This will be a short post. I’m giving a speech on the Fourth Annual Low-Carb cruise in a couple of weeks, and I’m still putting it together. I pretty much have the text written, but for some reason my wife doesn’t like it when I give her a list of 100 graphics to produce with only a day or two to spare, so now I have to think through all the slides.
The speech is titled Science For Smart People, and the premise behind it is that even we lowly non-scientists can learn to spot the difference between worthwhile studies and nonsense studies if we just apply some basic logic and understand a little about how science works – or how it’s supposed to work, anyway. One point I’ll be making is that researchers who are more interested in pushing an agenda than in pursuing the truth sometimes make statements in the conclusions section of a study that have little or nothing to do with the actual data.
I’ll be giving a few examples, but this one is my favorite. It was a short clinical trial with the objective listed as follows:
To compare the efficacy of a low-carbohydrate/high-fat versus a moderate-carbohydrate/low-fat diet for weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction.
Simple enough. We want to know if low-carb or low-fat produces better results. So the investigators divided a randomized population of overweight adults into three diet groups: the two diets mentioned above, plus a control group. Here are the results:
Both the Low and Moderate Carbohydrate groups lost significantly more weight as well as inches from their waists and thighs than the Control group, while the Low Carbohydrate group lost a greater percentage of body fat. Although the Moderate Carbohydrate group showed significant reductions in serum cholesterol, the Low Carbohydrate group showed the greatest improvements in serum cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and very-low-density lipoprotein.
Couldn’t be more clear. The low-carb/high-fat diet wins hands downs. The low-carb dieters lost just as much weight as the low-fat group, more of the weight they lost was actual body fat, and they showed the greatest improvements in all the usual cardiovascular risk factors.
So what was the conclusion of the researchers? Here it is:
Moderate approaches to weight loss such as a moderate-carbohydrate low-fat diet may be prudent.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, based on data that clearly showed a low-carb/high-fat diet to be superior, we are recommending low-fat diets for weight loss. We think it’s prudent. And by “prudent,” we of course mean we’d like to remain eligible for future research grants.
Speaking of cardiovascular risk factors, you may recall that when Gary Taubes appeared on the Dr. Oz show, he refused to have one of those quick-and-dirty cholesterol tests, which of course made many viewers suspicious. “Meat Boy,” as Gary was introduced, must have something to hide, doncha know.
But in his most recent blog post, Gary explains that he did recently go in for a full metabolic panel, partly at the urging of his wife and partly to answer his critics. You can read the full details on his blog, but here are some interesting numbers:
Total Cholesterol: 204
HDL: 68
LDL: 116
LDL Pattern: large buoyant
Triglycerides: 64
The most reliable predictor of heart disease you can calculate from a lipid panel is Triglycerides/HDL. Anything below 2.0 is considered excellent; 3.0 is so-so, and above 5.0 means get your affairs in order. Gary’s ratio is below 1.0. (Last time I had a lipid panel done, my ratio was 1.1)
There are several other lab results listed that all add up to very low cardiovascular risk. As Gary wrote before revealing the numbers:
Keep in mind as you go through these that I do indeed eat three eggs with cheese, bacon and sausage for breakfast every morning, typically a couple of cheeseburgers (no bun) or a roast chicken for lunch, and more often than not, a ribeye or New York steak (grass fed) for dinner, usually in the neighborhood of a pound of meat. I cook with butter and, occasionally, olive oil (the sausages). My snacks run to cheese and almonds. So lots of fat and saturated fat and very little carbohydrates. A deadly diet, according to Dr. Oz.
But Gary, Dr. Oz is up to his elbows in people’s chests during heart surgery, so he knows what causes heart disease.
