what is a healthy diet?

J

Just plain me

Member
I get so confused! LOL! Honestly I got my FBS within limits with low carbs. And then my arterial specialist told me to watch my cholestrol. So now the main things I depended on for snacks such as nuts are not good for my cholesterol. I grew up on Fried Potatoes, Cornbread, Pinto Beans, Fried everything. You get the picture. I am 5 ft and 117 lbs. so weight is not a problem. Just wandering what everyone else eats that is healthy.

I really don't care for salads every meal. I like tomatoes, can't tolerate lettuce, Use whole wheat bread sparingly but crave fried foods and candy. Like pasta, but low fat foods contain to much sodium for my high B/P. How does one navigate this maze of eat that, don't eat this, this is good for that but bad for this? The one thing I have I do enjoy is low-fat Greek Yogurt Smoothies with strawberries and Splenda. That is bkf. We rarely eat a meal, just the meat, or potatoes or whatever. Not together. No side dishes. A sweet for desert.
 

I like Greek yougurt too Just, don't have any health conditions, so I have mine with raw honey, lemon juice (organic) and flaxseeds. If you can buy Stevia, it's much more natural and healthy compared to Splenda. Sometimes we fry sliced seasoned Yukon gold potatoes in olive oil until tender on the inside and brown on the outside. We eat that with oven grilled salmon fillets, healthy omega 3 fish oil there.

Beans and peas are always healthy to eat, if you don't make them with meat. We usually put in a slice of lean ham in them for flavor, just remove all the fat. We sometimes have Morningstar "Prime" veggie burgers on whole wheat hamburger buns, also eat whole wheat spaghetti.

Anyway, frying with coconut oil or olive oil is better than the regular corn or canola oils. We use Smart Balance spread in place of butter at times. When I want something light, I'll have some Rice Milk over Kellog's corn flakes. A broiled boneless/skinless chicken breast is good too, with veggies on the side. I'm not too strict about what to eat and what not to, they're always changing their minds on that stuff. I just try to use common sense, and go from there.
 
As I stated in the Diet Plateau thread.. I have lost 30 pounds since June.. 20 to go. I am not diabetic, but I do have high cholesterol.. my total cholesterol has been as high as 340.. Therefore I am taking a Statin. My diet consists of lean protein.. very very little red meat..inatead, chicken, fish, lean pork. Also plant protein beans, and soy. I stay away from anything "white" potatoes, rice, pasta.. instead I eat whole grain varieties. Brown rice, quinoa, couscous. But sparingly. I was never a fruit eater, but have been trying to include fresh fruit every day, and of course lots of fresh veggies. I also will occasionally have a smoothie with fresh fruit and protein powder, especially after exercise. The big thing I believe has been totally eliminating artificial sweeteners... opting for plain water with meals.. If I need to sweeten something.. like oatmeal, I use Stevia. If I crave a carbonated beverage, I have sparkling water with a splash of pomegranate juice.. I am not a sweet eater, but I will indulge in fat free ice cream once in a while.. OIls.. I use only olive oil.. This way of eating works for me.. all I know is I have really no big health issues and feel pretty good, especially with the weight loss. Oh.. did I mention portion control? Yes.. that's very important.. You can have a healthy diet, but if you eat too much of it.. you are going to gain weight.. especially if you don't exercise.
 

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Congratulations on your weight loss Quicksilver! Good job! I lost my weight for no obvious reason 9 years ago. Gained some back last year and lost it again this year. My biggest problem is hubby who want eat any of the healthy stuff. I used to buy him "Laura's lean Beef" when he had his first bypass and I learned he was throwing it out the window on his way to work and stopping at Wendy's. He is overweight but doesn't care. Insist on eating snacks and sweets and that they be in the house. Fixing two diets is out of our budget so I just try to tone down what I eat. His cholesterol is not controlled by diet. Never was. There is a name for it, I can't remember but it is all over his medical charts. The Dr. told me the thing about the "statins' are to take them at night and not eat a bite of anything after taking them. I liked Stevia much better, but around here you can't buy it in bulk, so I tend to stick with Splenda. It last longer.

