Since my doctor's plan for me is to reduce/remove white food items to reduce my triglycerides (they dropped 117 pts in 1 month on this diet), you may wonder why I post links & recipes that are gluten free. Well, since I'm already cutting out white flour, I might as well cut out wheat flour and see how I feel. I rarely eat bread now anyway. So, the difference is in how I bake other things that are normally made with wheat. Wheat is an item that was on my list of allergies as a child. I don't know whether I was highly allergic to it or not, as there were many things on the list. A process of elimination was used and food items were slowly added back into my diet. I assumed I'd grown out of many of these allergy items, but likely my tolerance has increased and decreased during my lifetime. My general feeling of wellness is much better on this diet. That makes complete sense. In addition to specific health benefits for me, eliminating white stuff removes most processed things from my diet, meaning no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), preservatives, nitrites, food coloring, substitute sugars, etc. They're all poisons and toxins. It also forces me to eat more fruit and vegetables because I have to eat something! How could I not feel better?!! I do want to say that usually people who have cholesterol problems eliminate some of the good basics like lean meat, eggs & cheese. Animal products. I thought that too, until my doctor asked me to try the "no white" diet. The results were amazing!! I eat, and even rely on, the protein that comes from lean meat, eggs and cheese. Afterall, we do need to eat a balanced diet. I must say this, that it is important to do what your doctor asks. People have different health issues. The other components of cholesterol (HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol) are not my main problem. They are related, and the numbers do reflect the spikes of high triglycerides, but the target for me is to reduce my tri's! My doctor said that HDL and LDL are like slow moving waves. Triglycerides spike and drop quickly. That's why my blood test right after winter break showed that my tri's were up again. Ha, ha... too many holiday sweets for me! Not as high as last spring, prior to starting this diet, but high enough for me to get really serious again about my diet. This is an interesting process! I'm learning a lot about how much cheating I can get away with! Not much! :-\ I'm learning about the glycemic (sugar) index and how it affects our body. I must say that I am thankful that this is my health issue. It can be a hassle, but I know it could be SO much worse! Besides, it makes me eat healthier and educate about and feed my family healthier foods. Though we've always primarily ate at home, made home lunches, and generally avoided fast food, we're fine-tuning it and that's a plus. They don't always think so, but I don't make them eat like I do.
The other component to this change in lifestyle, is more exercise. We all know that exercise helps our bodies in many ways, including cholesterol. There's something about knowing you HAVE to do something (or go on drugs - which I choose not to), that motivates you to put those tennis shoes on and work at it!! I hate to run, but I'm back at it. My ability to easily do other forms of exercise (zumba classes, for example) changed and I needed a good cardio exercise I could do at home. So, I run! In fact, I'm involved in a running group, and am signing up for my first 5k in April! Some of my kids are planning on it too! YAY! I'm excited! Setting this goal has helped me with my running!
Thanks for reading! I urge you all to exercise more, eat healthier and eat less fast food (including store-bought "fast" food). Let's get those toxins & poisons out and feel better! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment