Doctors visit = wake up call - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

chefchris401 · 10-12-2011, 11:37 AM

Figured I would share this personal info in hopes that it helps someone else out there.

I recently went to the doctors office for a full check up now that I have health insurance, something I haven't had done in 12 years.

Lately I've had no energy to do anything, basically just go to work then come home and do nothing. Even fishing seemed like a chore, that's when I knew something was wrong.

After some intensive bloodwork I got a call back.

Seems like I have almost ZERO vitamin d in my body. It's so low that they gave me prescription strength vitamins. Lack of vitamin d causes weak bones and low strength and energy levels.

Then they told me what my cholesterol was. The doctor said 340, I replied "ok", "not ok" was the response. My level should be 105!!! Holy $hi+ that's high. So now I'm taking 1200 mg of fish oil three times a day.

I'm 30 years old and weigh 275. Way overweight, BMI has me at obese, scary stuff. I never thought it was that bad. I've always been big, but now it's serious.

I've started on a diet,lots of exercise and making decisions about everything I eat.

If I make the right changes now I'll lead a happy and healthy life if not well you know the outcome.

I put it off cause I didn't have health insurance for the last 10 years, realizing that I should have done it no matter what the cost is. Cause I'm now I'm really paying.

My point being is to take care yourself and get yourself checked out yearly. Before it's too late.

It's been a week since my doctors visit, I've dropped 10 pounds already and my energy level is on the rise, even small steps make a difference.

Good luck guys!!

Saltheart · 10-12-2011, 12:04 PM

Its a lifelong struggle. At least you are now aware and heading down the right road!

If you cholesterol s 340 and your doctor didn't prescribe Lipitor or some other cholesterol medicine , you may want to seek a second opinion. (quack)

The Dad Fisherman · 10-12-2011, 12:04 PM

When Summertime rolls around again get outside....Sunshine gives Vitamin D.

Same thing happened to me a few years back....started heading toward Type ll....said Eff that.....still eating healthy but the weight is something I've been battling my whole life and will continue to battle.

Just keep it up.......

The Dad Fisherman · 10-12-2011, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltheart

If you cholesterol s 340 and your doctor didn't prescribe Lipitor or some other cholesterol medicine , you may want to seek a second opinion. (quack)

I think his age may have been a factor, he's only 30 and they would prefer you try and manage it without drugs. If he stays the course and loses the weight and eats healthy that may be all he needs.

If he does those things and his cholesterol is still high then he may give a prescription

chefchris401 · 10-12-2011, 12:57 PM

Yeah they want to try diet changes and exercise before putting me on some sort of script for it.

Right now I'm taking 1200 mg of fish oil 3 times a day.

Hopefully in 6 months when I go back it will be a lot lower.

Trying to go the more natural route by eating healthy and exercise.
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Raven · 10-12-2011, 01:39 PM

my wife has a malfunctioning thyroid gland ..ok

so i did a study on it to learn all about it....

turns out... it is the bodies great regulator
and what does it require to function properly?

Vitamin D

she got a prescription for 50,000 units of vitamin D

but here is a GREAT TRICK you need to know

sunscreen sheilds us from making vitamin d
so 10 minutes a day exposure is required each day
on both front and back to make more...
hard to do in wintertime except for the reflection
advantage on the sunniest days....

the trick is to use mushrooms on cloudy days

read more......

Shiitake mushrooms can be an exceptional source of vitamin D,
as noted in research published in Paul Stamets’ book, Mycelium Running.
Shiitake mushrooms grown and dried indoors have only 110 IU of vitamin D per 100 grams.
But when the shiitakes were dried in the sun, the vitamin D content rose to 21,400 IUs per 100 grams.
Even more surprising, when the mushrooms were dried with their gills facing up toward the sun,
their content rose to 46,000 IU!

Read more: Vitamin D: Sunshine and So Much More

chefchris401 · 10-12-2011, 02:40 PM

Good read Raven.

It's tough for me to get sunlight, being a chef and working indoors with zero natural sunlight and working weird hours my natural sunlight intake is very low.

