My diet

[dime]

Since I started with this menu it seems I have headaches pretty much every day (whereas previously I didn't have any at all).
I suspect it's too much apples, or in general too much fruits. Also the apples are non-organic, and even though I'm always peeling them this might still not be enough.
I'm getting 150+ grams of fructose per day, not sure if it matters. How much you guys who drink orange juice have in general? Since I'm using muscle glycogen in workouts, I think I should have a higher glucose to fructose ratio. So I'm lowering apples (they seem higher in fructose), and increasing bananas. I might decrease fruits in general and increase fat, just to check.

Also I noticed a pimple on the shoulder; probably caused by the egg whites.

[RRM]

Since I started with this menu it seems I have headaches pretty much every day (whereas previously I didn't have any at all).
I suspect it's too much apples, or in general too much fruits.

Of course, lots of things can cause headaches. It maybe a response to specific amines. Banana, for example, contains serotonine,
and exogenous serotonine may cause headaches in some.
Maybe you could try the following experiments:
the same menu without bananas, during one week
the same menu without egg whites, during one week
the same menu without any blending, during one week.

I'm getting 150+ grams of fructose per day, not sure if it matters.

You mean free fructose, and/or fructose in sucrose?

The absorption capacity for fructose in monosaccharide form ranges from less than 5 g to 50 g and adapts with changes in dietary fructose intake. Studies show the greatest absorption rate occurs when glucose and fructose are administered in equal quantities.[23] When fructose is ingested as part of the disaccharide sucrose, absorption capacity is much higher because fructose exists in a 1:1 ratio with glucose.

How much you guys who drink orange juice have in general?

3 to 4.5 L / day.

I'm lowering apples (they seem higher in fructose), and increasing bananas.

Yes, they are higher in fructose.
Here are lists of sugar ratios in fruits:
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2278

Also I noticed a pimple on the shoulder; probably caused by the egg whites.

Probably, though it may also be the blending.

[dime]

Yes I'll continue experimenting in the following days.
I calculated it's about 130 grams fructose (including from sucrose).
Thanks for the link, that summarizes pretty well.

[RRM]

Using Souci, SW et al, counting only the apples (1500 g), banana (500 g) and sugar (50 g), i get:
sucrose 140 g.
glucose 48 g
fructose 103 g.
which is 103 g. free fructose plus 70 g. fructose in sucrose, is 173 in total.

It would be interesting to know the absorption capacity for fructose in Waians,
as this capacity is known to adapt with changes in dietary fructose intake.

[dime]

I haven't been eating sugar so far (seems like I don't need it) so I counted only apples and bananas. The sugar I have is actually dextrose, it's not sucrose.

[RRM]

Ah, ok.

[dime]

For the past month-two I'm eating:
* base: 100gr salmon, 6-8 whole eggs (yolks in evening, whites in the morning), 100gr steamed rice
* the rest of calories I fill in with mostly bananas, and then some coconut oil, butter (experimentally for now), spoon of sunflower oil, avocados and tangerines from time to time
* 100mg magnesium in the evening; it really makes a difference for me but somehow it seems hard to get enough through food so I take a pill

This has worked really well for me so far. The rice is a pretty good low-fiber, cheap alternative to juices I think (in terms of carbs). Hypothension is pretty much gone.

[dime]

So I've been religiously measuring everything I eat for the past four days. Below is the result (averages of four days).

Code: Select all

===========================================
Nutrition Summary
September 30, 2012 to October 3, 2012
Daily Averages over 4 days
Report generated by CRON-o-Meter v0.9.8
===========================================

General (63%)
===========================================
Energy               |  3013.3 kcal   116%
Protein              |   116.4 g      194%
Carbs                |   145.3 g       73%
  Fiber              |     1.0 g       10%
  Starch             |     0.0 g        0%
  Sugars             |    79.7 g      159%
Fat                  |   218.2 g      218%
Alcohol              |     0.0 g    
Caffeine             |     0.0 mg   
Water                |   545.0 g       20%
Ash                  |     9.6 g    

Vitamins (97%)
===========================================
Vitamin A            |  3224.6 IU     107%
  Retinol            |   709.5 µg   
  Alpha-carotene     |    77.2 µg   
  Beta-carotene      |   204.5 µg   
  Beta-cryptoxanthin |   288.1 µg   
  Lycopene           |     0.0 µg   
  Lutein+Zeaxanthin  |  2156.3 µg   
Folate               |   405.6 µg     101%
B1 (Thiamine)        |     1.5 mg     127%
B2 (Riboflavin)      |     2.6 mg     203%
B3 (Niacin)          |    26.1 mg     163%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)|    10.3 mg     206%
B6 (Pyridoxine)      |     2.4 mg     185%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) |    28.1 µg    1170%
Vitamin C            |    72.1 mg      80%
Vitamin D            |   537.3 IU     269%
Vitamin E            |    13.3 mg      89%
  Beta Tocopherol    |     0.1 mg   
  Delta Tocopherol   |     0.1 mg   
  Gamma Tocopherol   |     3.0 mg   
Vitamin K            |   312.6 µg     261%
Biotin               |     0.0 µg       0%
Choline              |  1306.7 mg     238%