Back to the speech …
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I’m high-fat, moderate-carbing (if I can make “carb” a verb,) simply because I’m at a healthy weight and I don’t need to lose weight, so I don’t feel the need to restrict things like fruits or whole milk or beans. With lots of water and exercise, I’ve lost 5 lbs…. I didn’t even need to lose any weight! Plus I’ve noticed my dinner-to-breakfast fasts lasting a lot longer than normal, sometimes 14 hours or more. Plus I’m not constantly craving food like I used to if I started my day off low-fat and grainy like most people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/science/earth/19vegan.html?_r=1
This article in the New York Times is about a Vegetarian Magazine using pictures of meat and trying to pass them off as vegetarian.
This article and the studies above remind of that episode of South Park where Cartman forms a Christian rock band to make lots of money. One of the kids asked, “Do you even know anything about religion?” And he responded, “I know enough to exploit it.”
When it comes to making money off people’s beliefs knowing how to exploit them is all you really need to know.
That’s hilarious. I guess they couldn’t make the vegan fare look appetizing in photos.
@Ellen, that is about the most ridiculous study ever! DNA changing during gestation based on the mother’s diet–yeah, right. Unbelievable.
@ Ellen. Here is another link to that study. http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2011/04/04/db10-0979.abstract.
I read on another page( http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2011/april-2011/19/study-finds-new-link-between-pregnancy-diet-and-obesity.aspx )
that the full study was to be released on April 26.
Be interesting to see what the actual diets were, and if this is just some ‘pregnant mice/sheep don’t do well on bacon so humans should avoid saturated fat’ kind of study. I find it hard to sift through the BS sometimes…
“I’m going to attempt to record it, yes. If all goes well, I’ll upload it.” <- you better mate! Your speeches rock! Im serious make sure you record it, DVD it, and I (and I reckon others) will purchase it.
haha – since going paleo my Triglycerides/HDL is 1.7…… a miracle considering the amount of drink that still goes down the hatch. Friggen ethanol & the GLUT 5 pathway – while saturated fat is ok other awesome things are still bad for you.
*FINALLY* a break through with the MRS too! She went on a low carb cardboard shake diet for a wedding… lost heaps of weight and found she could go with out food till 2PM. She use to be a hypoglycemic feral if she didn't have her meals at her set times….. I said lets not yo-yo back just *TRY* eating paleo-lite (paleo with cheese, butter etc. paleo for normal people). She is loosing weight like nothing – looking young 20 something.
I've really become a paleo preacher making converts left, right, and centre. Its done wonders for friends and family – listening to the same crap about cholesterol & saturated fat from each soul I attempt to save. Your speeches and videos help me cut through the iterations of crap I need to endure each time. So thank you…. and make sure you record it! You’re a champ.
I’ll definitely record it and hope the Video Gods smile upon me. During my standup days I discovered a version of Murphy’s Law: whenever I had my absolute best shows, something usually went wrong with the camera … tape jammed, battery died, something. After one show, I found someone had bumped the tripod and the video was of a wall.
OK, now I am angry…so angry. I too read the news article that stated that low carbs during pregnancy cause damage to babies. But Ellen’s post above links to a study where the variable is low protein. WTF??? Where does this crap come from? I am angry because I had gestational diabetes that was controlled with a low carb diet. So are they implying that pregnant women should keep eating carbs and control gestational diabetes with insulin? Haven’t there been studies showing that fetuses exposed to high insulin during gestation become insulin resistant? Can you find out more? Thanks, from one angry momma.
Ok, sorry. Calmed down a bit. Apparently this is just bad reporting. The actual study is probably good science, but Brooke Walker is just a stupid reporter who read a study about gestational malnutrition from low protein and decided to warn people about the dangers of a low carb diet during pregnancy. What an idiot, she should be publicly shamed.
I’m afraid there’s a lot of bad reporting out there.
@ Ellen. Here is another link to that study. http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2011/04/04/db10-0979.abstract.
I read on another page( http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2011/april-2011/19/study-finds-new-link-between-pregnancy-diet-and-obesity.aspx )
that the full study was to be released on April 26.