Seems like there's a lot of more natural ways to go which is something I'm looking into.
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Raven · 10-12-2011, 03:31 PM

just keep in mind that your thyroid gland controls your metabolism
but can't if it's deficient in vitamin D

Mushrooms can absorb vitamin D same as skin (gill side up)
even if its artificial light and retain it for a long time.

fat cells are water soluble so the more water you drink the more fat cells you pee out.

try not eating after 4 pm - 5 pm and if you do
make sure its highly digestible

sleeping is important for many reasons but you don't sleep well
when digesting a heavy meal as that is allot of work

JackK · 10-12-2011, 05:02 PM

In regards to the fish oil (or other sources of omegas), what is it about the Krill oil that makes it preferable?

Less chance of contaminants? Less ecological impact? Just curious on the reasoning.

Raven · 10-12-2011, 05:58 PM

krill oil was absorbed 1.68 times better than fish oil.

from a comparison of the oil’s antioxidant capacity (ORAC). Krill oil has a few antioxidants like astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is what makes it red. It’s also what makes salmon so colorful.
Fish oil has, well, hardly any antioxidants.

people who took krill oil had 1.5 times more Omega-3 in their cell membranes than those who took fish oil.

blue whales the largest animal on Earth are sustained for 8 months after feeding exclusively on krill during the summer.....(4 months)

Raven · 10-12-2011, 06:04 PM

buy it from puritan pride

everyone else is a rip off

JackK · 10-12-2011, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven

krill oil was absorbed 1.68 times better than fish oil.

from a comparison of the oil’s antioxidant capacity (ORAC). Krill oil has a few antioxidants like astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is what makes it red. It’s also what makes salmon so colorful.
Fish oil has, well, hardly any antioxidants.

people who took krill oil had 1.5 times more Omega-3 in their cell membranes than those who took fish oil.

blue whales the largest animal on Earth are sustained for 8 months after feeding exclusively on krill during the summer.....(4 months)

Thanks. Astaxanthin is amazing stuff- did some work with it in college. Interesting about the absorption rate.

FYI, Walgreens has BOGO for most of their vitamins right now... 2 1000mg/30ct bottles of the oil for $14.99- not bad

Mike P · 10-12-2011, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltheart

Its a lifelong struggle. At least you are now aware and heading down the right road!

If you cholesterol s 340 and your doctor didn't prescribe Lipitor or some other cholesterol medicine , you may want to seek a second opinion. (quack)

He's only 30. He has time to see if natural products like fish oil and niacin, as well as diet and exercise, will lower it without statins. Statins can cause liver damage.

RIROCKHOUND · 10-13-2011, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike P

He's only 30. He has time to see if natural products like fish oil and niacin, as well as diet and exercise, will lower it without statins. Statins can cause liver damage.

Similar age Chef...
I know it is tough w/ occupation, but diet is huge... I'm not a light guy by any means (I eat too much of the 'good' stuff) but we eat almost exclusivly whole grain, lean meat, lots of veggies and fiber etc.. and my cholesterol was lower than my 110lb wife last time we got checked...

Raven · 10-13-2011, 06:31 AM

through a double blind study

participants were asked to count how many times they chewed their food before swallowing it.....

and the results showed that the participants that chewed the most were found to eat less....and feel " full " sooner

it's a delayed response "the full feeling" it takes 20 -25 minutes to kick in normally.... and by then it's usually too late...

even water can give you that full feeling...doesn't have to be food.

back to chewing:
apparently after chewing "sufficiently" a substance gets released that shuts off your appetite. Insufficient chewing or gulping down food prevents this from happening... and eating while watching TV makes ya rush thru your meal...wolfing it down.

so choose a smaller plate... and give yourself that 20 or so minutes between helpings to allow the "i'm full" (satisfied) signal time to reach the ole brain
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````
caution:
niacin will turn you as red as an apple
niacin-amide won't

Saltheart · 10-13-2011, 10:53 AM

340 is pretty high!. If he had said he was taking Niacin I'd understand but fish oil for 340 cholesterol is strange to me.

Yes statins have side effects but its the first amount that is the most effective. initial low doses do a lot .

Anyway , as long as it was discussed with the doctor as to why fish oil instead of medicine then at least its a thought out plan. Diet is the best weapon but of course that requires giving up lots of good stuff!

chefchris401 · 10-13-2011, 12:23 PM

Yeah it was all discussed, with two doctors. The family doctor I've been seeing since I was 2 years old and the other doctor at the practice.

