I just started a yoga practice, too, and had similar concerns about being judged. None of these concerns turned out to be true, they were all in my mind. So many people do yoga -- people of all different sizes and shapes, ages and experience levels. And we're all finding our ways. One of the keys for me has been to let go of ambition and judgement. I've always played competitive sports, so this has been my own challenge: to not overdo things just in the name of my ego. No one is judging in yoga, people are simply finding their ways through their own expressions. Yoga is amazing in so many ways -- for body and mind and spirit.

You can always use tapes and work out at home. I have to because I live 40 minutes from the nearest class but also because it is a LOT cheaper.

Greg, do you track your fiber intake? It sounds like you are juicing a lot and not getting a lot of fiber.

Try two weeks of 100 g fiber or more per day from food, not supplements. This will probably mean 5-6 kg of f+v per day for you with no juicing. I promise your bad LDL and your total will drop considerably. I am willing to bet my life on it, and in fact, have, with my own life.

Jose posted one of Jenkins's studies. There are many more. If you pm me with your email address I will send you his very high fiber diet study, there are some charts and graphs that are easy to read even for laypeople; you can print it and discuss it with your health care provider.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2008 10:10PM by arugula.

Hi Arugala,

I was hoping you would show up on this thread as I've always appreciated what you bring to the forums.
I think I may have been unclear at first because I don't juice at all. When I said I drink lots of cilantro, parsley and greens, that is all just whole stuff that I blend in my vita-mix with enough fresh green coconut water to allow it to blend. Does blending destroy the fiber? I should try to track my fiber better, but I need to invest in a kitchen scale. Here is a typical list of my average daily diet.

1-2 bunches of kale or collards
1 bunch dandelion greens
1-2 bunches of cilantro
1-2 bunches of italian parsley
1/2 lb of fresh turmeric root
small handful of milk thistle seeds
1/2 - 1 gallon of fresh green coconut water
1 cup of fresh coconut meat
small handful of goji berries
1 large papaya
1 pineapple
6-8 passion fruit
3-4 kiwis
2-6 bananas
1-2 apples or asian pears
6-10 strawberries
1 avocado or equivalent amount of seeds/nuts
2 TBS Edo's flax seed oil
b12 supplement (the kind you recommended in an earlier post)
1 tomato
4-8 oranges/tangerines
1 carrot or beet
1 cucumber or zuchini
some broccoli or cauliflower
lots of fresh sprouts

That's pretty much it. A few times a week I'll whip up something gourmet, but for the most part, this is what I eat. God, it really looks like a lot of food now that I write it down. Everything I eat is either whole or blended into a smoothie. would you say that this is enough fiber?

I'll PM you my email for the studies. Thanks so much for your input!

Aloha, Greg

Hi Greg, I just sent you two papers. I think you could try two things: limiting the saturated fat (coconut) and blending less--yes it does partially break down the fibers so they can't help you as much (even though it makes the vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals more available). Those are two ways to get less of the LDL raising lipids in your blood. The F+V content looks great!

Your diet looks just about perfect to me. Do you really drink a half to a gallon of coconut water daily? That's amazing. You're very lucky! I think on a diet like this you're LDL and Triglicerides will come down.

Hi everyone, and thanks for all of the support with this!

I finally received a copy of my blood tests and now I'm a bit confused. When my Dr called me with the results he said my LDL was 214 which would have been super high. now that i see the results my LDL is 144 which is in the "borderline high" category.

There are actually 5 results in my lipid profile and I welcome any comments and insight.

Cholesterol = 214 (high, should be <200)
Triglyceride= 141 (<150 is healthy)
HDL= 42 (>39 is healthy)
LDL= 144 (Borderline High 130-159, should be <100)
Chol/HDL Ratio= 5.10 (High, 3.5 is ideal)

The information in parenthesis are the "target ranges" listed in my report.

Everything else in the test looks to be in healthy ranges except for my globulin level which was 2.4 g/dl (healthy range is 2.5-4.0), but my albumin/globulin ratio was healthy at 1.8 (healthy range 0.9-2.0)...not really sure what this means.

If anyone is interested in other metabolic info from my test I'd be happy to post them, but it's a big list.

I just started a guided cleanse with 120 other people, so I'm going to get tested again a few weeks after and I'll post the results.

Thanks again everyone for the support and encouragement!

