Movie Fat, Sick and nearly Dead

[Catrin]

My cholesterol is also 225, but my NP said that my HDL and LDL are so ridiculously good that I need not worry. There is some thought around the total number having less importance.

Same here, though my total is 218. my ratios are fantastic however, and all my doctors say the ratio is more important. My Trig. and HDL are both much, much better than when I was on a conventional low fat diet.

[Crankin]

I know the total number is not as important, but I still would like to get it down. I've read some recent stuff that the protective value of the high HDL/good ratio is now being questioned. My triglycerides are average and my LDL is in the OK range.
Well, I must be weird as I don't feel different at all with any change of diet, or eating pattern. The only thing I feel is sick if I eat fried food or drink too much alcohol! I am sensitive (not allergic) to some dairy, but I hardly eat any of it. OK, the one change I notice is I gain at least 2 pounds if I have salty food (especially Asian cuisines).
And last year, my total cholesterol shot up about 50 points when I had been eating Paleo. It went back down within 8 weeks when I returned to my normal pattern. I still restrict my carbs from what I *really* would like, and I did like the Paleo way of eating. Obviously, it didn't like me, since that was the only thing about my habits that had changed.

[GLC1968]

Same here, though my total is 218. my ratios are fantastic however, and all my doctors say the ratio is more important. My Trig. and HDL are both much, much better than when I was on a conventional low fat diet.

Same for me too. My total is 224 but everything else is fantastic.

When I was on a more traditional diet, my total never topped out over 150 (ever) and my trigs were acceptable, but my HDL was low. My doc actually likes my new profile MUCH better.

I was actually praised for raising my total cholesterol 75 points!

[Catrin]

Same for me too. My total is 224 but everything else is fantastic.

When I was on a more traditional diet, my total never topped out over 150 (ever) and my trigs were acceptable, but my HDL was low. My doc actually likes my new profile MUCH better.

I was actually praised for raising my total cholesterol 75 points!

mg HDL was basically non existent before going Paleo and my trigs are also much better.

[Crankin]

It's funny, my ob-gyn always notes my high total and sys "talk to your pcp." And she's a triathlete who lost 100 lbs. from exercising when she became diabetic! No mention of the high HDL. My PCP thinks it's great, but I feel an undercurrent of like "you must be a freak of nature." One doctor did say she wishes she could bottle up my method of getting my HDL so high.
MY HDL has ranged between 65 and 81. I think last year it was 72.

[Catrin]

It's funny, my ob-gyn always notes my high total and sys "talk to your pcp." And she's a triathlete who lost 100 lbs. from exercising when she became diabetic! No mention of the high HDL. My PCP thinks it's great, but I feel an undercurrent of like "you must be a freak of nature." One doctor did say she wishes she could bottle up my method of getting my HDL so high.
MY HDL has ranged between 65 and 81. I think last year it was 72.

I hear you - back in the day when I had lost my first 40 pounds on a conventional low-fat diet, my HDL was 10 (it never got over 35 in the next couple of years. NOW it is 61. Our different experiences (my feeling so different Paleo rather than a more conventional diet) just goes to show how different our bodies are and how important for us that we find what works for us. What works for someone else might not necessarily work for us & vice versa.

[IBrakeforPastry]

And there's no easier way to get a whole lot of calories from raw vegetables than juicing. Otherwise, there's really too much fiber to even eat that much, let alone absorb it all.

Can you explain this? I've only juiced oranges and I'm unfamiliar with vegetable juicing. I guess there's more to it than just throwing it all in a blender or food processor? I think I might want to try this!

[OakLeaf]

The only juicer I have any experience with is a Champion. Sold it years ago, wish now I'd kept it. Nowadays there are several quality brands with similar mechanisms. Basically, they slowly masticate the vegetables so as not to heat them, then press them through a screen, so the juice comes out the bottom and the fiber comes out the end.

