My path to a better lifestyle began after a doctor's physical three years ago. On the basis of a high cholesterol test, the doctor's office recommended medication. However, I held out for a dietary approach. A visit to the nutritionist and additional exercise didn't help much. Unfortunately nobody nobody provided a "recommended reading" list, and friends offered only scattered advice. This searching period lasted more than two years. My last pre-Zone cholesterol test occured a year and a half ago. I had just turned 50. The results: TC 241, TG 201, HDL 43, LDL 157 (TG/HDL 4.67) Six months later, I headed for the bookstore and started practicing the Zone diet haphazardly. Within two weeks, cholesterol levels showed dramatic improvement (results on old forum). The immediate improvements encouraged me to take the Zone food block system seriously. After one full year of Zoning the following results came in: TC 170, TG 31, HDL 53, LDL 111 (TG/HDL 0.59) These statistics to show 1) reduction of cholesterol levels through lifestyle change, without medication, and 2) TG/HDL ratio going from "diseased" to better than "ideal" (see the Zone books describing this indirect marker of insulin and eiconsanoid status). Dietary and exercise notes: 2 pharmaceutical grade fish oil capsules daily, along with the vitamin supplements recommended in a Week in the Zone. Food included homemade lemon-limeaid with Stevia, seasonal fruit, whey mixed in low-fat milk or soy milk, oatmeal with bran added, and fish. Exercising at least 20 minutes twice a day - calisthenics, light handweights, walking, and tennis. Other notes: Waist has gone from 35 inches to under 31 inches. Body fat under 10%. About 7 hours sleep now, compared to 8 hours previously. Besides offering encouraging reasons to consider the Zone, these results serve as a challenge :o to Zone skeptics. Post your own cholesterol profile to show the benefits of the lifestyle that you promote! Thank you Barry Sears for publishing the Zone dietary technology. :D Charlie Duane

[quote:eb97ac5708="cduane"]My path to a better lifestyle began after a doctor's physical three years ago. After one full year of Zoning the following results came in: TC 170, TG 31, HDL 53, LDL 111 (TG/HDL 0.59) Thank you Barry Sears for publishing the Zone dietary technology. :D Charlie Duane[/quote:eb97ac5708] CUDO's! Charlie. (p.s. After 3 month's my TC went from 284 to 204, with little to no aditional exercise.) Now with 5 month's behind me, and some exercise added, will check and hope for better results in a couple of month's.)

WOW!! This is what keeps us here at the Zone confident. Your results are amazing. This is truly a great testimonial. Keep up the great work, and thanks for posting your results. :lol:

Hi, Excellent results! Keep up the good work. :D You'll be amazed at how great you'll still feel after a number of years in the Zone. I've experienced a major weight loss along with excellent results in my lipid profile and blood pressure, but most of all I'm awed by the strenght,energy, and stamina I now have thanks to the Zone. Sue

Congrats Charlie-- The personal responsibility you have taken for your health and the integrity with which you contribute to this forum are simply first class. btw, nice website. I'll have to browse around for when I make that sailboat purchase of mine!

[quote:1e3cf36d13="cduane"], oatmeal with bran added, and fish. Charlie Duane[/quote:1e3cf36d13] What is bran?

what is bran? "The broken coat of the seed of cereal grain separated from the flour or meal by sifting or bolting" in short, fiber. Charlie

[quote:ef5b431a85="cduane"]what is bran? "The broken coat of the seed of cereal grain separated from the flour or meal by sifting or bolting" in short, fiber. Charlie[/quote:ef5b431a85] [color=darkred:ef5b431a85][b:ef5b431a85] What specific kind of bran do you add to your oatmeal; [i:ef5b431a85]wheat bran, rice bran, oat bran, instant, or cooked[/i:ef5b431a85] or what and how much and what brand?[/b:ef5b431a85][/color:ef5b431a85]

The specific kind of bran I picked up some wheat germ at the health food store, in small bag with a twisty. I often have about a cup (cooked) of oatmeal, with 2 or 3 teaspoons of bran added at the end of cooking. I got that kind because it was the cheapest. I've been trying it since mid-summer, and rather like the crunchy texture. Also, I like the powdered herb Stevia for sweetener. Charlie

You can see the difference between wheat bran & wheat germ. These are insoluble fibers which Dr.Sears does not elaborate on as he does soluble fiber. The usual recommendation for fiber is somewhere around 20g/day. 3 rounded table teaspoons amounts to about 3g. [url=http://www.wheatfoods.org/grain_info/fiber.html]GO TO Wheat Foods Council[/url] [img:6f07e5862d]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/p7813a492b34b1c07f4629056f0eacbf2/fb181499.jpg[/img:6f07e5862d]

