Medical Update

A month and some change ago I went to the doctor for my annual visit. The NP took some blood and the results came back a bit.... odd... and scary also. My cholesterol levels were very high (imagine an extremely overweight middle-aged person who eats a lot of fast food) and my triglycerides were so high that my LDL cholesterol could not be accurrately read.

I can only imagine that this news would cause most people (including myself) to think: "Well, Fat Ass, eat better and exercise and your lab result won't be so scary."

The problem with this knee-jerk reaction is that I eat pretty darn healthy. When I do eat fast food (which is rare) I order a lower calorie option and tend to go for grilled, not fried. On a daily basis I tend to eat a lot of lean white meat, veggies, yogurt, fruit, whole grains, etc. I even do a lot of my own baking (using natural alternative sweeteners) so I know what's in my food. Needless to say, myself and my NP were perplexed, so I went to an endocronologist today.

Basically my specialist said I have metabolic syndrome, which essentially means I am genetically inclined to have high triglycerides and high cholesterol. This also means I have to avoid certain foods and take medication to control my numbers, probably for the rest of my life. Failure to do so will result in heart conditions, pancreatitis, cardiovascular disease, heart attack and basically and early death. The OTHER condition I have is an autoimmune disease called Hoshimoto's Thyroiditis, which basically means my body is breaking down my thyroid gland and my thyroid isn't producing the hormone T4. I can take a hormone supplement for this, but over time my thyroid will become less and less functional and will have to be monitored for the rest of my life.

The good news is there are drug therapies to help me maintain good health. The bad news is that part of maintaining my health will include some very careful meal planning and food restrictions. Some foods I cannot have are:

• White flour (bleached/enriched)- I already mostly eat whole wheat, but I need to completely cut out breads, pastas, crackers, white rice, and snacks that are not made with whole wheat or whole grains.


• Refined sugars- ALL OF THEM. This is tough because most foods have added sugar. Obviously this means no white sugar, but it might also mean no brown sugar (not sure). This is a problem for me because I LOVE Nutella and chocolate in general. I suppose I could eat mostly dark chocolate, which has much lower sugar levels, but it still sucks big time.


• Fats- anything "partially hydrogenated," animal fats, trans fats, saturated fats, coconut and palm oils.


• Alcohol- drinking can cause your triglyceride levels to spike. My doctor says I should cut out wine altogether because it spikes blood levels and contains empty calories. Fair enough, but I don't think I can live forever without wine (or chocolate, for that matter). The good news is that all online sources indicate that cutting out alcohol is a great way to reduce triglycerides to normal levels. After achieving normal levels a person could occassionally indulge.

I'm basically getting the sense that the United States is a nation filled with triglycerides, so I'm not sure how successful I will be at making dietary changes that have a measurable effect on my bloodwork. The good news is I can rely on drug therapy for my most dramatic changes, but the bad news is this will likely marginalize any improvements, possibly effecting my overall health and lifespan.