Minerals (75%)
===========================================
Calcium              |   370.7 mg      46%
Chromium             |     0.0 µg       0%
Copper               |     0.9 mg      99%
Fluoride             |     5.7 µg       0%
Iron                 |    17.2 mg     215%
Magnesium            |   130.6 mg      33%
Manganese            |     1.1 mg      50%
Phosphorus           |  1696.6 mg     242%
Potassium            |  1979.3 mg      42%
Selenium             |   181.2 µg     330%
Sodium               |   389.3 mg      78%
Zinc                 |    25.5 mg     232%

Amino Acids (100%)
===========================================
ALA                  |     5.9 g    
ARG                  |     6.6 g    
ASP                  |     9.7 g    
CYS                  |     1.4 g      387%
GLU                  |    14.5 g    
GLY                  |     4.7 g    
HIS                  |     3.0 g      351%
HYP                  |     0.0 g    
ILE                  |     4.9 g      289%
LEU                  |     8.4 g      253%
LYS                  |     8.1 g      310%
MET                  |     2.5 g      283%
PHE                  |     4.2 g      279%
PRO                  |     4.4 g    
SER                  |     5.3 g    
THR                  |     4.4 g      336%
TRP                  |     1.2 g      329%
TYR                  |     3.7 g      244%
VAL                  |     5.4 g      246%

Lipids (100%)
===========================================
Saturated            |    90.0 g      112%
Monounsaturated      |    84.6 g      212%
Polyunsaturated      |    26.9 g      269%
  Omega-3            |     4.4 g      276%
  Omega-6            |    20.6 g      686%
Trans-Fats           |     0.0 g    
Cholesterol          |  2309.6 mg     462%
Phytosterol          |    15.9 mg   

Here's the list of all foods during these days.

Code: Select all

 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (45.0 grams)
 - Caribou, bone marrow, raw (Alaska Native) (8.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (11.0 grams)
 - Honey (21.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (31.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (50.0 grams)
 - Honey (8.0 grams)
 - Caribou, bone marrow, raw (Alaska Native) (6.0 grams)
 - Honey (10.0 grams)
 - Fish, herring, Atlantic, raw (72.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (36.0 grams)
 - Honey (28.0 grams)
 - Slow Cooked (481.0 grams)

 - Orange juice, raw (186.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (34.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (50.0 grams)
 - Honey (31.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (20.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (43.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (23.0 grams)
 - Honey (35.0 grams)
 - Honey (33.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (40.0 grams)
 - Fish, herring, Atlantic, raw (92.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (20.0 grams)
 - Slow Cooked (481.0 grams)

 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (27.0 grams)
 - Seeds, flaxseed (3.0 grams)
 - Orange juice, raw (111.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (52.0 grams)
 - Honey (32.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (18.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (51.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (20.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (34.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (15.0 grams)
 - Honey (30.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (40.0 grams)
 - Fish, herring, Atlantic, raw (82.0 grams)
 - Slow Cooked (481.0 grams)

 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (35.0 grams)
 - Orange juice, raw (243.0 grams)
 - Seeds, flaxseed (5.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (52.0 grams)
 - Honey (32.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (43.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (51.0 grams)
 - Honey (35.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (30.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (27.0 grams)
 - Slow Cooked (481.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (28.0 grams)
 - Honey (33.0 grams)
 - Egg, yolk, raw, fresh (33.0 grams)
 - Fish, herring, Atlantic, raw (92.0 grams)
 - My mayonnaisse (23.0 grams)

"My mayonnaise" I make myself by whisking, it's typically
* 3 egg yolks
* 150g coconut oil
* 250g red palm oil.
"Slow Cooked" is a mixture which I cooked four days ago, and in the end just divided an equal amount for each day. In total it is
* 280g rice
* 614g pork belly
* 315g chicken hearts
* 716g beef shank
This time I estimated it badly and it turned out too much meat, so I had more protein and less carbs each day. Usually it's not more than 1.2kg meat to the same amount rice.
Note that I eat those 481g in a 3-4 portions during the day.

