even start to understand some of these studies.

 

Dr. Gregor who wrote How not to die is my go-to source for science backed research. I also have a friend who is an MD and research Ph.D. who has not said he is 100% certain about the whole plant-based low-fat diet but is leaning in that direction.

 

I see lots of smart people arguing both sides of the fence - fat or carbs?

 

One thing that makes reading books and watching videos difficult is that often both sides are correct but sometimes incomplete...

 

As an example, low carbs can certainly help those with diabetes - quickly reduce glucose levels, etc.; but they don't help with insulin resistance while a whole plant based diet does help with insulin resistance.

 

But there is a shortage of long term studies with large groups on the effects of low carb diets, and some studies show all causes of mortality goes up long term with low carb diets.

 

So, in the end, some experimenting needs to be done for each person to see what works best.

 

For me a whole plant-based diet low fat with mild exercise 6 or 7 days a week works well and I have diabetes and have had it for a very long time.

Insulin resistance arises due to excessive sugar/carbohydrate intake over a period of time and can be tackled by reducing the intake of sugar/carbohydrates. If you eat a plant based diet high in fruit, root vegetables and other food with a high glycemic index; then you can end up with insulin resistance. If you eat any food (plant based or otherwise) which is low in carbohydrates/sugars and has a low glycemic index, you can manage insulin resistance. 
I was vegetarian for years and my diet unfortunately included a daily large fruit shake with bananas and other fruits. I also enjoyed ice cream, cakes and desserts. I ended up pre-diabetic and with heart disease.
I see daily reports of those who have put their diabetes into remission and no longer need medication using a low carb diet.
I have never seen a study showing all cause mortality going up with a low carb diet, please share.

Britain's worst rag, The Daily Mail, which usually publishes nonsense nutrition advice, has an article on how people are tackling diabetes with a low carb approach.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6916909/Delicious-effective-way-reverse-diabetes-NHS-doctor-chef-reveal-low-carb-diet-plan.html

46 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

This is a rather puzzling statement. Are you suggesting there are more effective ways of losing weight than fasting? As I understand, it's not possible not to lose weight if you fast. The longer you fast, the more weight you lose. To not lose weight during fasting would be against the fundamental laws of physics.

 

I think the story of Angus Barbieri has been mentioned before in this thread. This is an amazing example of a fast which lasted 382 day and resulted in a weight loss of 125 kg. I'm not aware of any type of diet which would allow a person to lose 125 kg of body weight in a little over a year. However, this fast was supervised by doctors administering vitamins and minerals as required, and Angus did occasionally have cups of coffee, tea, and sparkling water, so one could argue it was not a 'completely' true, water-only, fast.
 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/pdf/postmedj00315-0056.pdf
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-true-story-of-a-man-who-survived-without-any-food-for-382-days
 

It rather depends what you eat when you are not fasting! I fast for 18 hours a day, but when I eat I consume as much as I would if I were not fasting. Sure, if you fast for days on end your weight will drop; but if you practice therapeutic intermittent fasting then don't expect to lose weight (but do expect to feel good!).

1 hour ago, cooked said:

https://www.drsinatra.com/the-most-important-cholesterol-ratio-to-watch

This is more important than your actual cholesterol levels (HDL, LDL, trigs). In fact if you were cutting your carbs right down you trigs would probably go up.

There is no such thing as a refined carb, they all go through the same process to be converted into fat if they aren't being directly used as energy.

I thought you were on Keto? 

Agree that the Trig/HDL ratio is an important predictor. When I cut carbs, my Trigs went down and my HDL went up.  My ratio is 0.6.

Refined carbs spike your blood sugar more than complex carbs.

27 minutes ago, Badrabbit said:

Awesome hope I'm like you at 70!

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You can be better!

Do you drink? Do you exercise? Please let me know what you eat day to day approximately.Your age?
 
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https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-ways-to-lower-triglycerides#section1
 
It's mostly the food you eat. Thai food is quite bad for you: lots of added sugar, refined rice, trans fats in oil.
 
Cook at home. Dont use palm oil. Dont use refined products. Dont use sugar. Dont eat carbs at all.

On 3/30/2019 at 12:17 AM, tavernier said:

Hi FracturedRabbit,

Thank you for your comprehensive reply to my post. I appreciate it took time.  My first calcium score was higher and my regime at present is, well, almost exactly the same as yours. I tried to go totally keto, but I felt unwell every day, and backed off to LCHF. I may increase K2 and D3 if safe.  Hoping my increase in Calcium is, like yours, less than 15%. After extensive tests a cardiologist's only advice to me was to take keep taking statins and reduce blood pressure! 

I felt terrible on keto for the first 3 weeks, before my body switched; but LCHF will do the job just as well I am sure.
My cardio gave me statins and said there was a 5% chance of them being effective; but wasn't clear about what effective meant. He never mentioned nutrition.
Ironically, we took our cat to the vet and it turned out she had high blood glucose. The vet only had one question "what does your cat eat?!"

