To follow up on my April post: ‘Tales of a fat and frustrated vegetarian’ I have good news with a bit of mystery attached.
Quick Summary – In April, my new doctor ordered blood work for me and I knew, I just knew, my cholesterol numbers would be up. Why, you ask? Because my old doctor had me on statins drugs that cause my body to ache like I had run several marathons. And if you know me at all, you will know that I would never, ever run a marathon!
I decided I didn’t like that doctor any more because she kept referring to my muscle and joints aches as ‘a little pain’. Excuse me? You’re dismissed.
On to the new doctor. When she recommended statin drugs to lower my off the chart numbers, I said no, no, no. I would rather take a chance on a heart attack. Pretty brave, eh?
Her next suggestion was to become a vegetarian. Well, I complained about that, too, as you’ll note in my other post, but I stuck with it for 4 months and didn’t find skipping meat half bad.
However, my sweetheart (who does all the cooking) didn’t care for the veggie meals, so he added meat to his own plate and happily served me the plant-based meals as per my doctor’s instructions.
My follow up appointment was last week and, lo and behold, my bad cholesterol was down 60 points!!
That’s not all. My good cholesterol was up 16 points!!!
The doctor was ecstatic and I was not only relieved, but pretty darn proud of myself. I still have to get the numbers down about 80 more points, unfortunately, but I’m totally acclimated to the veggie diet now and thankful that I don’t have to take those darn statin drugs.
And, the best part of all – I’ve lost 12 ½ pounds!!
BUT, here’s where the mystery comes in.
When I got back from the doctor’s office and told sweetie the good news, he informed me that he had been studying on the ‘wheat free’ diet. And, unbeknownst to me, he’d been serving me wheat-free, vegetation meals for the last 3 months. Huh??
“Well, it’s the veggie diet that brought my numbers down,” I said a little defensively.
“I don’t think so,” he replied like someone who thinks he knows it all.
So, I pose a question to all you health-nuts and high-cholesterol struggling boomers out there – should I continue the veggie diet or go back to meat and test wheat-free theory?
By the way, sweetie called my attention the baggy drawers hanging off his hips, which he claims is from eliminating the wheat from his diet. Ya think?
Thanks, I will definitely let you know. The nurse said that she was going to do a little on the lips. I sure don't want the trout pout.
Thanks for your advice. I'm getting more excited than nervous now.
Roadrunner - absolutely nothing drastic about it. When you first get the botox (forehead and eyes) you will see a change that will level off in a few days or one week. It looks completely natural. You CANNOT frown no matter how hard you try! Be very 
Go wheat free! My husband had a bypass operation in July (5 grafts!!!). Before the operation he weighed 125 kgs (275lbs) and today he weighs 114kgs (251lbs). And it has been painless for him. He has read Dr Steven Gundry’s book Diet Evolution
and applied the principles of sugar-free and grain-free. The amazing thing is that he hasn’t been hungry!!! I started the same regime on the 8th August and I have been releasing 1lb each week since, plus my waist size has gone from 37 inches to 35 inches, in just 11 days. I have heard of vegetarians who include ‘healthy grains’ (an oxymoron according to Dr Gundry) in their diets and have become overweight. I have also read Wheat Belly
by Dr William Davis who echoes some of what Dr Gundry advises.
I would also like to add that my husband will be going back for follow-up blood tests in 2 months time to check his cholesterol, triglycerides and his blood sugar levels (he had been diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2). I am trusting that the results will be astoundingly good!
If you’ve been able to forgo eating meat for this long,I’d stay with it. I gave up eating meat except for fish and chicken and my numbers declined dramatically,too. You could still try eliminating the wheat products and see if those last 80 points go down. Wheat causes inflammation in many people which in turn causes your bad cholesterol numberto rise. I would recommend “The Blood Sugar Solution” by Dr. Mark Hyman as a great resource.In the book he guides you through the process of eliminating wheat from your diet and watching how your body responds.(Dairy,too,but that’s another discussion.) Best of luck! It seems like you are definitely on the right path!
