(no subject)

[rivka]

curiousangel got blood test results on Thursday, and his cholesterol is sky-high. Our doctor prescribed a statin for him, but we're also researching lifestyle changes. We, because my diet isn't very healthy either, and because I cook for both of us, and because these changes tend to be easier if someone else is going through them with you.

So: exercise. More fruits and vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, and fish - which comes at an inconvenient time, given that half of the fishes we would normally eat have been banished from my diet because of mercury. (And of the remaining allowable fish, shrimp is high in cholesterol. There goes half our favorite fish dishes. And it's so easy to keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, and thaw a couple of handfuls for dinner. Well. Never mind.) Less red meat, less fast food, less fried food. More grilling and broiling. Strange new products like Benecol.

Fortunately, a lot of my recipes and cooking techniques are already relatively low in fat. And summer is a good time for marinated chicken breasts on the grill, and so forth. And exercise will give both of us more energy, and make us happier. Plus, of course, it would be worth any amount of deprivation and inconvenience to keep curiousangel healthy. We're lucky he has the opportunity to make these changes now, before there's been any serious damage to his health.

Comments

[mamatiger.livejournal.com]

I use a margarine called "Smart Balance" which has no trans fats and is calculated to have the "best" balance of omega-3's and omega-6's which is supposed to be beneficial to good cholesterol.

The main thing about cholestrol, I beleive, is that it's bad if it oxidizes -- it plumps up and gets sticky which causes it to build up on artery walls. This is why the fruit/grain/veggie angle is so important, because that's where the antioxidants come from. (I go for green tea and an apple a day.)

And wcg can attest to the fact that hot oat bran cereal is very tasty and dead quick to fix (heat to a boil and cook for 1-1.5 minutes). Add cinnamon and raisins (and/or like me, add 2 tbsp ground flax seeds and 2 tbsp untoasted wheat germ) and you have one or two servings of whole grains to start the day.

(I've tried the steel-cut oats but that ends up too chewy for my tastes.)

[rightprice.livejournal.com]

Random as hell.. but smart balance is awsome. Taste better than true butter sometimes.