Be interesting to see what the actual diets were, and if this is just some ‘pregnant mice/sheep don’t do well on bacon so humans should avoid saturated fat’ kind of study. I find it hard to sift through the BS sometimes…
Love that Gary posted his lipids! I hope to get a similar result when I get mine re-tested next week. I’m only in my 30’s and have had high cholesterol since my second child was born. Doctor suggested statins, but said I could try “a low fat diet and exercise.” So I did Weight Watchers religiously for three months. And guess what…(you know what) the lipids all went WAY up! Triglycerides at 223! I’m only 33, on my way to a heart attack! Of course, the MD wanted to put me on a statin ASAP. That was a few years ago. Since learning more from WAPF and Dr Mercola’s site, and after just a few months of LCHF diet, my triglycerides went to 88. Yep, from 202 to 88, eating eggs, beef, salmon, coconut oil, olive oil, and positively decadent amounts of grass fed cream, butter and whole raw milk. I get a follow up lipid panel done in a few days. Never been so excited to have a blood test done before.
Glad you found alternative sources of information. Your doctor clearly wasn’t aware of what causes high triglycerides.
There was a spot on the evening news here in NY the other night about a doctor who is on the ‘Caveman Diet’ (paleo). They mentioned how his cholesterol plummeted after only two weeks, and another doctor was on the clip endorsing that way of eating! I was so excited, thinking, ‘wow, they are finally mainstreaming this way of eating’.
At the end of the spot, the anchors had to come on and say that the diet ‘may be artery-clogging for SOME PEOPLE.’ (huh?)
Ack!
http://news.yahoo.com/video/newyorkcbs2-15751042/meat-heavy-caveman-diet-growing-in-popularity-24962582
Did they say which people?
I wonder if Dr Oz saw those numbers and what his reaction was…
“I’m going to attempt to record it, yes. If all goes well, I’ll upload it.” <- you better mate! Your speeches rock! Im serious make sure you record it, DVD it, and I (and I reckon others) will purchase it.
haha – since going paleo my Triglycerides/HDL is 1.7…… a miracle considering the amount of drink that still goes down the hatch. Friggen ethanol & the GLUT 5 pathway – while saturated fat is ok other awesome things are still bad for you.
*FINALLY* a break through with the MRS too! She went on a low carb cardboard shake diet for a wedding… lost heaps of weight and found she could go with out food till 2PM. She use to be a hypoglycemic feral if she didn't have her meals at her set times….. I said lets not yo-yo back just *TRY* eating paleo-lite (paleo with cheese, butter etc. paleo for normal people). She is loosing weight like nothing – looking young 20 something.
I've really become a paleo preacher making converts left, right, and centre. Its done wonders for friends and family – listening to the same crap about cholesterol & saturated fat from each soul I attempt to save. Your speeches and videos help me cut through the iterations of crap I need to endure each time. So thank you…. and make sure you record it! You’re a champ.
I’ll definitely record it and hope the Video Gods smile upon me. During my standup days I discovered a version of Murphy’s Law: whenever I had my absolute best shows, something usually went wrong with the camera … tape jammed, battery died, something. After one show, I found someone had bumped the tripod and the video was of a wall.
OK, now I am angry…so angry. I too read the news article that stated that low carbs during pregnancy cause damage to babies. But Ellen’s post above links to a study where the variable is low protein. WTF??? Where does this crap come from? I am angry because I had gestational diabetes that was controlled with a low carb diet. So are they implying that pregnant women should keep eating carbs and control gestational diabetes with insulin? Haven’t there been studies showing that fetuses exposed to high insulin during gestation become insulin resistant? Can you find out more? Thanks, from one angry momma.
Ok, sorry. Calmed down a bit. Apparently this is just bad reporting. The actual study is probably good science, but Brooke Walker is just a stupid reporter who read a study about gestational malnutrition from low protein and decided to warn people about the dangers of a low carb diet during pregnancy. What an idiot, she should be publicly shamed.