Nothing wrong with throwing it all in the blender, but then all the fiber stays in and it can be hard to digest if you drink a lot of it.

[IBrakeforPastry]

Thanks, OakLeaf. The fiber has it's own benefits, but it sounds like you don't want too much of it so you can drink more juice. Is that right?

[Miranda]

The cholesterol levels of people eating the meat type Paleo diet does make me curious. I wonder if my friend that's doing it has had his checked, hmm. I have not had mine checked in a while, but I assume it would be good.

I love my little NutriBullet gadget that keeps the fiber in it. One reason I was never a juice drinker before is that the quick absorption and increase in my blood sugar would always make me sick.

I know you can use a bag to help dispose of the bits spit out (w/juicer), but it just looked like a lot of waste and clean up. OTT, my bestie seems to love hers (juicer machine) tho.

[Sylvia]

Can you explain this? I've only juiced oranges and I'm unfamiliar with vegetable juicing. I guess there's more to it than just throwing it all in a blender or food processor? I think I might want to try this!

From what I have seen there are three main types of juicers: centrifugal juicers, masticating juicers and juice presses. Most of the good quality juicers that I've seen within a reasonable price range ( $400 or less) are centrifugal or masticating. Centrifugal, as the name implies, uses centrifugal force to force the juice out. They are much louder. The guy in the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, promotes the Breville juicers which seem to be mostly (if not all) centrifugal juicers. The masticating juicers grind or chew up the fruit/veggie and forces the juice out. They are generally quieter. The juicer I have, the Omega 8006, is one of these.

I believe the reason behind juicing is to concentrate the nutrients by removing the pulp. Part of the reason I started juicing after watching this movie was I wanted to add more dark green leafy veggies to my smoothies. Something besides just spinach. I did try Kale or Chard in my smoothie and found it had way to much pulp which caused me problems. Now I mostly juice and love it.

One more thing, for many people getting a good quality juicer can be expensive. And if this is the case, I recommend starting out with smoothies. Many people who juice also do smoothies. I started with making smoothies made with banana, some fruit of my choice, spinach, some protein powder and maybe soymilk or water. I would even throw in some ground ginger or cinnamon. You don't even need an expensive blender. I use just an Oster blender. The real point for me was to try to eat healthier.

[Sylvia]

For those who might be interested in juicing greens, but aren't quite ready to be die-hard, here is an infographic guide to juicing greens.
It lists different greens to try in steps, so you can work up to the tougher ones. I didn't have this guide when I started
and went pretty quickly to juicing kale, collards and chard (which seems to be missing on the chart).

[OakLeaf]

it just looked like a lot of waste and clean up.

That's why you want a quality juicer - that will (1) grind the vegetables slowly so as not to heat them, (2) grind them thoroughly to break up all the cell walls, and (3) press the mash under high pressure to extract the most juice possible. There's little waste, because what comes out of the end of the juicer was just going to come out of the end of you, anyway ... and if you ate it, it would take a lot of the nutrients with it. So effectively, juicing with a quality appliance could really be *less* wasteful than eating the whole veggies.

And I *always* read the cleaning instructions before investing in a kitchen appliance of any kind. Some are easy, some not so much. If a juicer doesn't disassemble to the point where the only real effort is brushing out the screen, I wouldn't buy it, either.

[itself]

The centrifugal juicers are not good. Dr Gerson uses the Norwalk juicer, but this is way overpriced. I have been looking at the Champion juicer and the Samson juicer and will be purchasing the Samson. Dr Gerson believes in using a juicer to remove the fiber so that the fiber doesn't fill you up, and thus you can drink more juice. The Vitamix I have is gret for protein drinks but over oxidizes fruits and vegetables.

[Sylvia]

There are a number of good reviews of juicers on YouTube. So if you want to see how easy they are to use or to clean or which juicers are better at juicing fruits or veggies, you might check there. I found this guy's videos helpful and he sells a number of juicers online.

You can also read the reviews on Amazon for specific juicers too.