If you haven't seen it, this is the study that concluded  "If progression of the CAC score is less than 15%/year, the prognosis of being free from a myocardial infarction is very good, independent of the original CAC score".
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5035375/

I could see how a processed product like that could be helpful, to mix some fiber, protein powder, a bit of vitamin, and limited flavoring to provide a healthy meal supplement or snack. 
 
All the same I'd just avoid that type of thing myself, and maybe get protein powder to use as an ingredient in a smoothie version, a version that contains no sugar.  People tend to react negatively to fruit for providing sugar but the levels of natural sugar from making a smoothie out of banana and fresh pineapple are nothing like drinking a soda.  Then again a 12 ounce Coke contains 140 calories or 39 grams of sugar, and a banana serving (more or less one) contains 30 grams of carbohydrate, not all of which would be sugar:
 
https://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-sodas-soft-drinks-cola-soda_f-ZmlkPTEwNzg1MQ.html
 
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271157.php
 
To answer more directly Lazada would have lots of related products, it would just take some sorting through to find a near equivalent.

chocolate croissants in Tokyo looks like heavy on carbs.
but most tempting
 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mNMVW83VJgSjjvgu5

My keto breath went away, took a month of so.  I expect St. Marc's chocolate croissants in Tokyo could cure almost anything.

A thread that mentions it here: 

Seems to be widely available. In addition to the cost of the scan they will probably charge you a few hundred baht to see a doctor first. Waste of time but impossible to avoid!

I have atherosclerosis. I have a plan to reverse it but no idea if it is the ultimate plan, or even a good one; but here it is:

1. Nutrition
When I discovered I had the disease I was not overweight, but I was metabolically unhealthy and possibly pre-diabetic. I believe this to be a major contributor to the development of atherosclerosis.

With that in mind I changed to a low carb/high fat diet and put my body into ketosis. Opinions differ whether keto is really necessary; but there does seem to be agreement you need to cut the carbs and get your metabolism sorted out.

2. Time restricted eating
I eat within an eight hour window each day. Not sure how much this helps but it doesn't harm, and I enjoy it.

3. Sleep. Get plenty

4. Exercise. I do more than I did. Lift weights, swim and windsurf when the wind is good.

5. Stress. Avoid it.

6. Supplements. People have reported reducing their plaque by using a combination of K2 and D3. I take 300 units of K2 a day and 1000 units of D3. Plus Magnesium. But I only started this after a year; don't want to start removing plaque if there is unstable soft plaque underneath, have to stop the disease from being active first.

Has this worked (for me)?
In September 2017 I was feeling slightly faint, couldn't windsurf more than 20 minutes before collapsing exhausted on the beach, swimming similar. Heart stress test and subsequent scan revealed 50% blockage in one artery, 37% in another. The blockages were causing the fainting feeling. Doctor gave me beta blockers which solved the fainting feeling although I still could not exercise for very long. He also gave me statins which I did not take. My calcium score was 134.

14 months later I had another calcium scan which showed a 6% annual increase. This was on a different machine at a different hospital; but as my target was to limit the increase to less than 15% so I scored that as a win. Given that the disease will have taken a while to slow down, some increase was inevitable. I will test again in a couple of years and hope the K2/D3 will have contributed to a reduction.

Feeling much better, I stopped taking the beta blockers a couple months ago. No faint feelings. My heart, which previously had started to flutter above 138bpm, was happy straying above 140bpm with no ill effects. I can now windsurf for an hour without feeling exhausted, have not been able to do that for the last twenty years (I am 70). Can also swim for an hour easily.

Without another scan (with contrast), I don't know what has changed; but can only assume that some of the blockage (which may have been soft rather than calcified plaque) has been removed.

Based on the American guidelines for metabolic health, I am now metabolically in good condition. Their recommendation, my score in brackets
Waist: less than 40 inches (31)
Fasting glucose less than 100 (80-90)
Blood pressure 120/80 (120/80)
Triglycerides less than 150 (54)
HDL greater than 40 (94) 

Feel better than I have in years and hope I have limited the risks for future surgery or a cardiac event.

Whatever your plan turns out to be, I wish you well! Accepting there is something you can do other than taking a pill is half the battle.

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Really?

If you are doing a true keto you must have lost about 75 pounds plus, in 18 months.

Is that about right?

And that is way way conservative as when I cycle to keto 20 pounds in 30 to 40 days is pretty standard.

Keto is no just for weight loss. I was not overweight when I started 1.80cm and 74 kilos, 34 inch waist. I am now 69 kilos and 31 inch waist. I am doing it to combat atherosclerosis. Other than 1 week out  of keto (when I went to Japan and had a love affair with chocolate croissants), I have been in ketosis the entire time. 

Black Canyon supporting keto


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Just a remark on your original post, referencing mine. Beta blockers are not statins either.


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