I’m afraid there’s a lot of bad reporting out there.
Hey Tom,
I’ve noticed you’ve started to deny/block comments that you don’t happen to agree with. What happened to freedom of speech? Or are you just a libertarian when it’s convenient for you?
I’ve blocked a few people who wore out their welcome. A couple of them mistook repeating themselves over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over without actually answering any of the questions I asked in reply as a form of debate, a couple more mistook posting mindless insults as a form of debate, and one was so deluded he actually thought if he scoured the internet for the most spiteful reviews he could find of the film, I should allow him to post them here.
I see you don’t actually grasp what “freedom of speech” means. Yes, as a libertarian, I support your right to freedom of speech 100%. Start your own blog, your own newspaper, your own radio station, hand out pamphlets, and I’ll be against anyone in the government who tries to stop you — that’s what the First Amendment “right to free speech” means: no government censorship. But your right to freedom of speech in no way obligates me to provide you or anyone else with a forum, any more than it obligates the Vegetarian Times to run articles by Gary Taubes. See the difference?
Love that Gary posted his lipids! I hope to get a similar result when I get mine re-tested next week. I’m only in my 30’s and have had high cholesterol since my second child was born. Doctor suggested statins, but said I could try “a low fat diet and exercise.” So I did Weight Watchers religiously for three months. And guess what…(you know what) the lipids all went WAY up! Triglycerides at 223! I’m only 33, on my way to a heart attack! Of course, the MD wanted to put me on a statin ASAP. That was a few years ago. Since learning more from WAPF and Dr Mercola’s site, and after just a few months of LCHF diet, my triglycerides went to 88. Yep, from 202 to 88, eating eggs, beef, salmon, coconut oil, olive oil, and positively decadent amounts of grass fed cream, butter and whole raw milk. I get a follow up lipid panel done in a few days. Never been so excited to have a blood test done before.
Glad you found alternative sources of information. Your doctor clearly wasn’t aware of what causes high triglycerides.
I wonder if Dr Oz saw those numbers and what his reaction was…
Hey Tom! Good luck with your speech! Could you fill us in about what this low-carb cruise is? Sounds like fun!!
My bad, I forgot not everyone has heard of it. It’s coming right up:
http://www.lowcarbcruiseinfo.com/
Hey Tom,
I’ve noticed you’ve started to deny/block comments that you don’t happen to agree with. What happened to freedom of speech? Or are you just a libertarian when it’s convenient for you?
I’ve blocked a few people who wore out their welcome. A couple of them mistook repeating themselves over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over without actually answering any of the questions I asked in reply as a form of debate, a couple more mistook posting mindless insults as a form of debate, and one was so deluded he actually thought if he scoured the internet for the most spiteful reviews he could find of the film, I should allow him to post them here.
I see you don’t actually grasp what “freedom of speech” means. Yes, as a libertarian, I support your right to freedom of speech 100%. Start your own blog, your own newspaper, your own radio station, hand out pamphlets, and I’ll be against anyone in the government who tries to stop you — that’s what the First Amendment “right to free speech” means: no government censorship. But your right to freedom of speech in no way obligates me to provide you or anyone else with a forum, any more than it obligates the Vegetarian Times to run articles by Gary Taubes. See the difference?
Okay, my bad. It wasn’t the study itself that is ridiculous, just the wording in http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15217500, which makes it look like the DNA changed as a result of the mother’s diet. Epigenetic changes to DNA do happen due to environmental factors, but they don’t (I believe) change the basic code that is passed from mother to child, which is how I interpreted the sentence about the DNA changing. If they are talking about epigenetic changes to the DNA, which the original article did (thanks, Robin) that is different! As to the actual research results, I await the report of repeat tests and further interpretation.
Here’s more of what we’re up against: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/6-best-worst-snacks. A former colleague posted this under the heading “good information.” I referred her to your site, Tom, among others, and told her she needed to look elsewhere for her “good information.”
