Mitochondria.

Snowbird Just happened to see a vid on MitoQ today.  I have some problems with meds and supplements because I swallow no pills whole.  Must crush, open, mix into stuff, use liquids and chewables and powders, etc.  I will be able to do more after I move and when people travel, do they carry along all the supplements, stevia packets, etc?   Maybe that's why there are so few other female life extensionists -- maybe they wonder how they will manage all the cosmetics PLUS the life extension stuff!  

USA2Elsewhere Hi USA2Elsewhere! Yes, black coffee is a little hard getting used to. What I do to lessen the bitterness is to make it into "Bullet Proof Coffee". You can Google it on-line. I found it on YouTube.com one day where they show how to make it yourself, rather than buying the pre-made Bullet Proof Coffe product.

Actually making it yourself is simple. Just buy a 16 oz. container of  "MCT oil" (medium chain trycglycerides) sold at your local Health Food Store. I like the "Garden of Life" brand as it is organic and is made from !00% coconut oil with no substitue palm oil.

All I do is add approx. 2 tablespoons of MCT oil and one teaspoon of real butter (Ghee or KellyGold) into the hot cup of coffee (decalf or regular) and that's it! It is Keto and the medium chain tryglycerides go directly to your Mitochondria to be used as energy! It is an energy booster but I don't know why it got the name "Bullet Proof Coffee". Maybe it has something to do with Superman & Superwoman reflecting bullets? The added real butter also helps curb your appetite, and those drinking regular coffee, it makes the caffeine last longer (as seen on the Dr.Oz show). Going into a restaurant I don't know if they have "real" butter or magarine, so I only bring a small squeeze container of MCT oil with me, and just use that. It helps take away the bitterness.

I did not know you had to crush your pills. Life sometimes throws us different challenges. I thought I was doing fine until one day 15 years ago I had a heart attack. I immediately became Vegetarian but little did I know that eating less healty fats and more carbs could have put me on the path to another one! I now realize it is not fats that make people ill, it is the Western style of high carb diets mixed with fats.

I think MitoQ is a liquid in a small round capsule. It uses salts to get the CoQ10 into the mitochondria, so I don't think it can be crushed to be effective. I just received my Life Extension Foundation magazine explaining their new products and scientific research behind them. They did mention about taking the bioactive form of B6 (piridoxal 5' -phosphate) along with CoQ10 to help boost cardiac protection. They worked together.  I do not know though if there is a crushable or powder CoQ10.  On the other hand, if you are not on a statin drug to lower LDL's (surprisingly doctors now say HDL cholesterol is good for you!) you don't have to worry about losing CoQ10 caused by the statin drug. And if you are not ingesting sugar, the cause of LDL's, you don't have to worry about your doctor saying your LDL's are too high and he needs to put you on a statin drug! The benefits of eating a no-sugar diet are many! The hardest part is the first couple of weeks trying to get off of the addictive sugar!

USA2Elsewhere 

Hi USAElsewhere. You asked if when people travel, do they carry along all the supplements, etc.  Fortunately when I travel from Connecticut to Florida for the winter, I travel in a motorhome. My supplements stay in my motorhome because I am a full-time RV'er. My wife and I did have a home in Connecticut where I would have to move my supplements from the motorhome to the house, but a year ago I left my motorhome in Florida and flew back with my wife to Connecticut. My wife, however, died on the plane. She was overweight, diabetic and had COPD, but never smoked (second-hand smoke from helping clients in a State Psychiatric Hospital). I also worked with clients but the second-hand smoke did not affect me. I have since sold the home in Connecticut and I now live full-time in my motorhome. I wish we knew then about new information coming out on how the body can burn fat rather than sugar. She was always afraid, because of her poor functioning pancreas, that she needed carbs daily so her sugar levels would not go too low. All these new no-sugar diets (Pegan, Whole30, Ketogenic) came a year too late. I feel with close monitoring on gradually decreasing carbs/sugar, by a doctor like Dr. Mark Hyman, the Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine (who recently authored the book, "Eat Fat, Get Thin"), she may have lost weight, overcome her diabetes, and still be here. 

Snowbird Hi Snowbird, 

I'm curious: what are your cholesterol levels, if you don't mind sharing? 

I was on a strict ketogenic diet for 6 months, and my cholesterol levels went astronomically high (LDL of 195, total cholesterol 285). I made some alterations shown to lower LDL, but still stayed on a ketogenic diet, but my LDL was still very high (~150 mg/dL). 

