Think Long Term

I never said I was a doctor but I experimented with enough diets to know that genetics plays a major role in cholesterol, diet intake not as much. I have tried many different diet scenarios in an attempt to lower my cholesterol. My cholesterol numbers were in the mid two hundred range. Remember it’s not just the total cholesterol but the triglyceride, HDL and LDL numbers as well. A good way to remember the good cholesterol from the bad is: HDL is the good, think “H” for healthy and being healthy is good. (From now on I will use the letter C to reference the word cholesterol because I will be writing that word a lot).

I am a big snacker. I love my chips, cookies and donuts or at least I did. The first sleeve of Chips Ahoy was an appetizer to the second sleeve, a bag of Doritos were gone before the movie ended and a bag of M&M’s never had a chance. I finally realized I needed to do something about my high C because I knew that it could potentially lead to cardiovascular disease which can lead to a heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. So as time went on I tried different types of dieting for six month stretches. The diets did not include the South Beach or Atkins but included many different variations of a low fat diet. There were months where I would not eat a cookie, donut, piece of cake or M&M. After dieting my C test would come back as if junk food was all I ate. This went on for approximately seven years. In a conversation with a colleague about high C, she turned me onto Citrucel, a fiber therapy. It is a bulking agent that helps move material through the digestive tract (don’t worry no more details). I have heard of it before but paid no mind to the product. She explained to me that she took Citrucel to help lower her high C. I did say before that high C is mostly related to genetics and not diet intake but a high fiber diet can help lower cholesterol. I bought my first container of Citrucel and being the extremist that I am I followed the maximum dose of one scoop three times daily for five weeks. That’s right, one scoop for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Before I started Citrucel my C was 208; five weeks later of the max dose per day of Citrucel, my C results were 169. And now, five years later, my intake of Citrucel’s max dose daily is a way of life and helps me maintain a C level in the low to mid 160’s. Note: “The American Dietetic Association recommends 20 to 35 grams of fiber per day, but most people get 10 to 15 grams per day.”

Even though the C results of my experiments drinking Citrucel maintaining a normal diet versus drinking Citrucel maintaining a low fat diet did not differ dramatically I, til this day, limit my M&M and fat consumption. I have not had any Doritos, cookies, donuts or a piece of cake in five years. Again, I am an extremist. I do, every now and then, eat Paul Newman’s organic cookies though. I stay away from the partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats and limit the saturated fats all while maintaining aerobic and anaerobic exercising. I eat turkey, chicken and my red meat intake only consists of bison (buffalo), which is super lean and low fat. I do believe that this formula will not work for everyone but it is worth a try. The worst that can happen is that you will be regular while consuming Citrucel. I also believe that my body may change as I get older and this method will not be the answer to my high C, but for now I would rather continue this diet than start taking high C prescription medications. If you do not want to follow my extremist diet at least try to maintain an “everything in moderation” diet with the proper amount of daily fiber and exercise. I believe the Weight Watchers diet is the best out there because you get to eat the foods you crave. Avoiding them only leads to a binge.

Visit Citrucel at http://www.citrucel.com/ for more information.

I am curious to know what you think. Email me at thedwindleddollar@yahoo.com