The advice didn’t seem so bad until he recommended low-fat chocolate milk. The USDA Dietary Guidelines Committee would be proud.
Hey Tom! Good luck with your speech! Could you fill us in about what this low-carb cruise is? Sounds like fun!!
My bad, I forgot not everyone has heard of it. It’s coming right up:
http://www.lowcarbcruiseinfo.com/
I just wanted to let someone know about my recent fasting lipid test. I am a disabled vet and since serving in the Gulf, my Triglycerides norm is high-400 to low-500’s. On January 21, 2011, I had a test done. My tri’s were 523. They wanted to put me on the standard government diet, and I agreed. A few days later, without consulting me, a 6 months supply of a tri-reducing medication showed up in the mail. I have known about Paleo for a couple of years, and after seeing their typical “medicate” mentality was still in play, I decided I would experiment. After all, this has been going on for 20 years…2 months shouldn’t make a difference. I also wasn’t going to take medication that I would have to take for the rest of my life, if it wasn’t necessary.
After 2 weeks of the government diet, I started on 6 weeks of paleo, although I did consume some dairy because it is still animal product. On March 21st, I had my follow-up lipid test to see how my new diet and medication was going. Oddly enough, I did not receive the results until today, when the doctor called me. The VA is not known for its efficiency. The doctor wanted to tell me that the regime was working remarkably well. My triglycerides were at 123. That’s right…a 400 point drop in 8 weeks…6 of it paleo, after 2 weeks of basically a vegetarian diet. Also during this time, I lost 20 lbs. I did nothing else different. I didn’t go to the gym, go running (I can’t), or anything else.
I told her that I never took their pills, I just changed my diet. She wants me to come in for an appointment though, because my overall cholesterol did not go down…its at 309. All of this is verifiable. I have the paperwork from 21 January test, and she is sending me the paperwork for the 21 March test, all on VA letterhead.
Any ideas on getting the overall cholesterol down, or is this not as big of a deal?
Congratulations on the big drop in triglycerides. I don’t know how flexible the VA is, but see if you can get a lipid panel that measures your HDL, your LDL directly (not calculated), and your LDL particle size. The total cholesterol figure doesn’t mean much if you don’t know the others.
Okay, my bad. It wasn’t the study itself that is ridiculous, just the wording in http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15217500, which makes it look like the DNA changed as a result of the mother’s diet. Epigenetic changes to DNA do happen due to environmental factors, but they don’t (I believe) change the basic code that is passed from mother to child, which is how I interpreted the sentence about the DNA changing. If they are talking about epigenetic changes to the DNA, which the original article did (thanks, Robin) that is different! As to the actual research results, I await the report of repeat tests and further interpretation.
Here’s more of what we’re up against: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/6-best-worst-snacks. A former colleague posted this under the heading “good information.” I referred her to your site, Tom, among others, and told her she needed to look elsewhere for her “good information.”
The advice didn’t seem so bad until he recommended low-fat chocolate milk. The USDA Dietary Guidelines Committee would be proud.
I just wanted to let someone know about my recent fasting lipid test. I am a disabled vet and since serving in the Gulf, my Triglycerides norm is high-400 to low-500’s. On January 21, 2011, I had a test done. My tri’s were 523. They wanted to put me on the standard government diet, and I agreed. A few days later, without consulting me, a 6 months supply of a tri-reducing medication showed up in the mail. I have known about Paleo for a couple of years, and after seeing their typical “medicate” mentality was still in play, I decided I would experiment. After all, this has been going on for 20 years…2 months shouldn’t make a difference. I also wasn’t going to take medication that I would have to take for the rest of my life, if it wasn’t necessary.