Protein quality analysis below:

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 Amino acid   Amount (mg)   Relative   Normalized
--------------------------------------------------
   PHE+TYR       31403      1256.1        150.7 
       VAL       21669       833.4        100.0  *
       LYS       32291      1076.4        129.2 
       TRP        4602      1150.4        138.0 
       THR       17447      1163.1        139.6 
       MET       10198       980.6        117.7 
       CYS        5424      1322.8        158.7 
       HIS       11919      1191.9        143.0 
       LEU       33401       856.4        102.8 
       ILE       19654       982.7        117.9 

Protein quality: 77.1%

Some analysis below...

Calories I'm really surprised that I've been eating 3000 calories/day, it really doesn't feel like that much. Especially today I ate a lot, 3656 calories, and I literally didn't move from the chair the whole day. Incredible. I've no idea what the heck is going on, because I'm not gaining any weight and my base is supposed to be like 2400 calories/day or so. Maybe it's the honey that makes me this hungry.

Protein Clearly a bit much, I should eat less meat.
Carbs Can be a bit more, eating less meat will fix this.
Fiber 1g.. I don't know about this.. I'm putting a teaspoon of freshly ground flax seed in my orange juice.
Fat It's a lot. The omega3 to omega6 ratio is 1:4.5, but I don't consider this incredibly important. Cholesterol is sky high, 2.3g (~10 eggs + meat + fish). I'll know next week about the levels in my blood :)

By calories it's 16% protein, 21% carbs, 63% fat.

Vitamins All seems in range.
Minerals Too much iron, but I think the gut can reduce absorption rate so it should be fine.
What's bothering me is that magnesium is only 33% of the RDA.
Potassium is also lowish but I'm eating potassium salt (KCl) which is not calculated here.
Phosphorus is 242%, obviously my diet is pretty "acidic".
Zinc and selenium are really high, not sure if I should be concerned about this.

[RRM]

Regarding magnesium:

only 32% of the United States meet the RDA-DRI;

For more magnesium: juice bananas; its the most delicious way.
Zinc and selenium absorption rates are also readily adjusted.

[dime]

So I got the blood test results today.

Cholesterol is very much above the normal:
* LDL should be below 160, but is 290
* HDL there's only a lower limit of 40, and my value is 92 so that seems fine.
* Total should be below 240, mine is 395

Vitamin D is very much below the normal: 40.4 and should be above 100. Doesn't say what are the units, I guess nmol/L.

Everything else is fine: thyroid hormones, calcium, potassium, triglycerides is 60 (upper bound is 150), blood glucose is 98 (upper 110), etc.

The doctor is concerned about the cholesterol and wants to see me next week to advise about some diet to lower it down. I'm not clear yet if I should be concerned or not. But there has been a clear trend in the cholesterol rising, 4-5 years ago it was very normal, last year it was at the high end of normal, now it jumped abruptly to really high. Ironically, since 4-5 years ago my health and quality of life has drastically improved, following roughly the same trend of cholesterol rising (if I were to plot these two variables).. Also ironically I used to eat just as many eggs 4-5 years ago (typically 4-8 a day), only boiled, so I'm not inclined to think it's related to dietary cholesterol. But I was still a teenager then and I guess it was a whole different metabolism. I'm not even sure it's something related to my diet or way of life at all, maybe it's genetic.. my father has really high cholesterol, but also really high triglyceride levels. For now I think high cholesterol levels in my case may be due to a combination of high dietary cholesterol (> 2g/day), low fiber in diet (< 2-3g/day), and high amount of saturated fat (> 80g/day), or in general high fat (> 200g/day).

That vitamin D is so low doesn't really surprise me so much, because any exposure to sun immediately has very good effect on me and my allergy (or sensitivity to cold, I don't know what to call it). Vitamin D supplements don't have that effect though. According to some classification it's mild hypovitaminosis D. A study done over 5 years found that what is considered to be insufficient levels of vitamin D is not associated with any higher health risks. I'm getting enough from diet (typically 200-400 IU) which meets the RDA so I'm not incredibly concerned about it. Also

There is some disagreement concerning the exact levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D needed for good health. A level lower than 10 ng/mL (25 nmol/L) is associated with the most severe deficiency diseases: rickets in infants and children, and osteomalacia in adults. A concentration above 15 ng/ml (37.5 nmol/L) is generally considered adequate for those in good health. Levels above 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/L) are proposed by some as desirable for achieving optimum health, but there is not yet enough evidence to support this.[5][64][65]

Is it possible that there's a connection between high cholesterol and low vitamin D? Vitamin D is synthesized from cholesterol, so if less is made then more cholesterol is left unused in the blood? Just thinking aloud.