Personally, I suspect the ketogenic, Bulletproof, and high-fat Paleo diets are taking people to an early death by heart disease, because they can raise cholesterol very much for some people. 

Maximus 

Hi Maximus,
Here are my LDL results (I started my no-sugar diet as a January 2018 New Years Resolution). In 2017 I tried to eat more healthy foods, hence the possible Total C in range:

                  LDL   Total C
11/22/17    136        140   (weighed 235 lbs)
  1/26/18      53        127
  4/20/18      52        128
  7/24/18      58        140   (now weigh 167 lbs)
As you see, my LDL’s dropped in half after starting a no-sugar diet.

I hope the Rescue Elders Forum Readers don’t take your statement that the Ketogenic Diet is dangerous as Gospel.  A couple of years ago people were saying eating eggs were dangerous, and now they are healthy (HDL cholesterol). Scientific facts and proof by independent lab studies (not hired by food companies) are more reliable, they are ongoing, and they do change public opinion.

Did you lose weight on your strict ketogenic diet? If you were on a strict
ketogenic diet (very very little, or no carbs at all) you would be in ketosis all the time and would have lost over 100 lbs during the 6 months! If not I would guess that your high LDL’s could either be sugars/carbs (maybe hidden) in your meals enough to raise your LDL’s, or your fasting lab work picked up the LDL’s in your bloodstream, from the stored fats 
that were being removed. The latter would only be temporary as you lost more and more weight, so I am guessing that you may have eaten the wrong carbs with your meals that increased the LDL. The wrong carbs eaten during a ketogenic meal will increase insulin and stop the fat burning process, and instead cause fat to be stored, not only on the waistline but also in the arteries. Also it has now been found that eating too much meat (too high of protein) can also sabatage a ketogenic diet. Are you diabetic? That will complicate the diet and lack of weight loss. Plus if you are diabetic, your diet should be followed closely by a doctor.

 Many people remember the old “Atkins diet” where people claimed they gobbled (pun) lots and lots of meat and lost weight. And many remember that the diet went sour when lots of people got heart disease as you had stated. There were many reasons for this. People on the Atkins diet
were not educated as to how the body processess fats and glucose and there was not a lot of information out there about it at that time. They only new that they were losing weight. Many cheated and had sweets with their meals and many ate hidden sugars. Cows fed grains to fatten them up, pass those hidden sugars on to humans that eat the meat. Some vegetables (like corn) are high on the glycemic list.

 The new Ketogenic diet recommends only a very small portion of meat (protein) and the rest of your plate should be low-glycemic vegetables.

  Readers of the Rescue Elders Forum should do more research to educate themselves on the Ketogenic Diet rather than getting only bits and pieces and testimonials from these pages. That is exactly what happened with the Atkins Diet when people thought all they had to do was to only eat meat. 

I have summarized some of what I am doing on this diet. There is a lot more to it, a lot more information, that could make these pages look like a book with scientific footnotes! I don’t want to do that but I wanted the Rescue Elders Forum Readers find out more of what has helped me from what I have read and researched on-line.

I have mentioned about Dr. Mark Hyman and his book, “Eat Fat, Get Thin”, with detailed information on the right types of foods to eat, and why, and that he adds scientific footnotes. I would suggest Rescue Elders Forum Readers get this book (sold cheap at www.thriftbooks.com) and read this no-sugar diet book to discuss it here, and how it would, or would not, help them. He has been treating patients directly and making them well for many years. You can also go to www.youtube.com and type in Mark Hyman M.D., to see a lot of his lectures.

I think Rescue Elders Forum Readers reading Dr. Mark Hymans book, will be better than me spouting off pages from his book from memory. Information coming from a doctor that made10 times on the best seller book list will be more credible than me.

Sorry about all my lengthy comments.

Snowbird Hi Snowbird, 

Thanks for sharing your cholesterol numbers. Based on them, I see you've had some remarkable success with that diet, so it makes sense why you would recommend it so strongly. 