After 2 weeks of the government diet, I started on 6 weeks of paleo, although I did consume some dairy because it is still animal product. On March 21st, I had my follow-up lipid test to see how my new diet and medication was going. Oddly enough, I did not receive the results until today, when the doctor called me. The VA is not known for its efficiency. The doctor wanted to tell me that the regime was working remarkably well. My triglycerides were at 123. That’s right…a 400 point drop in 8 weeks…6 of it paleo, after 2 weeks of basically a vegetarian diet. Also during this time, I lost 20 lbs. I did nothing else different. I didn’t go to the gym, go running (I can’t), or anything else.
I told her that I never took their pills, I just changed my diet. She wants me to come in for an appointment though, because my overall cholesterol did not go down…its at 309. All of this is verifiable. I have the paperwork from 21 January test, and she is sending me the paperwork for the 21 March test, all on VA letterhead.
Any ideas on getting the overall cholesterol down, or is this not as big of a deal?
Congratulations on the big drop in triglycerides. I don’t know how flexible the VA is, but see if you can get a lipid panel that measures your HDL, your LDL directly (not calculated), and your LDL particle size. The total cholesterol figure doesn’t mean much if you don’t know the others.
@Guy
Also, thank you for your service and sacrifice. Hooah.
I second that. My older brother’s middle son has completed two tours in Iraq and is heading off to ranger school, so his thank-you is heartfelt.
Guy – as long as you’re losing weight, your cholesterol numbers don’t tell you much, although you can see a change in particle size. I mean, things settle down after you’ve been on the diet awhile.
@Guy
Also, thank you for your service and sacrifice. Hooah.
I second that. My older brother’s middle son has completed two tours in Iraq and is heading off to ranger school, so his thank-you is heartfelt.
Guy – as long as you’re losing weight, your cholesterol numbers don’t tell you much, although you can see a change in particle size. I mean, things settle down after you’ve been on the diet awhile.
Quote from the report at http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2011/april-2011/19/study-finds-new-link-between-pregnancy-diet-and-obesity.aspx:
“In the current study, the team measured the epigenetic state (the degree of chemical modification) of DNA in umbilical cord tissue from nearly three hundred children and showed that this strongly predicted the degree of obesity at six or nine years of age. What surprised the researchers was the size of the effect – children vary in how fat they are, but measurement of the epigenetic change at birth allowed the researchers to predict 25% of this variation. This association is much stronger than explanations of obesity based on heredity and lifestyle.
In addition, they found that the degree of epigenetic change at birth was strongly associated with features of the mother’s diet in the first third of pregnancy.”
1. 75% of the variation in degree of obesity is due to other unknown factors.
2. We are talking about ASSOCIATION here, nothing more.
3. They haven’t got the foggiest about how the epigenetic changes came about.
4. Because if we know the epigenetic changes come about then we can change them back again – our genes can be reprogrammed from the outside.
Another classic example of lazy science reporter doing a half-ass job of providing meaningful context to the conversation.
I’m afraid it happens all the time.
Quote from the report at http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2011/april-2011/19/study-finds-new-link-between-pregnancy-diet-and-obesity.aspx:
“In the current study, the team measured the epigenetic state (the degree of chemical modification) of DNA in umbilical cord tissue from nearly three hundred children and showed that this strongly predicted the degree of obesity at six or nine years of age. What surprised the researchers was the size of the effect – children vary in how fat they are, but measurement of the epigenetic change at birth allowed the researchers to predict 25% of this variation. This association is much stronger than explanations of obesity based on heredity and lifestyle.
In addition, they found that the degree of epigenetic change at birth was strongly associated with features of the mother’s diet in the first third of pregnancy.”
1. 75% of the variation in degree of obesity is due to other unknown factors.
2. We are talking about ASSOCIATION here, nothing more.
3. They haven’t got the foggiest about how the epigenetic changes came about.
4. Because if we know the epigenetic changes come about then we can change them back again – our genes can be reprogrammed from the outside.
Another classic example of lazy science reporter doing a half-ass job of providing meaningful context to the conversation.