My water intake is about a gallon and half a day now. No soda, no juice, etc.

I started taking niacin yesterday after a follow up visit with the doctors.

Mutlivitamin, fish oil, niacin and vitamin d everyday.

Will be getting my vitamin d checked in a month again to see what the levels are after a month of vitamins and healthy eating.

Starting getting at least an hour walk in everyday. Good for me and my dogs.

Light jogging here and there while on the walk.

Doing some gym membership research this week, going to join up asap.

No more excuses!!!
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vineyardblues · 10-13-2011, 02:33 PM

You are very young, you have time

Don't start your bucket list just yet !!
change your diet , watch what you DRINK, smoking is out , working out walking is always a good thing

And you will be 105 years young and someone will be changing you depends before you know it

Raven · 10-13-2011, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saltheart

340 is pretty high!. If he had said he was taking Niacin I'd understand but fish oil for 340 cholesterol is strange to me.

Anyway , as long as it was discussed with the doctor as to why fish oil instead of medicine then at least its a thought out plan.

the oil in freshwater fish like trout and salmon counteract the bad cholesterol with the "good" cholesterol is most likely why....

and yeah Chris ...you didn't get up to 275 in a day
so don't try to unbuild Rome in a day....

chefchris401 · 10-13-2011, 03:35 PM

Yeah I'm not trying to undo all my damage overnight.

Started making small basic changes, like no soda or juice, cutting portion sizes down, drinking a lot more water, vitamins and exercise.

I don't smoke or drink so that's a huge plus in my corner.

I have some realistic goals set for weight loss and going to go from there.

I just neglected going to doctors all those years from lack of health insurance something I wish I would have spent the money on now.
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Saltheart · 10-13-2011, 06:04 PM

I brought my "good" cholesterol up from 30 to 70 (which the doctor aid was a phenomenal improvement) by having some olive oil every day and with exercise. Just plain exercise will do it to some extent . Its really easy to have some olive oil over a salad or vegies or even a small amount of pasta or fry something in it like fish or chicken. Don't be afraid to pour it on, its good for you and way cheaper and tastier than fish oil !

chefchris401 · 10-13-2011, 06:29 PM

I love olive oil, at a recent food show I picked up some flavor added olive oils, white truffle, Thai chili, and some herb flavored oil.

Adds a nice flavor kick!
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tattoobob · 10-13-2011, 08:07 PM

Chef good luck, with your new life style

Raven · 10-14-2011, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefchris401

I love olive oil, at a recent food show I picked up some flavor added olive oils, white truffle, Thai chili, and some herb flavored oil.

Adds a nice flavor kick!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

then try the new kraft mayonaise made with olive oil

we got some but it had the black pepper in it and that was a little over powering but still good .....
so i'll be looking for the "plain" kraft "made with olive oil version"

PRBuzz · 10-14-2011, 05:22 AM

Raven · 10-14-2011, 05:50 AM

Magnesium plays an important role in cardiovascular
health....

so much so... that you should look into it extensively....

especially the signs of a magnesium deficiency

if your on blood pressure medication it makes them work more effectively too

The Importance of Magnesium to Human Nutrition

american spirit · 10-17-2011, 01:50 PM

first off. congrats on your lifestyle change. seems like you're on the right path.

chefchris401 · 10-18-2011, 08:13 PM

So taking about 12 different vitamins a day now, between the fish oil, vitamin d, b, c, multi vitamin, niacin and others.

Feel great! Much higher energy levels, feel motivated again, can get thru a while day without a nap now too.

But who doesn't love a nap in the fall??

Down to 263, so 12 pounds lighter since my doctors visit. Shooting for 205, no real date set just trying to eat right and exercise and see where it takes me.
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Raven · 10-19-2011, 03:52 AM

the more muscle tissue you have
the faster you burn your calories

walking is the best exercise because it
doesn't make you load up on co2

find a trail before the snow arrives
or deer season starts

PaulS · 10-19-2011, 07:02 AM

That should be a wake up call. I hate to see it but do you ever see overweight old people?

10 pounds is a fantastic start - keep up the great work and best of luck!