Greg

Aloha Nui Loa,

Greg

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices. - William James

There is no pill that can be swallowed,
There is no guru, that can be followed, - Michael Franti (Pray For Grace)

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. - Albert Camus

I'm not sure if this is true (below). I read it on the web. But maybe it makes some sense:

"Eating cholesterol is not what creates over-production of cholesterol. In fact many vegans have seriously high cholesterol because the body goes into overproduction to compensate. Cholesterol is the building block of hormones and the body needs to make sure some is around.
Low quality fats, on the other hand, are a major factor in heart disease. Too many Omega 6s, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats, rancid fats and seed fats in the form of refined oils are a major problem.
Eating lots of vegetables, including vegetarian entrees, is good. Refined foods are not. But protein levels need to be high and of the right quality."


As a raw/vegan, we can get the good cholesterol and good fats we need from nuts and seeds and avocados and coconut, so don't eliminate all cholesterol and all fats. Just stick to the healthy stuff to meet your needs.

Or ignore this.

Hang in there in any case Greg. It may take a long time to balance things out.


Lee

Lee, just an FYI, there's no cholesterol in plant foods. Only animal foods. So we aren't getting any outside cholesterol, good or bad, if we are vegan. We do get lots of other good 'sterol's, tho.

MauiGreg, I don't want to deter you from whatever you're doing, but I don't think you should worry too much about this and I don't think it's necessarily useful to try to move the process along with detox. IMO you should just stay the course with lots of fluids, low fat, high nutrition, fresh air and exercise, and let your liver heal itself.

But you have my good thoughts and best wishes with whatever actions you take.

Do you blog? Add your blog to the thread on blogging: [www.rawfoodsupport.com]!!

my BS meter just went off: "In fact many vegans have seriously high cholesterol because the body goes into overproduction to compensate."

No.....not true. "Many" vegans? What did they do, find two?

Hi Seabucktho,

Thanks. I didn't know.. "there's no cholesterol in plant foods. Only animal foods. So we aren't getting any outside cholesterol, good or bad, if we are vegan."

So much to learn!

I'm so glad I found this path though. I was rereading "Fast Food Nation" and feeling so thankful to not be eating the way most people eat.

Are there any raw/vegan friendly nutrition sites that anyone would recommend... that are not too hard for old, SAD-built brains? I'm hoping to rebuild the engine -- err, brain, as I go.

Thanks again all and hugs to Greg.

Lee

@Lee_123 Cool!!

@Maui_Greg... Check out this link: [www.nutraingredients.com]

Quote:
12-Feb-2008 - Almost one-third of cholesterol reductions achieved by consuming a heart-healthy diet are due to plant sterols, suggests a new study from Canada that supports the ingredient's efficacy.

Do you blog? Add your blog to the thread on blogging: [www.rawfoodsupport.com]!!

Yes, Yes... You all rock! I cannot possibly express all the love I have for you folks! I wish I could rename this thread "I am so happy with where I am on this journey and I am at peace with my cholesterol levels!"

I am going to continue what I've been doing with the addition of my "spring cleaning" cleanse. This 30 day guided cleanse wasn't really motivated by my cholesterol levels, but more by an intuitive need for a deeper cleanse. Being raw has cleared my thoughts so much. I've looked back over my life and the absolute abuse and neglect that I put my body and soul through and it makes me so grateful to be here now living the way that I am. Binge drinking for half my teenage years, all of my 20's and much of my 30's... heavy drug use for most of that time as well, including very heavy psychedelic use, chronic weed smoking, and periods of experimentation with most of the really, really bad ones as well (powders, needles, designer drugs, you name it...basically everything but crystal meth)...god I hope my mom doesn't read this! not to mention my disgusting diet... anyway, it has been many years since that behavior, but the clarity about those patterns is new since raw. I apologize to myself several times a day for all of that...and more importantly, I accept my own apology... what's done is done, now it's all about where I'm going now. Wow, feels good to spill all of that... my history that only a handful of people knew...now it's all out there. So this cleanse is more about beginning to heal all of that. There are 120 other people doing this cleanse and although it does have a big dietary component, it is more about cleansing toxic thought processes and self-defeating habits that took a lifetime to learn. I just got back from our second meeting and I am on fire. It's just amazing to be in a room with 120 other people who are all focused on moving towards health and supporting each other along the way... the vibe is nothing short of euphoric! ...kind of like a physical manifestation of the vibe on this forum! I've been keeping a journal and I will transcribe it to the raw diary forum when I have some more time.

hmmm, I think I just hijacked my own thread...

Anyway, thanks again for all of the support and helpful information, you guys make it so easy to succeed!

Aloha nui loa to you all,

Greg

Aloha Nui Loa,

Greg

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices. - William James

There is no pill that can be swallowed,
There is no guru, that can be followed, - Michael Franti (Pray For Grace)

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. - Albert Camus

MauiGreg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> god I hope my mom doesn't read
> this!

rofl...

congrats greg, i think we all know how this story is going to end...