I’m afraid it happens all the time.
When Oz’s arms are shoved into a heart attack chest, how can he tell what the victim ate? Do the clogs in the arteries have arrows pointing out tests, drugs, surgery here?
Apparently if he finds fat in the arteries, that must mean fat in the diet was the cause.
When Oz’s arms are shoved into a heart attack chest, how can he tell what the victim ate? Do the clogs in the arteries have arrows pointing out tests, drugs, surgery here?
Apparently if he finds fat in the arteries, that must mean fat in the diet was the cause.
Triglycerides/HDL: anything under 2.0 is considered excellent. I am going to write that in permanent marker on my wall. When I got my most recent lipid panel done, there were two columns on the results sheet they sent me: “normal” and “abnormal”. In the “abnormal” column were my total cholesterol (“253 high”) and my LDL (“171 high”)– calculated using Friedwald, of course. I did ask for an NMR, but “your insurance won’t cover that”. In the “Normal” column there were simply check marks beside Triglycerides and HDL– they didn’t give me the numbers. I had to call the doctor’s office twice to get those, and ended up having to be pushy with the office staff, which I hate doing because I work in customer service and I know how much it sucks to be on the receiving end of that. But she actually had the nerve to say “the doctor doesn’t think that’s important”. So, once I got the numbers, they were (drumroll): HDL 69, Triglycerides 66. Ratio: less than 1.0!!
Outstanding results, no matter what your misinformed doctor thinks.
Triglycerides/HDL: anything under 2.0 is considered excellent. I am going to write that in permanent marker on my wall. When I got my most recent lipid panel done, there were two columns on the results sheet they sent me: “normal” and “abnormal”. In the “abnormal” column were my total cholesterol (“253 high”) and my LDL (“171 high”)– calculated using Friedwald, of course. I did ask for an NMR, but “your insurance won’t cover that”. In the “Normal” column there were simply check marks beside Triglycerides and HDL– they didn’t give me the numbers. I had to call the doctor’s office twice to get those, and ended up having to be pushy with the office staff, which I hate doing because I work in customer service and I know how much it sucks to be on the receiving end of that. But she actually had the nerve to say “the doctor doesn’t think that’s important”. So, once I got the numbers, they were (drumroll): HDL 69, Triglycerides 66. Ratio: less than 1.0!!
Outstanding results, no matter what your misinformed doctor thinks.
More of the same:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/4/844.abstract
Yeah, it’s the same silly observational study they’ve been analyzing for the past few years. Surprised to see Willett’s name on it, considering he’s recently said that the focus on fat was misguided and we should’ve been warning people about refined carbohydrates.
More of the same:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/4/844.abstract
Yeah, it’s the same silly observational study they’ve been analyzing for the past few years. Surprised to see Willett’s name on it, considering he’s recently said that the focus on fat was misguided and we should’ve been warning people about refined carbohydrates.
@Guy, I’d be interested in hearing what your diet was like before the paleo diet to get such high triglyceride numbers. Care to share?
@Guy, I’d be interested in hearing what your diet was like before the paleo diet to get such high triglyceride numbers. Care to share?
Has Dr Oz ever published his cholesterol results? I’d be curious to see how they compare. I couldn’t find anything about his own numbers.
I’m not sure. My guess is that his cholesterol is on the low side, since he seems to think it’s important.
Has Dr Oz ever published his cholesterol results? I’d be curious to see how they compare. I couldn’t find anything about his own numbers.
I’m not sure. My guess is that his cholesterol is on the low side, since he seems to think it’s important.
Dr Oz’s diet (on that show with Gary Taubes) had no sugar and he only had one serving of carbohydrates in the day (besides the vegetables) so I would say his cholesterol would be ok too.
Dr Oz’s diet (on that show with Gary Taubes) had no sugar and he only had one serving of carbohydrates in the day (besides the vegetables) so I would say his cholesterol would be ok too.