aja8888
Moderator Emeritus
Over the last several weeks, I have been reading some popular health related books. They are as follows:
Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage, and Reclaim Good Health (Jacoby) - absolutely scared me about sugar intake!
Outlive, the Science and Art of Longevity (Attia) - Good book but really could have been ½ the size without Attia’s personal life issues. I am surprised his wife and kids are still with him..
Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (Lustig) - A hard book to read, and confusing. Very technical and discusses the history of the food processing industry in the US. Basically warns on eating processed foods and says eat only Real Food, but doesn’t go into exactly what he would recommend for Real Foods.
The Ancestral Diet Revolution (Knobbe, Alexander) - This was a *mind blowing* book as to his take (with lots of graphs and charts) on the negative health effects of most seed oils in today’s food. After finishing the book, it’s clear to me that most seed oils (aka, "vegetable" oils) are going to be eliminated (minimized?) from my choice of foods going forward if I can actually do it.
This was a lot of reading, and I am trying to put all this information into a cohesive plan.
I’m 81, and have been in really good health all of my life (except for many broken bones and some new metal parts); No lipid or other organ issues (great blood work), no heart issues (other than a SVT issue 7 years ago and fixed), BP normal, slightly over ideal weight, and so on. Plus, my level of activity has been great with no mobility issues. I’m playing golf weekly and workout at the gym twice a week. So, in a nutshell, I have been lucky for my age.
Until last July, I have been taking one med (Flowmax generic) for BPH which is common in older men. Plus, I take vitamin D3 and a small baby aspirin.
July Issue
In July, I had a temporary loss of vision in my right eye (known as Amaurosis fugax) which was the result of an eye artery becoming temporarily blocked due to a particle of plaque getting into it.
This led to a hospital stay and dozens of scans and tests over a week's time. Out of this, I ended up with a small stent being placed in my right carotid artery as it was 70% blocked. Subsequent tests (stress and others) resulted in the fact that my heart arteries are clear and my pump (heart) is good, but the electronic stuff needed some help (pacemaker install) due to low resting heart rate (30 - 40 BPM). Heart Ejection Factor is 80% at rest and 74% under load which is excellent for my age.
So with clear arteries (except for one in my neck), I am on a statin (Lipitor), even though my recent/historical cholesterol is 160) and I am starting to suspect my diet is not sufficient to keep me healthy for another 10 years or longer, if I believe one half of what's in the books I just read..
My goal in reading the above books is to 1; evaluate my current diet (if you could call it that), and 2; re-establish an eating plan and eliminate the bad stuff to maximize my longevity.
A review of my fridge and pantry shows that most of my food here contains some form of sugar (or several forms), some oils like palm, sunflower, canola, soybean, etc. and even my recently bought ½ gallon of Almond Milk has soybean oil in it! I would like to minimize or even eliminate the sugar, HFCS, and seed oils as a goal, understanding that this is near impossible without moving into the woods, shooting wild game and growing vegetables and fruit trees. I'm looking for some discussion or thoughts on your experiences if your thinking about sugar and seed oil dangers is aligned in this manner. Some opening questions:
Anyone here trying to eliminate bad seed oils (high Omega 6 loading) and sugar from their diets?
If so, what is your success and do you have any recommendations as to where to get foods that are very low (or zero) in bad oils and sugar. And with respect to important vitamins like A, D, K2, etc, do you use supplements or eat food that is rich in them?
Are "pasture raised" eggs bought from Costco, for instance, really as good as a local farmer's eggs? How do we know what the chickens were fed?
What about beef from grocery stores and butcher shops. Are Prime cuts fed differently than Select?
Etc,
Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage, and Reclaim Good Health (Jacoby) - absolutely scared me about sugar intake!
Outlive, the Science and Art of Longevity (Attia) - Good book but really could have been ½ the size without Attia’s personal life issues. I am surprised his wife and kids are still with him..
Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (Lustig) - A hard book to read, and confusing. Very technical and discusses the history of the food processing industry in the US. Basically warns on eating processed foods and says eat only Real Food, but doesn’t go into exactly what he would recommend for Real Foods.
The Ancestral Diet Revolution (Knobbe, Alexander) - This was a *mind blowing* book as to his take (with lots of graphs and charts) on the negative health effects of most seed oils in today’s food. After finishing the book, it’s clear to me that most seed oils (aka, "vegetable" oils) are going to be eliminated (minimized?) from my choice of foods going forward if I can actually do it.
This was a lot of reading, and I am trying to put all this information into a cohesive plan.
I’m 81, and have been in really good health all of my life (except for many broken bones and some new metal parts); No lipid or other organ issues (great blood work), no heart issues (other than a SVT issue 7 years ago and fixed), BP normal, slightly over ideal weight, and so on. Plus, my level of activity has been great with no mobility issues. I’m playing golf weekly and workout at the gym twice a week. So, in a nutshell, I have been lucky for my age.
Until last July, I have been taking one med (Flowmax generic) for BPH which is common in older men. Plus, I take vitamin D3 and a small baby aspirin.
July Issue
In July, I had a temporary loss of vision in my right eye (known as Amaurosis fugax) which was the result of an eye artery becoming temporarily blocked due to a particle of plaque getting into it.
This led to a hospital stay and dozens of scans and tests over a week's time. Out of this, I ended up with a small stent being placed in my right carotid artery as it was 70% blocked. Subsequent tests (stress and others) resulted in the fact that my heart arteries are clear and my pump (heart) is good, but the electronic stuff needed some help (pacemaker install) due to low resting heart rate (30 - 40 BPM). Heart Ejection Factor is 80% at rest and 74% under load which is excellent for my age.
So with clear arteries (except for one in my neck), I am on a statin (Lipitor), even though my recent/historical cholesterol is 160) and I am starting to suspect my diet is not sufficient to keep me healthy for another 10 years or longer, if I believe one half of what's in the books I just read..
My goal in reading the above books is to 1; evaluate my current diet (if you could call it that), and 2; re-establish an eating plan and eliminate the bad stuff to maximize my longevity.
A review of my fridge and pantry shows that most of my food here contains some form of sugar (or several forms), some oils like palm, sunflower, canola, soybean, etc. and even my recently bought ½ gallon of Almond Milk has soybean oil in it! I would like to minimize or even eliminate the sugar, HFCS, and seed oils as a goal, understanding that this is near impossible without moving into the woods, shooting wild game and growing vegetables and fruit trees. I'm looking for some discussion or thoughts on your experiences if your thinking about sugar and seed oil dangers is aligned in this manner. Some opening questions:
Anyone here trying to eliminate bad seed oils (high Omega 6 loading) and sugar from their diets?
If so, what is your success and do you have any recommendations as to where to get foods that are very low (or zero) in bad oils and sugar. And with respect to important vitamins like A, D, K2, etc, do you use supplements or eat food that is rich in them?
Are "pasture raised" eggs bought from Costco, for instance, really as good as a local farmer's eggs? How do we know what the chickens were fed?
What about beef from grocery stores and butcher shops. Are Prime cuts fed differently than Select?
Etc,