I learned a few years ago from my doctor that I have high cholesterol. Much of this was directly related to my eating habits as I regularly ate cheese sandwiches, cream cheese (with bagels not out of the container), eggs and Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls. I had my annual physical last week and received my latest cholesterol numbers. While my good cholesterol (HDL) is low and my bad cholesterol (LDL) is high, my overall cholesterol is OK. I have no idea how this is possible.
Anyway, to help improve my good cholesterol my doctor directed me to take Omega-3 Fatty Acids. This sounds innocent enough since you can buy Omega-3 over the counter. However, do you know what this stuff is? It is fish oil in pill form! The Omega-3 pills contain herring, anchovy, mackerel, sardine, sprat and salmon ingredients. Tasty! I also didn’t mention that these pills are bigger than your average marble. These monster pills are difficult to swallow, although to be fair, I don’t take pills very well, so this may just be me.
I’m supposed to take these pills twice a day, and I’ll go back to my doctor in two months to see how my good cholesterol is doing. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
My Cholesterol
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Post a CommentMy doctor told me to start taking 1200 mg of Omega-3 Fatty Acid in fish oil capsules just yesterday. My first cardiologist, who unfortunately passed away in October (he was 83 and died while climbing mountains near Lake Tahoe) said he didn't even care about my cholesterol numbers and refused to allow me to take any of the statins, which he called "poisons." To learn more about how I refused to get a quintuple coronary artery bypass in 2004 and continue to be angina free on Dr. Howard Wayne's medical regimen, go to my blog at http://wordworks2001.blogspot.com (and tell all your friends to check it out too, you may save a life or two)
Make Sure you have a high level of EPA/DHA , not just overall amounts. Most 1 g capsules are around 300 mg but you can get them up to 600 mg of EPA/DHA. There are a few brands out there on the market but I have heard that the MEG-3 Brand is the highest quality. Kirkland Signature uses this brand.
After my dad's latest bout with heart problems (he had an angioplasty last September), his cardiologist put him on four grams (yes, grams) of PRESCRIPTION fish oil daily. Apparently the prescription stuff is purer than what you can buy over the counter, meaning that it's more effective, and less likely to leave a fishy aftertaste.
Andy - 4 grams seems like a lot, but if helps, that's all that matters. Plus that makes sense if it is prescription vs. over-the-counter.
To anonymous guy/gal - My 1g pills are 300mg in terms of EPA (180) and DHA (120). I'll see how I'm doing with these before going up to the 600mg EPA.
One word: sardines. more words: in lousiniana hot saurce.
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