Unfortunately, it seems that the diet may not offer the same benefits to everyone. I am actually a fairly meticulous biochemist and longevity researcher. I am certainly not diabetic, and losing 100 lbs is not an option for me (I only weighed 170 at the time of my 6-month ketogenic diet experiment). Like a good scientist, I religiously weighed and tracked my food intake, measured my urine and blood ketones, and had my cholesterol numbers assessed (along with many others). I was successfully and consistently on a ketogenic diet. However, even with this diligence, the ketogenic diet, whether high or low in saturated fat, caused my LDL cholesterol to be unacceptably high (LDL-C of 150-200 mg/dL; total cholesterol nearly 280 mg/dL). It is for this reason that I emphasize caution to those considering the ketogenic diet. Note, in contrast, that I'm currently on a very high carb diet (which includes oats, barley, beans, fruit, honey, and maple syrup), and I don't gain weight, my insulin sensitivity is very good, and my LDL has been between 60 and 80 (total cholesterol between 95 and 120 mg/dL). 

It seems that different diets may be optimal for different people. 

Now, I'm not saying a ketogenic diet is necessarily bad. Actually, as someone who is finishing up writing a book about insulin sensitivity management, I might recommend a ketogenic diet in some circumstances, because it can be very effective in reversing insulin resistance. But I emphasize that some people, such as myself, will experience what may be negative effects of that diet. I recommend all people on a ketogenic diet test their cholesterol numbers before and during, to assess whether they are one of these "high-LDL responders". You tested your numbers, and it looks like the results are quite good. Congratulations! 

Were you aware that some people can respond with unusually high LDL cholesterol on a ketogenic diet? A balanced, though lengthy, discussion on the topic can be found here: https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/high-cholesterol-on-a-keto-diet-should-you-be-concerned

Snowbird It does make it extra sad that your wife came so close to knowing about these diets, at least to try.  Death truly is the worst thing that happens, which is why I'm a life extensionist, as it's not easy for me.  Could the flying have had anything to do with it?  I've been wondering if flying affects people more negatively than current science has any idea of.

Maximus Wow, well I'd be worried for myself too, so now I'm glad I decided to move towards keto very gradually, for now reducing potatoes and corn, which was a big part of what I had been eating, reducing dairy, and low fat dairy was also a big part of my diet -- at least twice weekly eating organic Greek yogurt combined with organic flavorings, nuts, sugar free dark chocolate and stevia/monkfruit.  I thought it was a healthier version of the Chobani peach and pistachio "flips"  (very surprised to find the dairy is unhealthy) and reducing most of the added sugar and added salt.  I read that everyone with any concern about diabetes (virtually everyone with any risk factors for it)  should have maximum of 15 grams of added sugar daily.  I'm pretty close to at least that now.  I know from labels that at least for me, and I think I'm fairly typical, that 15 grams daily added sugar is more than a tiny bit, but if you're used to even one huge cupful size scoop of any brand of regular ice cream, 15 grams is difficult.  Once I get my next blood work done and talk about the keto diets to my doctor, with his go-ahead I can make it more restrictive.  So I'm working on all aspects of the keto diet plus trying to limit added sodium and toxins.  So I hope this is a substantial improvement but not too much, considering I may be overdue for blood work.  I think I may need a new doctor who is more gung-ho life extension.

Snowbird I really don't see how I could feel satiated eating nothing but (no potato) "produce" and a small amount of meats and seafood plus some seasonings.  Maybe it's possible for someone with a substantial appetite for the old fashioned food groups -- fats, carbs, proteins (healthy ones only) by doing it gradually, since I've heard that sticking with the diet really removes the cravings for the bad stuff, especially carbs.

Snowbird I hit "reply" in my email and I scrolled down a little.  So...I always see ghee and remember my old boyfriend was always into health even at 18 in the mid 1970's.  The idea of just the fat in butter was always kind of sickening to me  LOL!  Now it's sounding appealing enough to try.  Is there a brand that' seems less fatty than the others?  :)  I do like the buttery taste and I assume the ghee will do the job if it's an easy opportunity to cut down on the dairy.  Is it more important to cut down the carbs than the dairy?  

Snowbird Yeah, I heard of bullet proof coffee and unsure what that name means but thought probably the same as you do.

USA2Elsewhere 

Yes, flying did have a contibuting factor. My wife did have COPD. Later I saw on a TV show on traveling on airplanes that since the planes are flying high where there hardly any oxygen, the planes pump oxygen into the cabin. However, they only pump a minimal amount, making it difficult breathing for someone that has COPD. 

USA2Elsewhere 

I did start out the first couple of weeks eating more healthy fats. After that initial time where my body coverted to burning fats instead of sugars I no longer had sugar cravings. At that time a big salad with organic first-cold pressed olive oil with a couple of strips of free range chicken made me feel full.

