What We Eat Will Be Very Individual, but...

[Bradly1962]

What we eat will be very individual, but I would be remiss if I didn't share what has been working well for me.

As humans we are mostly omnivores, and I think it's important to enjoy a wide variety of foods, and of course to avoid large amounts of certain foods like saturated fats, sugars, and hydrogenated fats. There are others of course, and I think we know what they are, and of course your doctor may give you specific recommendations based on lab results.

One challenge to our omnivorous nature is our sweet tooths. I know this has been covered here before, but I believe it bears repeating; increasingly it is difficult to avoid 'high fructose corn syrup', and 'sweeteners derived from corn', which are extracted using a process that is far from natural. All these calories from one source presents the body with a challenge that can affect other systems.

http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore.php

For specific reasons I chose not to include any animal flesh other than occasional fish in my diet. I was able to replace most of the protein with soy, nut, legumes, and grains. Also for digestive health I consume yogurt.

My complete diet consists of vegetables, legumes (incl. soy), fruits, grains, yogurt, and (very little) fish (in descending order of quantity). Plus 70-80oz. of water, 'Now Special 2' vitamins (half dose), and 200mcg selenium supplements daily.
This has worked well for me (and maybe not others-check with doc), and has allowed me to avoid statin drugs. It's strange to say this, but 21-22 years after being infected I feel more healthy and fit than I can remember.

Just wanted to share what worked for me.

[allopathicholistic]

My complete diet consists of vegetables, legumes (incl. soy), fruits, grains, yogurt, and (very little) fish (in descending order of quantity). Plus 70-80oz. of water, 'Now Special 2' vitamins (half dose), and 200mcg selenium supplements daily.
This has worked well for me (and maybe not others-check with doc), and has allowed me to avoid statin drugs. It's strange to say this, but 21-22 years after being infected I feel more healthy and fit than I can remember.

Just wanted to share what worked for me.

Thank you for sharing. Just curious, are you predisposed to high cholesterol, i.e., high cholesterol due to family history?

[aztecan]

I admire your ability to stick to the diet you describe. I explored adding more vegetarian (non-animal) products to my diet, but found it too limiting.

Unfortunately, I found most vegetarian dishes contain either wheat, oats or barley, grains which are toxic to me. Lactose intolerance prevents my enjoying dairy, with the exception of organic yogurt.

I am taking Niaspan, a timed-release niacin supplement, which may help.

I can't take statins. I tried them. They didn't get along with my liver.

So, if the Niaspan doesn't work, well, I'm not going to worry too much about it. I'll deal with it as it comes.

HUGS,

Mark

[frenchpat]

Hi Bradly,

save for the fish we are on a similar diet. With all the overfishing going on you will soon be a match I am also a Michael Pollan reader.

Aztecan: Right after being diagnosed I went into sheer panic and the high stress made my body do very weird things (I of course interpreted them as hiv symptoms which only fuelled more stress ). My doctor felt I was starting to have allergies and thought I might be coeliac. So grains, an important part of my diet, were going out the window...

There are grains and others  that do not contain gluten, that you can use in cooking. Chickpeas, a good source of proteins and trace  minerals, can also be found as flour, so can chestnut, soy, rice. Lentils, aaahhh, lentils! Wonderful stuff. Quinoa can replace broken wheat (bulghur) for some dishes, Millet is excellent, cheap and gluten free. And one of my favourite's remains buckwheat (also comes in flour).

Unfortunately these you will not find easily in ready made dishes or you will but at outrageous prices. If you are willing to cook there are many alternatives to the grains your body won't accept. As for milk replacement, almond, soy or rice milks can work too.

To go vegetarian, or nearly so , demands changes that are not easy for those who love their meat, but it is not anymore limited. In western cultures where too much meat is consumed, a recent phenomenon that came with the overall increase in wealth, we're not exposed to many alternatives. So it takes a little lateral thinking and to spend more time in the kitchen. But it has its rewards.

Pat

[Bradly1962]

[quote ]Thank you for sharing. Just curious, are you predisposed to high cholesterol, i.e., high cholesterol due to family history?[/quote]

My Sustiva caused that.

And I forgot to add that Niaspan helped me too, althogh my cholesterol is so low now that I may noy even need it anymore.

[alisenjafi]

Hi my cholesterol dropped from 190 to 128 when I started eating bee pollen and taking omega 3 capsules.  as hfcs, look for sweets made in other countries where they don't subsidize the corn industry. I noticed the Mexican and South American soda doesn't use that crack- I mean crap.

I also found the more you wean yourself off of sugar the more you don't want it.
I wonder how many of the problems people post here are from poor diets. If I eat in a greasy spoon my body totally rejects it. If I eat a mac I will have stomach pains all night.
Cheers
Johnny

[aztecan]

Hey all,

I hope I didn't come off sounding like I was dissing your diet Bradley. That wasn't my intent.

My thoughts were stemming from trying to eat out occasionally. Not an easy task in a rural area where "chicken fried" is a way of life.

 I do a lot of my own food preparation. Rather than eggs, I eat scrambled tofu with onions and green chile. I also use soy milk and make my own bread from soy, quinoa, rice, tapioca and fava bean flours. (It's really not bad. I think I would continue to do this even if I didn't need to.)

I do have a question, since both you and Pat have more experience with this. How do you avoid having hypoglycemic responses when you drop the animal protein from your diet?

I know legumes fare a little better in regulating the levels of insulin, but I still seem to have problems an hour or so after eating unless there is some protein included in the meal.

Any suggestions, opinions, observations?

HUGS,

Mark

[frenchpat]

Mark,

I agree with you that eating out for a veggie can be problematic. It certainly was in France 20 years ago and I got my share of insults at the time, negotiations were tough(yes, sorry, chicken is meat too ). Things have improved a lot though, partly as a side effect of the BSE scare.

Reading your post I realize I had nothing new for you when it comes to gluten free diets. I hope I'll be able to taste that homemade loaf one day, perhaps at the next meeting??

Hypoglycemia? I don't know... I always include some protein in my meals, usualy have nuts and seeds in whatever form but reasonable quantity, and eat fruit at each meal. I even use dry fruits in my cooking (try a dry fruit and nuts curry with whole grain rice...)
Maybe I am so used to this diet that I don't feel the drop anymore?

Pat

[worriedguy]

what do you say about protein powders to replace animal or nut protein? i am talking about nitrottech or myoplex or a similar supplement found at GNC. any experience with this?