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Perennial health, not directly related to fitness, thread


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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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That's not what leads to cholesterol, it's sugars and carbs that lead to that. 

Low carb, lots of green stuff and vegetables will help with that. Or you might be like me and no matter what I eat my cholesterol is high. 

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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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Posted (edited)
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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59 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

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

Hmm.  Those don't taste at all similar to me, but possibly they would when combined with fajitas and other fixings.

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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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Posted (edited)

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.

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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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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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.
Costco nonfat Greek yogurt tastes better. But I'll go with Fage if I can't get that.
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On 1/8/2025 at 8:28 AM, Parliament said:

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.

Quitting added sugar completely - which to me is <5 grams a day - side note USDA recommendation is no more than 50 grams added sugar per day el fucking oh el - is really hard. BUT at a month at least for me the food I was eating came alive. Golden potatoes boiled, salted, pepper, then pan sautéed in olive oil and fresh garlic tastes like heaven.  I would devour watermelon - eat a whole personal watermelon all at once. Grapes? OMFG! And the yougurt with a berry medley is divine.  My banana, peach, spinach peanut butter smoothie was like pure silk. 

Quitting added sugar is a lot like quitting alcohol. Give it time, the reward is well worth it.

i dropped 30 pounds in 10 weeks eating as much as I wanted. Key was limited animal saturated fat and less than 5 grams of added sugar that was the only rule. 

On 1/8/2025 at 9:35 AM, Jerry Callo said:

Don't know if you are cutting most carbs or just added sugar, but many people experience the keto flu when first getting off of carbs.

You can feel lethargic, depressed, etc quitting added sugars and processed food too even if you keep eating natural sugars and carbs. 

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13 hours ago, troph said:

Quitting added sugar is a lot like quitting alcohol. Give it time, the reward is well worth it.

My doc explained it as the body is built much like a chemical plant—- very precise and expecting certain inputs.  When the inputs are impure or not what the plant is built to process, it flares, processes don’t work as expected, and the output is contaminated.

The gut and digestive system, starting with chewing and saliva, is perfectly tuned for natural sugars, but the processed and refined ones fubar the chemistry.  Same with all the other processed inputs.

The more you give it what it wants, the better the output and it happens pretty quickly.  Also, once off refined sugars for a bit, isn’t it crazy how much better and sweeter fruit tastes?? Show just how tuned those refined products are towards making us crave them instead.  Not by accident….

Edited by Reagan1k
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10 hours ago, Reagan1k said:

My doc explained it as the body is built much like a chemical plant—- very precise and expecting certain inputs.  When the inputs are impure or not what the plant is built to process, it flares, processes don’t work as expected, and the output is contaminated.

The gut and digestive system, starting with chewing and saliva, is perfectly tuned for natural sugars, but the processed and refined ones fubar the chemistry.  Same with all the other processed inputs.

The more you give it what it wants, the better the output and it happens pretty quickly.  Also, once off refined sugars for a bit, isn’t it crazy how much better and sweeter fruit tastes?? Show just how tuned those refined products are towards making us crave them instead.  Not by accident….

Natural sugars are also ingested with a myriad of other nutrients, antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber and other good things that our bodies need. A tablespoon of refined sugar or ultra processed carbs contain none of it. There is actually nothing redeeming about a spoonful of refined sugar. 

Edited by troph
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45 minutes ago, Parliament said:

That said, are 100% fruit juice drinks overrated?  I try to go to the whole fruit as much as possible.

Maybe the exception is something like cranberry juice, which my wife and I try to consume on a regular basis.  It has a lot of nutritional benefits, and I imagine it's harder to get those and not as pleasant if you try to consume the whole berries.  And I'm talking 100% cranberry juice, not the Ocean Spray-type crap with added sugars and fillers.

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My Granddad died of prostate cancer in '73. My Dad was always afraid of getting cancer, he wound up with just about everything but and died in '95. I had my 2nd MI in '07 and got 2 stents. since then I've had more scans, probes, tests and procedures than they had combined, but it's just medicine has advanced and they look deeper to catch shit earlier.

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On 1/13/2025 at 10:30 AM, Parliament said:

That said, are 100% fruit juice drinks overrated?  I try to go to the whole fruit as much as possible.

They aren’t overrated they are not good for you. The fiber in whole fruit is what you need with the natural sugar for it to work right.

 

leave the juices to vegetables which end up having much less sugar and much less calories.

 

you can add fruit to your juices to mitigate the vegetable flavors but don’t add much. 

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Here are three store bought juices I consume on the reg:

 

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all very low calorie, low sugar and no added sugar. Most are vegetable based and the one with pineapple actually leads with ginger, cayenne and lemon not pineapple. The pineapple is there to make it a bit more tolerable but you can see at 15 cals for 12 ounces there isn’t that much pineapple juice. I usually consume these in the morning with food. And I don’t use these as a substitute for vegetables but as an additive. 

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On 1/8/2025 at 9:27 PM, Parliament said:

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?

 

I don't use a juicer I use a Ninja blender I got at HEB.

 

every day:

One smallish head of broccoli.  Precise cuts for only the green part.  

One entire red, orange, or yellow, Bell Pepper

1/3 to 1/2 bunch of Celery

very small handful of Kale

3-6 branches of Italian Parsley

1/4 to 1/3 tablespoon of organic matcha powder

1 tablespoon Flax oil

1 tablespoon Collagen powder

1 16.9oz bottle of spring water from HEB

 

All organic.  I chop the pepper, celery, and broc.

Blend

 

I drink this immediately after blending.  I stand at the sink and down it all right then. 

The amount of pulp will greatly influence how easy it is to drink.  If the pulp begins to pile up on your upper lip while you drink, you have too much food.  Eating this way is about pulp management.  I blend for 3-5 minutes.  

 

Ninja blender from HEB

I didn't research blenders at all.  I like it because the pitcher locks into place and also the blender wont run unless the lid is locked down.  The pitcher is 72oz.

 

 

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On 1/8/2025 at 9:27 PM, Parliament said:

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?

UPDATE
 

I bought this one.  There are cheaper options for sure.  Four days in, I like it.

1) Kale/spinach you need a bale of it, nttwwt.

2) I think broccoli is the right base.  by volume about 60%.

3) Red beets go a long way.

4) Carrots make it sweet.  I haven't hadta add any fruit.

The above mix is almost tasty.  Definitely sustainable.  I bought some cheal plastic shaker cups.  Made a few batches and froze them.  Plan is to prep for a week thaw a cup every few days.

image.png.870873734c1641b2b42c8ce18d55006d.png

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