Back before the Government-Industrial Food Complex took over, and issued the food pyramid with grains at the base. Back before the flawed study of Ansel Keyes targeted dietary fat. Back before almost everything was drenched in sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
Go back to when people ate 2 or 3 meals a day and didn't snack all the time. Back to when it was ok to skip breakfast if you weren't hungry-back before that was declared unhealthy, because breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
The best indicator of heart health is the ratio of Triglycerides to HDL (the “good” cholesterol). Triglycerides go up with the ingestion of sugar, starches, and refined foods, so stop eating that stuff to bring the TG levels down.
Also give yourself plenty of time between meals to let your insulin levels go down. Consistently high insulin levels will make you hungry and your % of body fat will go up.
HDL goes up with addition of fat-including saturated fat. Avoid margarine, vegetable oils such as corn oil, and soybean oil. Try to avoid additives/preservatives such as nitrates. Instead eat real food-Butter, Olive Oil, Cream, Whole Milk, Cheese, Bacon, Eggs, Meat, Almonds and other nuts.
Vitamin K2 is very important to get calcium into your bones, and not deposited in your blood vessels. It is a fat soluble vitamin found in the fat of animals-not the feed lot grain eating ones, but the ones that graze on grass, for example. Eggs, from pastured chickens, butter from grass fed cows. Also certain cheeses such as Gouda. Natto is the best source, but it is slimy and smells like dirty socks.
It is an essential vitamin that works in combination with several others important to healthy bones. It is quite low in most American’s food supply.
Any way that's what I did, when my cardiologist suggested statins. In one month's time, all my lipid numbers went from high to normal. I told the Dr. that I threw the USDA pyramid, and Am. Heart Assoc. diets out the window. He said whatever you are doing keep it up.
If you want your HDL to go up dramatically, take Niacin.
If you want to lower Triglycerides, lower your alcohol use.
I’m with ya on those real foods thing you mentioned, I love them all, and indulge. My BP just measured is 124 over 75 with a heart rate of 64. Best of both worlds, and I’m full of beer. Mother was nuts for that Weight Watchers crap, and I’d bet that stuff played a role in her early exit @ 66 YO. She also smoked...