USA2Elsewhere 

Yes. I stay away from dairy but still use Ghee as it has no carbs.  When I'm driving and I see a Dairy Queen or someone walking around with a soft-serve ice cream I say, "I wish I could eat one of those!" I love soft serve ice-cream! But I catch myself and think about the ingredients and what it would do to me. And if I have just one, I know I will later be buying more. Candy, pastry and other sweets I can pass by. You could say I'm a reformed ice-cream-aholic and I don't want to go back there!

USA2Elsewhere 

This is from the Life Health Whole30 Survival Newsletter:

So what's the deal with ghee anyway?

Ghee is a type of clarified butter (aka, butter that has had the milk solids and water removed from it). Since the milk solids are removed, ghee is dairy free and Whole30 compliant!
Ghee is kind of weird, we know. Most folks have a fair number of questions behind the science of ghee, where to buy compliant ghee, and - for those who love the DIY route - how to make your own ghee at home!

We're answering all these questions and more in our ultimate ghee guide - check it out!

https://lifehealthhq.com/whole30-ghee/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=whats_the_deal_with_ghee_anyway&utm_term=2018-08-21

Snowbird In restaurants, I've had clarified butter, especially on lobster tail, which I loved but I have not seen it on menus in many years and the melted butter since then always looked a little whitish.  I didn't yet read the link but will now.  Wondering if it will tell me the difference between clarified butter and ghee.

USA2Elsewhere 

This is from the Life Health Whole30 Survival Newsletter:

So what's the deal with ghee anyway?

Ghee is a type of clarified butter (aka, butter that has had the milk solids and water removed from it). Since the milk solids are removed, ghee is dairy free and Whole30 compliant!
Ghee is kind of weird, we know. Most folks have a fair number of questions behind the science of ghee, where to buy compliant ghee, and - for those who love the DIY route - how to make your own ghee at home!

We're answering all these questions and more in our ultimate ghee guide - check it out!

https://lifehealthhq.com/whole30-ghee/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=whats_the_deal_with_ghee_anyway&utm_term=2018-08-21

Snowbird Seems that ghee has additional spices and also always unsalted accd to the info in the link.  I'm wondering how it tastes as the clarified butter I've had only on seafood.  I used to go to the summer ice cream places about every 2 weeks but this spring and summer 3 times total and I always get the smallest size.  Same thing last year and so far I haven't felt deprived.  I still am at the stage where If I say I can never take in a serving, it would seem sort of "scary".  I really can't come up with the right word.  Haha!

USA2Elsewhere When I see ice cream, pastries in the grocery store and candies at the checkout line I remind myself how addicted I was, along with many others are still, to sugar. It is really an addiction, but unlike cocaine, it has the approval and blessings of the Food Industry and the FDA. It's dangers are kept a secret by powerful corporations and corporate-paid scientists say it is not that harmful. 

Many people do not beleive that. If you ever get to watch the documentary called, "Fed Up" (It is sold as a DVD but you can watch a lot of it on www.youtube.com by just typing Fed Up. The part that struck me was the mice experient where they put cocaine in a bottle the rats's cage, then took the cocaine out and put sugar in a bottle in the rats's cage then took it out. Then they put both the bottles of cocaine and sugar in the cage, and the rats perferred the sugar over the cocaine! Another more convincing test was where scientists watched which parts of a human brain lit up. They found out that the same parts of the brain lit up while the patient had cocaine or sugar! Sometimes I feel like I'm in the old movie, "The invasion of the Body Snatchers" warning everyone of the aliens, but instead warning others of the Food Industry and their self-serving quest for more profits.

One part of me says, "Save yourself for now, and later others will someday uncover the Food Industry's real motives of putting sugar in everything, and live longer, things will gradually change". The other part sees what people are unconsciously doing to themselves right now, as I was one of them, and going down a path of obesity, illness, medical bills, and suffering. Symptoms are usally treated but not the real cause. Am I odd for giving out little toys to kids on Halloween rather than candy? Some parents may think I am, but the kids seemed to like the toy instead of just another candy! 

USA2Elsewhere  Here is a YouTube trailer to the Fed Up documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCUbvOwwfWM

 I think to watch the entire movie it has to be bought.