[RRM]

Cholesterol is very much above the normal:
* LDL should be below 160, but is 290
* HDL there's only a lower limit of 40, and my value is 92 so that seems fine.
* Total should be below 240, mine is 395

These are standards.
That does not mean that its an unhealthy situation for you.

maybe it's genetic.. my father has really high cholesterol

It usually is.
But again, that doesnt mean its unhealthy.
What are your triglyceride levels?

That vitamin D is so low doesn't really surprise me so much

Where do you live?
Mild hypovitaminosis D is quite normal.

Anything about the health of your arteries?
Precipitation in the arteries?

[dime]

Triglycerides is 60 (upper bound is 150).
I live in the north, about your latitude :) Not much sun in the past few weeks, so I guess lower vitamin D levels are normal.
I've no idea if they measured anything related to the arteries, everything else that's in the test is in the normal range.

[dime]

So it seems that the two things that have major effect on cholesterol levels are
* saturated fat - increases them
* soluble fiber - decreases, mainly by interfering with cholesterol's (re)absorption in the gut

I eat a lot of saturated fat, > 80g while recommended is something like 15-20g, and 0g soluble fiber while recommended is 30-40g of any fiber (no specific recommendation for soluble), so it's reasonable to say that these are the most significant factors in my high levels. I'm very curious why would saturated fat increase cholesterol levels, there must be some reasonable explanation. All I know is that saturated fat increases testosteron production, which requires cholesterol. Just read somewhere that saturated fat increases LDL because it increases the particles size.

Egg yolks have little effect, possibly increasing only HDL (which is supposed to be the good type). Not sure if this is the case when eating 10 eggs a day, most studies consider at most like 3-4 eggs. 1/3 of the population is considered to be "hyperresponders" to eggs, and in them both HDL and LDL rise with egg consumption. Egg yolks increase LDL particle size which is important, because bigger particles are less susceptible to oxidation.

There seems to be two theories

1. lipid theory, that connects elevated cholesterol levels in the blood to atherosclerosis and similar diseases. Apparently in any animal that was tested, elevating cholesterol levels sufficiently in some way resulted in atherosclerosis. The hypothesis is that this is caused mainly by damaged (oxidized and glycated) LDL. The PUFA membrane around LDL particles is prone to damage in relation to the time the particle spends in the blood, the more time it spends circulating around the higher the possibility that it will be messed up. However, to me this implies that cholesterol levels in the blood don't have much relation to this, but rather the rate at which cholesterol is utilized. You may have low levels in the blood, but if none is utilized then they just circulate around until they oxidize and the immune system takes them down (which contributes to atherosclerosis as I understood), and hopefully HDL removes the cholesterol from these LDL.

2. diet-heart theory, that connects diet (saturated fat, etc.) to heart disease, which many scientists seem to think is wrong and unproven.

[dime]

So I just checked, one year ago my total cholesterol was exactly 240, LDL/HDL wasn't measured.
It's amazing that it could just increase to 400 in one year.. triglycerides were exactly the same level though, 60.

5 years ago total cholesterol was 180, but triglycerides were at the high end - 140.

I think I'll just eat less eggs (3-5), and some whole fruits so that I get at least some fiber, and then go test again in half a year or so.

[dime]

Further link to hypercholesterolemia seems to be hypothyroidism; it seems that many people have corrected incredibly high LDL cholesterol by thyroid hormone therapy.

My TSH level is 2.3, and according to the reference range of 0.5-5 it seems pretty normal. However I read that experts are considering of narrowing this range to 0.4-3, or even 2.5. I'll ask my doctor if it's possible to test for T3/T4 levels. I've always had lower temp and cold hands/feet, so may be slightly hypothyroid, doesn't hurt to check.

I've never eaten much salt, but since 2-3 years ago I completely stopped eating iodized salt, so perhaps the lowered iodine intake has some connection. The RDA for iodine is 150mcg. According to

Seaweed (such as kelp, nori, kombu, and wakame) is one of the best food sources of iodine, but it is highly variable in its content (Table 2) [5]. Other good sources include seafood, dairy products (partly due to the use of iodine feed supplements and iodophor sanitizing agents in the dairy industry [8]), grain products, and eggs.

I'm not really getting much iodine from food, besides eggs.

In the European region included in WHO reports, 52% of the population has insufficient iodine intake and, according to UNICEF, only about 49% of households in Europe (outside of the Western European subregion) have access to iodized salt. Iodine insufficiency is also prevalent in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean WHO regions where rates of iodized salt use range from approximately 47% to 67% [3,36].