SeaBreeze I envy you. I think I took my bad health from genetics. Kidney stones (4-5 lithotripsy's + surgery to remove a stone to large to pass) from Mom and Dad. Heart attack, arterial blockages, high B/P from Dad. I used to garden, mow the yard and when hubby retired he took over all that. And we don't work well together, it has to be his way and I will agree he has a green thumb. I know I make him sound like a total controller which he is to live with but everyone loves him because he is never serious, keeps a smile on his face and never involves himself in people's life. Smiles, jokes and moves on. Sometimes I feel like the witch because they don't know what it is like to live with someone who always gets his way, never has a serious conversation and never talks when he is home and keeps his thoughts totally to himself. I do love him, I just wish that I could have a few of his qualities and he could have a little of mine. I do the house and the bills. He can not stand it when he looks at the bank account and it is down. Today he is going to play golf. No matter it will put a strain on the budget, it is his thing. Wow! I have griped a little to much. Good thing I am going to see a therapist Monday!
 
The thing about statins JPM is that not all are created equal. There are fat soluable statins like Lipitor.. and water soluable statins like Crestor and Pravachol. As with the fat soluable vitamins, that can build up in tissue.. so can the fat soluable statins. This is when you have problems with muscle pain and other side effects. I know because I tried Lipitor and I could hardly walk... I felt like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. I had no problems at all with Crestor, but it is expensive and my insurance company stopped paying for it. Now I take water soluable Pravachol.. aka Pravastatin without problem. So keep that in mind when your doc wants to prescribe a statin.
 
thanks QuickSilver. For now the Dr. uses Simvastatin for me and my hubby. I take 40 he takes 80. Have for years. Last I checked Dr. said it was around 200 would like to have it a little lower but was more concerned with my B/P.
 
It is rarely the item that has become problematic for people but the amount. It is almost shocking what Americans consider a serving. While shopping yesterday, I overheard a conversation between a husband and wife in the food court. Husband had two large slices of pizza. The wife asked why he had purchased four bottles of pomegranite juice. The answer: It will make me lose weight! Wish I had the audacity to go over and grab those pizza slices while adding the comment, this will help you lose weight! Deep fried foods are always to be avoided. Use a good oil to lightly saute on no more than two days per week. It isn't what you are eating that will bring on dementia, cardiac problems, diabetes. It is what is eating you inside, emotional eating.
 
I guess you have not read history so you will repeat it. Keep listen to your doctors as they give you more drugs. I do not take any prescription drugs and I will match my health with you any time. The truth is out there.
 
I think a healthy diet varies from person to person based on their own particular chemistry. If you have high cholesterol, high glucose, gluten intolerant, etc. you will have a different healthy diet. My healthy diet cuts sugar, salt, carbs substantially but includes fish, chicken, pork, beef, veggies, fruit.
 
I have decided to ignore all extremes, as the advice appears to change week by week.
so I use butter, seeded bread, olive oil for frying; which I do very rarely; and I eat what I like.
i use very little sugar, very little salt; my cholesterol is falling, as is my blood pressure, and I tend to only eat twice a day.

I get empty calories from red wine, so don't drink during the week, and I am losing weight too.

That may make me appear to be a creep; I promise I am not; I eat whatever I want whenever I want, and it works......so far..
 
What you have to understand about cholesterol is that it is NOT always diet. Our cholesterol levels are based on 2 things... Dietary cholesterol and the cholesterol our livers manufacture naturally. Now some folks can limit dietary cholesterol down to nearly zero and STILL have high cholesterol levels in their blood. That is due to their genetic make up.. their livers produce high levels on their own. THIS is why some people need to take Statins.. because it is impossible to control what their body doing naturally. If I didn't take a statin, my cholesterol would be over 300 and that is without added dietary intake. It's very dangerous for uninformed people to make blanket statements about things they do not understand, simply from reading an article. If your levels are high even with dietary control.. you need a statin.
 
Just plain me said:
I get so confused! LOL! Honestly I got my FBS within limits with low carbs. And then my arterial specialist told me to watch my cholestrol. So now the main things I depended on for snacks such as nuts are not good for my cholesterol. I grew up on Fried Potatoes, Cornbread, Pinto Beans, Fried everything. You get the picture. I am 5 ft and 117 lbs. so weight is not a problem. Just wandering what everyone else eats that is healthy.

