If I were a betting man, I\u2019d bet a thousand dollars I\u2019m going to get a lecture from my doctor when I see him for a follow-up visit in a couple of weeks.\u00a0 I already gave myself a little lecture, too.\u00a0 I\u2019ll explain why in a moment, but first a little background:<\/p>\n
We moved to Tennessee four years ago, but I didn\u2019t bother to look for a G.P. until recently.\u00a0 I\u2019m rarely sick and don\u2019t like going to doctors, so I didn\u2019t see the need.\u00a0 On the other hand, I\u2019ll turn 55 in a few months.\u00a0 By the time my dad was 70, he had colon cancer, severely blocked coronary arteries, and Alzheimer\u2019s.\u00a0 My health habits are way better than his and I don\u2019t expect to develop any of those diseases, but I don\u2019t want to be stupidly overconfident.\u00a0 I was already enrolled in the Vanderbilt health network because of the knee surgery last year, so I scheduled an appointment for a checkup with a doctor at the Vanderbilt clinic that\u2019s closest to our house.<\/p>\n
Given all my dad\u2019s health issues, the doctor of course ordered a slew of bloodwork.\u00a0 My appointment at the lab was scheduled for last Wednesday \u2013 a few days after my goddaughter\u2019s wedding.\u00a0 At the wedding reception, I ate the carbage that was on the buffet and drank several beers.\u00a0 Special occasion and all that.\u00a0 The next morning, I extended the special occasion by eating two chicken-fried steaks with biscuits and gravy.\u00a0 It was the most junk-filled two days I\u2019ve had in many moons.\u00a0 I had forgotten I had a lab test coming up in a few days, but I probably would have eaten the junk anyway.\u00a0 Like I said, special occasion and all that.<\/p>\n
Today I logged onto the Vanderbilt site to check my lab results.\u00a0 Here are the numbers that will no doubt prompt a lecture from my doctor:<\/p>\n
Total cholesterol:\u00a0 245
\nLDL (calculated): 165<\/p>\n
Here are the numbers that prompted a lecture from me to myself, even though the lab report declared them within the normal range:<\/p>\n
Fasting glucose:\u00a0 110
\nTriglycerides: 123
\nHDL: 55<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve had three lipid panels (not including last week\u2019s) since going low-carb nearly five years ago.\u00a0 Each time, my total cholesterol was between 200 and 210, HDL was over 60 and triglycerides were below 75.\u00a0 I check my fasting glucose at home a couple of times per week, and it\u2019s pretty much always between 80 and 90.\u00a0 Even after meals, my glucose is rarely above 105.<\/p>\n
So there are two possibilities here.\u00a0 The first is that my lipids have been getting worse without me knowing it, since it\u2019s been a couple of years since my last lipid panel.\u00a0 The second is that the party-hearty weekend skewed the lab results.\u00a0 Since my fasting glucose was 20 points higher than usual, I suspect it\u2019s the latter.<\/p>\n
On the 2012 low-carb cruise, someone asked Dr. William \u201cWheat Belly\u201d Davis about having a cheat day on weekends.\u00a0 He replied that if you cheat with wheat or other refined carbohydrates, it\u2019s a bad idea.\u00a0 Just one day of eating wheat can screw up your lipids for the next 3-5 days, he explained, so one cheat day per week can mean you\u2019re spending the majority of the week producing more triglycerides and small LDL.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if beer produces similar effects, but I can\u2019t think of anything good that comes from drinking beer.<\/p>\n
Anyway, I suspect I\u2019ll be getting an earful from the doctor when we go over my labs.\u00a0 Depending on what he does or doesn\u2019t know about nutrition, I may even have to endure recommendations for a low-fat diet and a statin.\u00a0 Naturally, I\u2019ll ignore those recommendations.<\/p>\n
The earful I gave myself went something like this:<\/p>\n
Hey, Dummy:\u00a0 don\u2019t cheat with wheat.\u00a0 Period.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"