Saturday, March 17, 2012

Heart Disease Unmasked: Low Carbs Win!!

A recent posting in Sign of the Times has another MD (not Dr. Atkins) explaining that it's not cholesterol PER SE that causes heart disease, but an inflammation in the arteries that causes the cholesterol (which our body uses) to stick to the sides and cause blockages, etc. 

So, what causes the inflammation?

He goes on to explain how our processed foods (and the oils they use, which he identifies specifically) and the carbohydrate diets which are LOW FAT have cause all these ills, including diabetes and pre-diabetes.  It's well worth reading the whole article to see what he has to say and weigh the information for yourself. 

I've done a similar study on myself, but not being an MD or a medical researcher, couldn't and wouldn't say that it applied to others, but I saw how ingesting carbohydrates while I was on a low-carb diet that was higher in protein (as well as salads) affected me.  
  • I crashed -- immediately and with no control. 
  • I could feel the arteries slugging down when I ate some of my favorite carby foods. 
  • I had a lot more energy, which was also even across my whole day.
Alas, this also means that I need to get back on the wagon before it runs over me.  Still, I am thinking of joining a gym again so I can have safety supports around me when I start working out again - in case I fall down, pass out, or have a heart attack because I've been eating a lot of those bad sugars and sitting on my duff for the past two years.  Maybe I should see if there's a gym beneath the ER. . . .

3 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Isn't it a shame that the things that are most good for us are inversely proportional to the things that are most fun.
How nice it would be to have a doctor say 'lay off the exercise, eat more chocolate' instead of the usual.
Sigh.

Di Eats the Elephant said...

Ah, but dark chocolate IS good for you. It has anti-oxidants. When I was actually fit (drinking my water and exercising, with a good metabolism), I would have an avocado with red wine and a square of really good extra dark (espresso) chocolate for dinner. My goal now? Get back to that.

Lilibeth said...

...a gym beneath the ER. That's good. I've been working with wii fit. They say you can lean on someone if unstable. Wonder how the leanee feels?
I'm on a reduced sugar diet and have been for two years...lost forty pounds and plan to keep it that way so I've resigned food for the rest of my life. sigh.