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Perennial health, not directly related to fitness, thread


Parliament

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We have a fitness thread already, but I think a dedicated health thread is warranted.  This was inspired by my recent yearly physical, and accompanying lab results.

I'm upper 40's in moderate physical health.

Got the regial blood screen, and A1C was not on it.  I have diabetes in my family and that got my attention.  Has A1C fallen out of fashion?  Or do I need to ask for that specific?

Triglycerides are high, LDL Cholesterol good, HDL high.  I know HDL is the good cholesterol but high can be bad.  I presume this is something I need to watch closely?

Dr. talked about going to the clinic periodically through the year for a blood screen.  Avera website says it's pretty cheap.  Question is how often.  Quarterly?  Monthly?  What?

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2 hours ago, Parliament said:

We have a fitness thread already, but I think a dedicated health thread is warranted.  This was inspired by my recent yearly physical, and accompanying lab results.

I'm upper 40's in moderate physical health.

Got the regial blood screen, and A1C was not on it.  I have diabetes in my family and that got my attention.  Has A1C fallen out of fashion?  Or do I need to ask for that specific?

Triglycerides are high, LDL Cholesterol good, HDL high.  I know HDL is the good cholesterol but high can be bad.  I presume this is something I need to watch closely?

Dr. talked about going to the clinic periodically through the year for a blood screen.  Avera website says it's pretty cheap.  Question is how often.  Quarterly?  Monthly?  What?

Your doctor should have ordered it.  How long ago were you drawn?  If it was under 5 or so days ago the blood is probably still viable for the doc to add it on at the lab.

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15 hours ago, HRSchenker said:

No fasting glucose? A1C is only needed to establish baseline of a new pt or if fasting glucose is out of whack.

My doc orders it annually based on family history.  Fasting glucose just under the wire would be a reason to start monitoring A1C as well.

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16 hours ago, Parliament said:

Fasting glucose was just under the line.

That and family history are probably good reasons to get one done moving forward. Assuming your blood work is good and you didn't have any major blood loss you shouldn't expect too much of a difference in fasting glucose vs A1C (not comparing numbers, I mean good result vs bad result). All A1C does is take a snapshot of your average levels over 90 days. It's always possible that your postprandial glucose (the blood level after you eat) could be higher than normal while having a regular fasting level so if you're trying to get ahead of anything potentially down the line then yeah get it done.

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I'll add that my New Year's resolution was to cut out all they added sugar.  No soda, no sugar in the coffee. Started a few days early and I'm already seeing results.  

And it hasn't been as hard as I thought; pretty easy tbh. Let's hope it stays that way.  Kinda sad I didn't do this a long time ago.

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1 hour ago, Parliament said:

I'll add that my New Year's resolution was to cut out all they added sugar.  No soda, no sugar in the coffee. Started a few days early and I'm already seeing results.  

And it hasn't been as hard as I thought; pretty easy tbh. Let's hope it stays that way.  Kinda sad I didn't do this a long time ago.

I did it for 6 months it actually is kinda hard long term. I was max 3-4 grams of added sugar per day. Two sources - museli and my one cheat - HEB made honey peanut butter. I lost 30 lbs tho on it. I’m off that plan now and gained 8 lbs back. I’m trying to hold the line now but my boys eat so much and often I have to carb load them so that makes it harder. But the rules for no added sugar are easy - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, lean proteins, good cooking oils, eggs, some dairy (watch out for added sugar like in yougurt etc), no alcohol, and you’ll get healthy to the max really quickly. 

Edited by troph
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17 hours ago, Parliament said:

Yogurt has added sugar?  Gotta check the label.

All of it does except plain yogurt. “Healthy” cereals are worse.

Berries, grapes, plain yogurt, pomegranate, chia seeds, and pepitas all mixed together is one of my favorite sweets. Zero added sugar. 

another one is a smoothie with frozen bananas and peaches, baby spinach, organic no sugar added peanut butter, two dates, vanilla and milk or oat milk. Zero added sugar.

I do swap out the HEB honey peanut butter occasionally when I’m weak. Really tasty and only 2-3 grams of added sugar. Had this tonight for a snack actually. 

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Fage 0% Nonfat Greek Yogurt, blueberries, whole Chia seeds and a squirt of Truvia stevia sweetener is a common meal for me.

A lot of times that's dinner, especially in hot months.