[u:cf35154928]Quick Reference Sheet[/u:cf35154928] Here's a tip that worked for me, that I haven't seen mentioned. I put all the favorable macronutrients on one page of paper and all the unfavorable on another, then posted them for reference above the stove. I did this by photocopying the lists at the back of A Week in the Zone, the ones which show how much of each macronutrient equals a block. Then I cut and pasted the photocopies onto 2 big sheets and reduced them on the photocopier. This summary can also be copied onto both sides of one sheet. In the beginning, I carried the quick reference sheet around with me. Now, I might look at the wall version once or twice a week. Balancing macronutrients "on the fly" has become easy for me. I simply look for low-fat protein. Then I look for a suitable amount of favorable carbs, prefering low-glycemic vegetables and fruits. To get my healthy fat, I might have some olive oil with the veggies or almond butter on a half piece of toast. If your metabolism is different than mine, you can read "Mastering the Zone" to find your own ratio of macronutrients. Hoping that these additional details offer encouragement to someone, Charlie

[quote:03f96709dd]<<3 rounded table teaspoons amounts to about 3g.>> Do you mean rounded tablespoons or teaspoons? When I added 2 or 3 teaspoons of wheat bran to my oatmeal, I simply assumed I was getting a little more roughage. I included the information as an anecdotal footnote. [/quote:03f96709dd] [color=darkred:03f96709dd][b:03f96709dd]Not tablespoons! I repeat, teaspoons![/b:03f96709dd][/color:03f96709dd] [url=http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/Brans/wheatgerm.html][color=red:03f96709dd][b:03f96709dd]Take a look at the NUTRITIONAL INFO OF WHEAT GERM AT THIS SITE = (3.8g per 1/4 cup)[/color:03f96709dd][/b:03f96709dd][/url][color=darkred:03f96709dd][b:03f96709dd] This brand of wheat germ has less insoluble fiber than what I originally posted. No, you are not getting very much roughage with the wheat germ you are adding. Personally I concentrate on soluble fiber like psyllium husk and ignore insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber adds roughage, creates good stools, slows the absorption of insulin stimulating carbs, lots of good things.[/color:03f96709dd] [color=darkblue:03f96709dd] (it is much better to have bowel movements 2 or 3 times a day than just once and soluble fiber can do this for you)[/color:03f96709dd][color=darkred:03f96709dd] I buy large containers at the drug store, house brand version of Metamucil, mix with water before eating.[/color:03f96709dd][/b:03f96709dd]

Hi, It's always been my understanding that wheat germ is consumed primarily for it's vitamins and oil, not really for fiber. Although you would have to check further into this (I haven't checked my references before composing this post) I am almost certain that the oil in wheat germ is predominately polyunsaturated omega 6 fat, not a fat we would be wishing to supplement our Zone lifestyle with :? , but rather one we need only in very small amounts and which we already get plenty of from the Zone favorable foods we eat. Sue

[quote:bba631b86d="Slknorr"]Hi, It's always been my understanding that wheat germ is consumed primarily for it's vitamins and oil, not really for fiber. Although you would have to check further into this (I haven't checked my references before composing this post) I am almost certain that the oil in wheat germ is predominately polyunsaturated omega 6 fat, not a fat we would be wishing to supplement our Zone lifestyle with :? , but rather one we need only in very small amounts and which we already get plenty of from the Zone favorable foods we eat. Sue[/quote:bba631b86d] [color=blue:bba631b86d][b:bba631b86d]All the lnfo about wheat germ oil (without added ingredients) is similar to this NOW brand. Not Omega6 but rather Omega3 and Vitamin E and Octacosanol, an alcohol fatty acid which you can read about [url=http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Supplements/Octacosanol.html]HERE[/url][/color:bba631b86d][/b:bba631b86d] [img:bba631b86d]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/p85532773eb9894f1514a3bdae089dc30/fb1228a4.jpg[/img:bba631b86d]

Hi, According to the info on the label in your post, 1/4 the fat in wheat germ oil is saturated, 1/2 polyunsaturated, and 1/4 monounsaturated. That info tells me that the predominant fat in wheat germ oil is Omega 6, as I suspected. Sue

[quote:cf8aa2a91e="Slknorr"]Hi, According to the info on the label in your post, 1/4 the fat in wheat germ oil is saturated, 1/2 polyunsaturated, and 1/4 monounsaturated. That info tells me that the predominant fat in wheat germ oil is Omega 6, as I suspected. Sue[/quote:cf8aa2a91e] How do you account for the Octacosanol fat? Where does this fat fit in? How can you be sure there is any Omega6 at all? Don't you suspect some of the 2g is E fat? There is no mention of Omega6 and until you show me, not guess, that there is Omega6, I can't suspect there is any. There is, to be sure, Vitamin E, Omega3 and Octacosanol fat. I don't see any Omega6. Moreover, why suspect Omega6? Why not suspect Omega9? Wouldn't this also be a possiblilty to suspect instead of Omega6? It is your perrogative not to eat wheat germ because you suspect Omega6 but I hope others do not respect your suspect guess to decide to not eat wheat germ and actually search and find whether it does or not insead of just do nothing but suspect.

