As an athlete I was always told to eat carbs - tons of pasta, breads and grain based foods. I did eat some protein because that builds muscle and tried to eat low-fat because I was educated that fat makes people fat, right? No, it is wrong.
The Food Pyramid was killing me and I ended up with 3 of the 5 warning signs for diabetes and being diagnosed with having metabolic syndrome. I was eating my way to insulin resistance and Type II Diabetes.
Multiple family members had heart attacks in 2009 and I got spooked so decided to start getting blood work done, mostly for cholesterol. I turned 30, became aware of my mortality and I thought cholesterol is what would give me a heart attack and kill me. I was also under the false belief that high cholesterol is bad and that saturated fat was the main driver of creating said bad cholesterol. That was all the conventional diet and heart advice around I heard.
No surprise my cholesterol was "bad" and I was now at a believed higher risk for heart disease. I made the decision to become a vegetarian to avoid all those evil saturated animal fats. To be fair to vegetarians and vegans, I was not exactly cooking some wonderful raw, organic, healthy veggie meals. I was a vegetarian-in-a-box, getting most of my calories from grain based products such as pasta, cereal, breads and anything else processed which didn't have animal in it. It was a high carb and extremely low fat diet.
What happened? My cholesterol got WORSE. Holy shit, I must have some really bad genetics. That was the next new theory = cholesterol levels are genetically determined and I am just screwed no matter what I eat or how much I exercise. Is the genetics argument true? I had no idea then or now, but then it precipitated taking further action ~ Taking a Statin drug.
Side note ~ I was also experiencing depression, anxiety, substance abuse issues, sleeping problems, hormone deficiencies, vitamin and mineral deficiencies and really never had a lean body composition, despite sometimes training over 30 hours a week as when training for Ironman. I always was that way and it got even worse when I eliminated fats and ate an even higher carb diet filled with processed grains.
I do not believe I was born depressed, anxious, a drug addict, poor sleeper or to have vitamin, mineral and hormone deficiencies. Humans are by and large born working correctly, so I would not accept taking anti-depressants, statins or being told I was doomed to be an addict or die from genetically high cholesterol. There had to be a reason those things happened from what began as a perfectly functional human baby.
Everything I researched and learned was the cause was food, food and food. Then secondarily sleep, sleep and sleep. Nothing was working for me already, so it was not a stretch for me to toss everything I thought I knew about health and diet and try something "radically" different. Plus, I had genetic testing done showing I had an issue called MHTFR (see previous blog on MHTFR here). I had quantitative data and I felt like shit, so a good sign what I'm doing was not working.
Normally I was eating 200g+ of carbs a day (100g+ of simple sugars), normally an average of 40% of my calories from carbs (which amazingly is low compared to the normal american diet of 250g+ or 55%). I would get 30% of my calories from proteins, normally 1g per pound of body weight and the remaining 30% from fats. So = Carbs - 40%, Protein - 30%, Fat - 30% which really isn't that "bad".
Unbelievably, the American Diabetes Association recommends a person with diabetes eat 40-65 grams of carbs per meal (and then likely require insulin after that meal). Assume three meals and that's 120-195g of carbs per day. Under the average american diet, but crazy in my opinion. People want to go low GI and low sugar so they are steered to grains first, which is generally a horrible idea.
My target goals are less than 25g of net carbs (taking out dietary fibre, not starches). And that is for the entire day. I want 0g from simple sugars. Starches are broken down into glucose so I do not need to consume simple sugars.
I now eat 80% of my calories from fat, 15% from protein and 5% from carbohydrate and I feel fucking awesome.
Chart to the right from Mark Sisson. I follow much of Mark's diet and lifestyle advice.
I take zero prescription medications now, I sleep better, I focus and concentrate better, I meditate better, I workout better, I have lower inflammation markers on my blood work, my hormones are better balanced, have normal libido and again I feel fucking awesome.
Now, according to "normal" medicine I should be dead because my cholesterol shows I should have blocked all my arteries by now, but I haven't and I have low markers for calcification, homocystein, fibrinogen and c-reactive proteins, which are all better determinants of heart disease risk that cholesterol.
NO STUDY HAS EVER PROVEN HIGH CHOLESTEROL CAUSES HEART DISEASE, EVER. The largest study to date, the Framingham Heart Study, shows zero correlation between cholesterol and heart disease.
There have been more studies which show low cholesterol leads to higher mortality rates, dementia and Alzheimer's, which makes sense as the brain needs cholesterol to function. So, modern american medicine is fighting something our brain and body needs, which has never been proven to cause heart disease... and big pharma is making billions selling statins, which now are clinically known to cause Type II diabetes. Where does diabetes come from - insulin resistance from eating too many carbs. Big circle completed!
Summary - I stopped eating carbs and I no longer am depressed, anxious, addicted to anything (even sugar), sleep better, have higher executive function, have normal energy all day without stimulants, plus and to top it off I feel fucking awesome.
I've also leaned out by eating high fat, I actually eat more calories per day and I look better than ever, well from a six pack standpoint at least.
I'm going to eat some eggs and bacon for dinner... Here are some reference links for you to consume.
- The Definitive Guide to Cholesterol by Mark Sisson
- How did we come to believe saturated fat and cholesterol are bad for us? by Dr Peter Attia
- How did we come to believe saturated fat and cholesterol are bad for us? by Dr Peter Attia
** Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is just what I did for myself. Consult your physician before trying anything, going on or off meds and taking supplements. Of course, be prepared when discussing any of these principles that they may likely call you crazy. Then find another doctor who will spend time with you and listen. **
I'd love to hear any experiences with cholesterol and diet. I answer and respond to all emails ~ douglashilbert@yahoo.com
For past "Letters to my Son" blogs go to ~ doughilbert.blogspot.com
I'd love to hear any experiences with cholesterol and diet. I answer and respond to all emails ~ douglashilbert@yahoo.com
For past "Letters to my Son" blogs go to ~ doughilbert.blogspot.com
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