If I'm low on fat intake for the day I'll chop up mixed nuts or almonds and stir those in to supplement the chia.

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I've been eating plain nonfat Greek yogurt for years, and more recently Skyr.  Central Market jut put out its own brand of Skyr that you can find at HEB, and its nutrition profile is the same or better than most other plain Greek yogurts on the market.  Some hate the taste of plain yogurt, but it only took a short while to get used to it.  High protein content (about 17 grams), good probiotics, and low carbs/sugars.

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1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Some hate the taste of plain yogurt,

Yep - If all one has eaten is the "enhanced" stuff with the fruit (jelly) mixed in, then the plain greek tastes tart.

Just takes a resetting of taste buds and expectation of what it should taste like.

Incredibly versatile -   I mix it into all kinds of stuff to make a creamy sauce when I want something different (mariara, tomatillo, or whatever).

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43 minutes ago, Reagan1k said:

Yep - If all one has eaten is the "enhanced" stuff with the fruit (jelly) mixed in, then the plain greek tastes tart.

Just takes a resetting of taste buds and expectation of what it should taste like.

Incredibly versatile -   I mix it into all kinds of stuff to make a creamy sauce when I want something different (mariara, tomatillo, or whatever).

I've thrown Greek yogurt on the table in place of sour cream when serving fajitas and no one knew the difference. 

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So I’m a week in to the no added sugar resolution.  Losing weight rather quickly.  Good there but I’m afraid I’ll hit a wall in the next 1-2 weeks.

And quitting sugar is very hard.  I think I’ve been experiencing literal physical withdrawals.  Felt like I had the flue a few days in.  Not sleeping well.  Need to use that as motivation.  If sugar gives you addict withdrawals, it must be really bad.

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I've recently dropped all caffeine with a result my acid reflux and sleep have greatly improved. Previously I only had caffeine (coffee and iced tea) before 1pm most days but that seemed to still impact my sleep negatively.

Coffee can be tough to drop but it might help someone with any health issues.

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My cholesterol has been over 200 since my 20's when I was in the navy and actually eating right.

Mom died of heart attack at 51, dad had 8 stents by the time he died, mom's dad had 2 bypass surgeries, mom's brother had bypass surgery and multiple stents and died of heart failure at 80, dad's brother has had multiple heart attacks and stents installed. 

Might be hereditary, might be my diet, who knows.

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6 minutes ago, blacklab said:

My cholesterol has been over 200 since my 20's when I was in the navy and actually eating right.

Mom died of heart attack at 51, dad had 8 stents by the time he died, mom's dad had 2 bypass surgeries, mom's brother had bypass surgery and multiple stents and died of heart failure at 80, dad's brother has had multiple heart attacks and stents installed. 

Might be hereditary, might be my diet, who knows.

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If cholesterol is high, it is very valuable to know if you are an over-producer or an over-observer (if diet is otherwise reasonable).

Any treatment reaches maximum effectiveness if the right blood work is done to determine this, but that's usually a step beyond what reactive, traditional physician protocol will do unless pressed.  They'd normally default to a statin right away.

If an over-absorber, something as simple as adding red rice yeast and bergamot can provide great results.   If an over producer, then it may require a statin (which isn't a terrible thing).

Boston Heart Cholesterol Balance test or something similar (unsure if there are others) gives you the full picture...far beyond a standard panel.

 

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39 minutes ago, blacklab said:

My cholesterol has been over 200 since my 20's when I was in the navy and actually eating right.

Mom died of heart attack at 51, dad had 8 stents by the time he died, mom's dad had 2 bypass surgeries, mom's brother had bypass surgery and multiple stents and died of heart failure at 80, dad's brother has had multiple heart attacks and stents installed. 

Might be hereditary, might be my diet, who knows.

At least you don't hafta save for retirement!

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OK next step.  Time to buy a juicer.

I want a good one, buy once cry once.

I would like to make multiple batches on the weekend, freeze and unthaw as needed.  Is such a thing possible?

And gimme some recipe recs.  I want vegetable heavy and taste is not a priority.  If it’s healthy I’ll find the will to choke it down.

Hit me.  What do I want?

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I like steel cut oatmeal, mix it with some unsweetened almond milk overnight, and then add blackberries and banana.

It's a great breakfast, but I hear oatmeal spikes glucose levels. Is this too much of an insulin spike with the fruit?

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