Snowbird I haven't been online as much because my mom had a tooth with the artificial crown break off, leaving only the root.  She's seen 3 dentists so far and ready to make an appointment with still another.  Also I went to the doctor about the swelling I have on my ankles.  It's not all around the ankle, but mainly between the ankle bone and achilles tendon.  In the past, I never appreciated that nice recessed, concave, firm area until mine swelled up even beyond where the foot sole starts.  The doctor told me about 6 months ago "That's just from your BP meds" and that there is also broken blood vessels there.  This time (I was going for a hep C test, which turned our normal), I mentioned that the swelling couldn't be good over the long haul and that I'm a life extensionist.  He asked me if I want Lasix.  I assumed it's a diuretic so I just shrugged.  How the heck would I know what I need?  The swelling issue was still somewhat of a mystery to me.  So after two weeks of trying to get my questions answered about the Lasix plus the change from Lotrel 10/20 to 5/10, I started the new meds yesterday.  The Lasix is 20 mg daily for a month and the pharmacist said I should see the swelling improve within a few days.  It's day 2 and nothing yet, but 20mg is supposed to be a very low dose.  

About 15 years ago, I went to a natural gyn doctor about my huge uterine fibroids, desperate to avoid a procedure for them.  She told me to limit animal products, eat plenty of fiber, etc. to lower the estrogen.  I still have not had a procedure and my new gyn told me they are there but no longer an issue.  That put me on the road to spending $100/mo. on supplements and "fibroid foods", and before that I rarely went to a health food store.  Since then, almost everything at a regular supermarket looks like poison.  I see mostly what I call "a bunch of junk".  As the health experts have said, shop around the perimeter of the store, which is where I spend most of the time, except for the coffee/tea and baking aisle and a little in the cereal aisle for low sugar granola and the occasional nutrition bar to try.  (Have looked a little for the keto bar but haven't yet found any sold individually.)  A little in the chip aisle for some multi grain pretzels and sweet potato chips.  Now that I've learned more about how to eat not only for fibroids but for life extension, the supermarket has become even more of a haven for toxins and I've come to hate regular supermarkets.  We have one here called Wegman's which is a combo of a regular supermarket and health food store which is very close to home and I shop there regularly and often.   I will check out "Fed Up" and yes I still like sweets, although I'm going better with them than I ever did.  My doctor is leaving in December.  He hasn't been himself since his parents deanimated (I do like that word) so I don't expect any blood testing until I have a new doc.  Hopefully by then I'll also have a new home (more suitable area to my liking).  I've noticed they're gradually lowering added sugar to ice cream and other frozen sweets, but this is very recent.   For a long time they've gradually lowered the salt content of frozen meals, which I need to eat once in a while because of my back.  Also they are making more with organic ingredients, paper bowls instead of plastic to microwave, etc.   I'll get to your other emails when I can.  

Snowbird thanks. Maybe the movie's for rent or sale on cable.

USA2Elsewhere It's an  "Amazon's Choice" with a 4 1/2 star rating, for only $ 6.71now!:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fed+up+dvd&sprefix=Fed+Up+DVD%2Caps%2C177&crid=2GTWB43ZT5J2M

USA2Elsewhere  Swelling in the legs is either one of two things: inflammation or retaining water. I would agree with your doctor about your retaining water. He suggested lasix, a diuretic, which is good to get rid of the excess water/swelling but it's not the cause. Consuming excess sodium is usually the cause as your body cannot get rid of it all. Lasix is good temporarily to get rid of sodium and decrease the swelling, but long term use also gets rid of other minerals too, not just the sodium. So you would have to replenish those. Treating the cause would be to check what your eating and cut back on the sodium.

To be honest, I am  not familiar with Fibroids and how to shrink them. I would suggest doing a lot of on-line searches for the latest medical and natural treatments. I know you have found some about "Fibroid Foods" but maybe searching as to the "cause" (why firoids appear) may lead to how to get rid of them. Also getting a second opinion from another doctor would not hurt. It is always good to get a second opinion when a person is confronted with a major medical problem. The new doctor can verify what the other doctor suggests, or you could learn a different treatment technique from the new doctor. Your moving is a good opportunity to get a second opinion.

USA2Elsewhere Some BP meds can interfere with your bodys pumping mechanism (balancing your sodium and potassium). Another reason to cut back on sodium intake. I have read on-line where sugar also has an effect on the sodium/potassium pumping mechanism but I did not copy the scientific article and cannot recall all the details. I do know though, that I was highly salt sensitive (mentioned this in a previous post) where my BP would go sky-high if I had salted potato chips, etc. But once I went on a no-sugar diet, my salt sensitivity disappeared. But this is not to say having no sugar in a diet will get rid of salt sensitivity for everyone (disclaimer).