I really don't care for salads every meal. I like tomatoes, can't tolerate lettuce, Use whole wheat bread sparingly but crave fried foods and candy. Like pasta, but low fat foods contain to much sodium for my high B/P. How does one navigate this maze of eat that, don't eat this, this is good for that but bad for this? The one thing I have I do enjoy is low-fat Greek Yogurt Smoothies with strawberries and Splenda. That is bkf. We rarely eat a meal, just the meat, or potatoes or whatever. Not together. No side dishes. A sweet for desert.
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My personal experience is variety of the 5 basics. It works for me anyway. I eat everything, but the empty calorie goodies, I am moderate about. When I eat balanced meals, I don't crave sugars, or a lot of chips, that sort of thing. I find eating a lot of vegies, and I mean at least twice a day, fruit usually one to two times a day, meats (especially fish when I can get it fresh), oils like Olive, coconut, and I do eat real butter, and no low-fats, or sugar substitute chemicals.

I have also cut down to maybe a meal, maybe two with any of the white-flour products. I make most of my cooking from scratch, but an occasional item like peaches in can, pot pie. But rarely, and with the peaches, I rinse them in a caldron. I just can't always get fresh, fact of my life;) But I try to do what I believe to be good for me. I eat most of my vegies raw now.

I've found the more I eat kind of normal (like mom used to say, eat balanced etc) the less I crave or want a lot of snacking between meals. Water is an amazing thing for me, I read that dehydration can disguise itself as hunger, so now I always make sure to get my water intake.

Good topic JPM;)
 
d0ug said:
The FDA told doctor to get their patents off statins because is causes diabetes and dementia [Alzheimer]
http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/29/fda-warns-statin-users-of-memory-loss-and-diabetes-risks/
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I agree with you d0ug, statins are dangerous to use and definitely overprescribed to people these days. There are natural supplements and other ways to control your cholesterol, that is, if control is really even necessary.

Of course, anyone on statins who want to wean themselves off for health reasons, should do so only with supervision from their doctor. A good doctor will be open to less pharmaceutical drug use by their patients, and not worry about losing some financial kickbacks from the pharmaceutical companies. A good doctor wants you healthy, not a walking medicine cabinet.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...20/the-truth-about-statin-drugs-revealed.aspx
 
Why would a cholesterol level be high there must be a cause. OH yes the doctors are not interested in that part. You body makes cholesterol because it is needed for your immune system, your hormones, and your brain is 75% cholesterol by weight. The doctors or nurses take blood out of the veins to check for cholesterol so there is as much cholesterol in the veins as in the arteries but the arteries is the only ones that get plugged except some veins in the heart. The reason being that the body has intelligences and when you get free radical damage in the arteries which is life threatening the body uses cholesterol as a band aid to cover the damage. This is now recognized by the medical system but it takes awhile for it to trickle down to the doctors. As the doctors have been telling everyone to use statins the rate of Alzheimer, Erectile dysfunction, hormone problems, and diabetes has sky rocketed. For the FDA to speak out about any drug there has to be a mountain of information.
 
I agree NWlady..( except about the statins. for those that need them they are important) Diet wise... Moderation has always been the key. I enjoy a cookie now and again. But avoid snacking on anything in the evening. I opt for healthy snacks.. but sometimes a cookie tastes pretty good, and if it's only one.. no harm IMO.
 
d0ug said:
Why would a cholesterol level be high there must be a cause. OH yes the doctors are not interested in that part. You body makes cholesterol because it is needed for your immune system, your hormones, and your brain is 75% cholesterol by weight. The doctors or nurses take blood out of the veins to check for cholesterol so there is as much cholesterol in the veins as in the arteries but the arteries is the only ones that get plugged except some veins in the heart. The reason being that the body has intelligences and when you get free radical damage in the arteries which is life threatening the body uses cholesterol as a band aid to cover the damage. This is now recognized by the medical system but it takes awhile for it to trickle down to the doctors. As the doctors have been telling everyone to use statins the rate of Alzheimer, Erectile dysfunction, hormone problems, and diabetes has sky rocketed. For the FDA to speak out about any drug there has to be a mountain of information.
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We've had a few discussions here about the dangers of statins, here's just one...https://www.seniorforums.com/showth...ceutical-Criminal-Activity!?highlight=statins
 
Vivjen sounds like my kind of diet! Except for the sugar which I crave. But the Dr. took me off the diabetic med last visit as I proved to him my FBS stays from 95 to a top of 120. Regardless of what the test showed.
 