I am a vegan(ish) vegetarian myself. When I went for my annual check up last year, (after a full year of strict vegetarian, mostly vegan), I was astonished to see that although my cholesterol had come down, it was still high. The doctor mumbled about cholesterol drugs, but didn’t push it, as he knew I’d just veto the idea.
I have since reduced my wheat consumption for other reasons (mostly, I’ve found that it really aggravates my joint pain, and causes almost immediate bloating). I have an annual exam in November – should be interesting to see if wheat-free has helped!
I’m with helenw. After lots of research I went on a low-carb diet because I was constantly craving sweets. Cut out sugar and grains, ate veggies (easy on the starchy ones) , meat, chicken, fish (any animal products) and some fruit. Lost 20 lbs, lowered my blood pressure, triglycerides and LDL, raised my HDL, and also lost my sweet cravings. The research actually shows that it’s the sugar and grains (which turn to sugar in our bodies) that cause high cholesterol as well as weight gain and type 2 diabetes, NOT the animal fats. If you eat animal products along with sugars & grains, that *will* cause your cholesterol to rise. Also, I did use other sweeteners — stevia, erythritol (Google it) and occasionally artificial sweeteners but tried to limit them. Needed them more at first while I still craved sweets, but now fruits are sweet treats for me. I never would have imagined that would ever be true — I used to not be able to go a day without chocolate candy and other sweets! Stay away from maltitol (Google it) which most “sugar free” sweets have. At Whole Foods I found some 70% cocoa chocolate bars made with Stevia and they are great, when I want a little bit. No longer on statins or cholesterol meds. Google “low carb”, “paleo diet”, “primal diet”, etc. Good luck!
I have been wheat free for 2 1/2 weeks I suffer from insomnia at least 4 days a week. And guess what I have slept like a baby for over a week now.
Yes I think the “wheat free” is more than just a fad. And I’ve lost 2 1/2 pounds
Apparently wheat causes all sorts of issues, even if you don’t have a known allergy or intolerance to it….or I guess, you just don’t realize it is wheat causing trouble.
Check out the book Wheat Belly by William Davis MD. He says the (very) genetically modified strains of wheat used everywhere these days cause havoc worldwide with the human immune system which has not been able to keep up with the change in structure of wheat products.
It’s interesting information at worst and very enlightening at best. He says going wheat free leads to weight loss, alleviation of things like diabetes, colitis and celiac disease, improvement in cholesterol, reduction of inflammation and arthritis pain.., and so on.
I know two ladies who have gone wheat free, and one has reversed her Fibromyalgia completely and both have lost incredible amounts of weight.
I am 54 have had MS for 15+ years now, and my cholesterol level has crept up in recent years
…like you, statin drugs, have caused me many aches and pains.)..I finally agreed to a wheat free diet per my nutritionist/acupuncturist (I’m now in week three), and so far, its ok, but many other things are bugging me, so I’ll have to let you know. I haven’t gone meat free, but I certainly have upped my veggies, and I have lost 2 1/2 lbs! Good luck to you..I will retest my cholesterol in three mos, so I’ll let you know!!
I started the ‘paleo diet’ a few months ago (basically no grains, dairy, processed foods, sugars and starchy foods) and have felt so much more energetic and balanced since, I can definitely echo the sentiments of the above posters. I certainly don’t miss any of the above especially pasta and rice, and have dropped a couple of kilos without trying – which unlike previous diets, have stayed off. In addition some slight ankle swelling which had been getting a little worse has resolved to the point where my shoes with ankle straps are slightly loose, and joy of joys, I think my awful cellulite even looks a little better!! This type of low-carb eating may not be for everyone, but it definitely suits me, and in the light of what has been said above, I can’t wait to see what my next cholesterol test shows!