According to Fineli (Finnish nutritional info www-page), wheat germ contains 3.825 mg Linoleic acid (LA, Omega-6) and 568 mg Alfalinoleic acid (ALA, Omega-3) (/100g). :roll:

[quote:aac3c5cf6c="BARMANsk"]According to Fineli (Finnish nutritional info www-page), wheat germ contains 3.825 mg Linoleic acid (LA, Omega-6) and 568 mg Alfalinoleic acid (ALA, Omega-3) (/100g). :roll:[/quote:aac3c5cf6c] and Sue said [quote:aac3c5cf6c]According to the info on the label in your post, 1/4 the fat in wheat germ oil is saturated, 1/2 polyunsaturated, and 1/4 monounsaturated. That info tells me that the predominant fat in wheat germ oil is Omega 6, as I suspected. [/quote:aac3c5cf6c] [color=darkred:aac3c5cf6c][b:aac3c5cf6c]I would say 568mg Omega3 is predominant over 3mg Omega6, wouldn't you?[/b:aac3c5cf6c][/color:aac3c5cf6c] Thanks, BARMANsk for submitting evidence, which is always better than guessing.

[quote="discombobulated" [color=darkred:d8383d6649][b:d8383d6649]I would say 568mg Omega3 is predominant over 3mg Omega6, wouldn't you?[/b:d8383d6649][/color:d8383d6649][/quote] Hi, Yes, I would. As I psoted in the first place I was not sure about it. Also, if you were speculating in your previous post that I don't eat wheat germ, you're mistaken. Sue

I wrote earlier that wheat germ contains 3.825 mg Linoleic acid (LA, Omega-6) and 568 mg Alfalinoleic acid (ALA, Omega-3) (/100g). Sorry, it should be 3,825mg, that is, more than three grams, of LA.( I accidently wrote 3.825 because in Finland we separate thousands with a dot, not with a comma.) :oops: Hope it is clear, now... :?

[quote:936d9afc0c="BARMANsk"]I wrote earlier that wheat germ contains 3.825 mg Linoleic acid (LA, Omega-6) and 568 mg Alfalinoleic acid (ALA, Omega-3) (/100g). Sorry, it should be 3,825mg, that is, more than three grams, of LA.( I accidently wrote 3.825 because in Finland we separate thousands with a dot, not with a comma.) :oops: Hope it is clear, now... :?[/quote:936d9afc0c] Hi, Thanks for clearing that up Satu. 8) I wondered why your post had differred so much from the label posted by discombobulated (on which it showed half of the fat in wheat germ oil to be polyunsaturated, which is omega6). It appears my "general knowledge" regarding the subject is correct after all. Sue

[quote:9aa5b41e7a="cduane"]My path to a better lifestyle began after a doctor's physical three years ago. My last pre-Zone cholesterol test occured a year and a half ago. I had just turned 50. The results: TC 241, TG 201, HDL 43, LDL 157 (TG/HDL 4.67) Six months later, I headed for the bookstore and started practicing the Zone diet haphazardly. Within two weeks, cholesterol levels showed dramatic improvement (results on old forum). The immediate improvements encouraged me to take the Zone food block system seriously. After one full year of Zoning the following results came in: TC 170, TG 31, HDL 53, LDL 111 (TG/HDL 0.59)[/quote:9aa5b41e7a] Charlie: My belated congratulations to you in public. I am glad that you got the breakdown :) It is amazing how low your triglycerides have dropped which is an indication you are controlling your insulin levels through carb intake. I am very pleased to see your HDL has increased while your LDL decreased.

Polyunsaturated fats can be omega 3, 6 or 9, depending on the number and placement of double bonds between the carbon atoms, as opposed to saturated fats, which contain no double bonds.

[quote:49bcc65857="Scott"]Polyunsaturated fats can be omega 3, 6 or 9, depending on the number and placement of double bonds between the carbon atoms, as opposed to saturated fats, which contain no double bonds.[/quote:49bcc65857] Hi Scott, Thanks for the little "refresher course". (I need it!) :) Sue