Avoiding statins for long term care is best. My neurology magazine plus arthritis magazines both have carried articles on use linked to temporary and permanent dementia. This may not effect all patients but it is a risk. I have no cholesterol problems probably due to my daily physical exercise/activities. My husband however had to deal with high cholesterol (not diet induced) and triglycerides. Stopping the statins and similar drugs, I switched him over to red yeast rice. It works for him. If buying use only a certified brand. LIke too many supplements, you may or may not be getting the amount on the label and who knows what they added as subsitutes.
 
Look... I'm not going to get into a round robin discussion on this..

I personally don't know of a physician, (and I know a lot) who just automatically prescribes statins. If a person comes in with a high cholesterol number, they are put on a conservative regimen of diet and exercise to start. If that has no affect on the cholesterol level... then diet or lifestyle is not the culprit.. that person has true hyperlipidemia.. and they're bodies are producing cholesterol in an accelerated amount. SO your advise to these people is to NOT take a statin? Even if their doctor advises them too? That's pretty dangerous stuff.. So.. anyone reading this... listen to your doctor.. if you cannot control your cholesterol by diet and exercise.. then you need to take a statin. There are many statins on the market. IF one is causing you to feel sore or stiff.. try another... or ask for the dosage to be modified by the doc. There are very few people who are bothered by every single statin out there.. You wouldn't want to follow the advise here and have something happen.. In addition Docs are prevented by LAW from taking money or kickbacks to prescribe certain drugs.. Maybe in years gone by, but now there are strict laws against that. If your doctor is doing that.. he is a criminal and needs his license revoked. Don't let the armchair docs here cause you to potentially risk your life.

As for the studies? Anyone can sponsor or do a study.. Tell me.. how do they know a person wouldn't have contracted dementia, or erectile dysfunction anyway? Studies can be used to "prove" anything you want... and for every study saying one thing.. two can be found saying the opposite.
 
Janis said:
Avoiding statins for long term care is best. My neurology magazine plus arthritis magazines both have carried articles on use linked to temporary and permanent dementia. This may not effect all patients but it is a risk. I have no cholesterol problems probably due to my daily physical exercise/activities. My husband however had to deal with high cholesterol (not diet induced) and triglycerides. Stopping the statins and similar drugs, I switched him over to red yeast rice. It works for him. If buying use only a certified brand. LIke too many supplements, you may or may not be getting the amount on the label and who knows what they added as subsitutes.
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I've heard about Red Yeast Rice, Janis. I don't have high cholesterol problems, but I'd definitely try using natural foods like that if I did, also flaxseeds are beneficial. http://www.healthyfellow.com/269/red-yeast-rice-and-cholesterol/
 
QuickSilver, who can eat only one cookie? Hand me the box espcially if they are chocolate chips! Anything Chocolate. I don't like the Dark Chocolates which are supposed to be healthy for you. I like Milk Chocolate.
I admire your stamina to take only one!
 
Janis how do yyou tell what is a "certified brand"? I would be willing to try it. Dementia runs in our family. I have a 80 year old sister in NH with it now.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I've heard about Red Yeast Rice, Janis. I don't have high cholesterol problems, but I'd definitely try using natural foods like that if I did, also flaxseeds are beneficial. http://www.healthyfellow.com/269/red-yeast-rice-and-cholesterol/
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Again.... How would you prevent your liver from producing excessive cholesterol? Because that is the real problem.. Diet only can do so much... believe me I have eaten flax... lots of flax.. in smoothies.. in oatmeal... sprinkled on everything.. no improvement.. so then what?
 

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