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Messages - Dag

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31
A few months ago, I started an experiment to get my lipid panel numbers down into the conventional "normal" range so as to ensure I get a preferred premium rate on my life insurance.

I've been strict keto for about 2 years now. My lipid panel numbers show high LDL : that is, I'm a Lean Mass Hyperresponder with a very high LDL and total cholesterol -- most physicians would consider me high risk and put me on a statin. I take no prescription medicines.

But I have a life insurance policy that is about to expire; I need to apply for a new one, and I'll need a physical examination including blood and urine testing.

If I maintain a lipid profile as it was when on ketogenic high fat and  <20 grams of carbohydrates per day for the life insurance physical, I suspect ketogenic-induced lipid numbers will put me into a "high risk" category and increase my insurance premium rates.

Via Google Scholar, I researched every food or supplement that lowers cholesterol and introduced them into my lifestyle and eliminated those foods that increase cholesterol, yet trying to be as low carb as possible. I read every scientific paper I could find that has something practical I could do to lower my cholesterol and tried to put the recommendation into practice.  Certain foods were shown to lower cholesterol, so I started eating them.

I had blood-work done a few times along the way to ensure my cholesterol numbers were moving in the direction the insurance company would find acceptable and put me into a "preferred premium" category with the lowest insurance premiums.

All the while, most of the time I was able to stay in a desirable low-state of ketogenesis via Ketostix urine testing for acetoacetate.


Here are the results: (My well formulated ketogenic diet lipid profile is in red. My "experiment" numbers are in green):

Keto diet  (High fat, <20 grams of carbohydrates/day)                      Experimental diet to lower cholesterol
Cholesterol total  291                                                                                  Cholesterol total  200         
HDL 80                                                                                                       HDL 88             
Triglycerides 64                                                                                           Triglycerides 50
LDL 195                                                                                                      LDL 99     


Here's my dietary protocol to get the numbers shown in green:

I eliminated: butter, bacon, sausage, and fatty meat.  >:(
I used only olive oil as my added fat.
I ate fish 3 times weekly, usually canned sardines in water or olive oil as part of my lunch.
I ate 50 grams of raw almonds daily. (about a handful)
I ate 50 grams of raw blueberries daily. (about a handful)
I took 500 mg niacin twice daily. (OTC  Slo-niacin)
I took 1800 mg phytosterols daily (OTC Cholestoff Plus)
I took about 6 grams of psyllium husk daily  (OTC)
I ate one slice of whole wheat bread every other day.

Every breakfast during the cholesterol-lowering experiment, I ate 2 fried eggs with some cheddar cheese, now cooked with a few tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper, black coffee.
My lunch is sardines or a can of Vienna sausages, pickle, and a cheese stick
Dinner is generally low saturated fat, moderate piece of chicken or beef, and some sort of green such as salad, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower, sprinkled liberally with salt.

My blood pressure per my home sphygmomanometer is always in the normal range.

These diet changes are essentially increasing carbohydrates and decreasing saturated fat.

I am ready for the life insurance physical!  Then, it's  back to bacon and sausage and no bread.

Dag

32
I see diabetic eye disease (diabetic retinopathy) nearly every day in my practice as a board certified optometrist in a large group practice. About a year and a half ago I examined four lean men about my age who were recently diagnosed with adult onset diabetes (type 2 DM or T2DM). Most diabetics I see are obese, but these men were skinny like me. My body mass index is about 22. 

These encounters with newly diagnosed lean-adult diabetics led me to examine my diet which was heavy with “healthy” whole grains as shown on the USDA Food Pyramid. My breakfasts were usually “heart-healthy” oat meal or Cheerios with milk, two slices of whole wheat bread and Smart Balance spread or a plain bagel with low fat cream cheese, and black coffee. I was doing the right thing eating things that were healthy for my heart. My lunches and dinners weren’t much different -- healthy! I thought.

Then I realized the tremendous carbohydrate load I was ingesting each day might put me at risk for decreased health, perhaps toward being a lean adult-onset diabetic like the four patients mentioned earlier.

My interest in ketogenic eating evolved from the application toward reversing diabetes to it’s powerful anti-inflammatory power, as inflammation seems to be the source of many of the diseases of civilization (hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease which is now considered type 3 diabetes).

I started a strict ketogenic diet two days before Thanksgiving 2017 and have been 99% faithful since, straying from the diet rarely and  mildly only when away from home and with little food choices. My carbohydrate intake is <25 gms/day, sometimes much lower and my fat intake is high as tracked with a free app Lifesum.  A typical breakfast is ~ 1000+ calories, 95% fat, 5% protein (2 eggs and cheddar cheese fried in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil/butter/bacon fat combination and 2 thick slices of bacon, black coffee. 

I told my primary care physician about my ketogenic diet during a physical exam in August – he said  nothing pro or con. The blood work results below include lipid panels done prior to keto, during keto, and my experiment with 1800 milligrams of  Cholestoff daily while on keto.

The “Std Diet” is how I ate without regards to anything. The dates "Std diet" (pre-keto),  8/2018, 9/2018, and 11/2018 are blood draws and analysis dates. 
 
      Std Diet             Keto 8/2018         Keto 9/2018            Keto + Cholestoff 11/2018        “Desired value”
Chol   190                 291                          287                            234                                              <200
 
HDL    76                   80                             83                              84                                                  >40
 
LDL     105                 195                          189                            135                                                   --
 
Trigly   43                  64                             53                              61                                                  <150
 
Chol/HDL  2.5            3.6                           3.5                             2.8                                                   <5.0
 


The ketogenic diet (low carbohydrate, moderate protein, high fat):
Increased my cholesterol from 190 to 291, a 53% increase. Bad. :(
Increased my LDL from 105 to 195, an 86% increase. Bad.  :(
Increased my triglycerides from 43 to 64, a 49% increase. Bad. But still <150. Good! :)
Increased my HDL from 76 to 83, an 10% increase. Good.  :)
Decreased my weight by 15 pounds. Not desirable in my case. I was skinny already.
 
The addition of 1800 mg of Cholestoff daily for 5 weeks until the 11/2018 blood analysis did lower my cholesterol from 287 to 234, an 18% drop. And it lowered my LDL from 189 to 135, a decrease of 29% without any side affects. 
 
I ordered  the lab work of 9/2018 and 11/2018 myself online via directlabs.com. You can too, without your physicians’ approval – the lab will send the results directly to you.
 
One analysis I had done that I did not include in this report is the Quest  Cardio IQ analysis of my lipoprotein subfractions, that is, the LDL particle number and sizes. The sizes of these cholesterol particles is perhaps a more important cardiovascular health biomarker versus the LDL. 

My Lipoprotein (a) (Lp, little “a”) is extremely optimal @ 15 nmol/L, and this biomarker is also now believed to be highly important in cardiovascular health assessment. I’m happy with that. 

So, these cholesterol numbers would likely make most physicians and cardiologists start me on statins, but my HDL, triglycerides, Lp(a), and weight are normal. And I'm not sedentary -- I do high intensity interval exercising.  I think there's a reassessment of what is “normal” cholesterol levels for eaters of lots of carbohydrates and what’s considered “normal” for those in ketosis and who are lean.  For now, my doctor’s just watching, and I’m enjoying the fat. 
 
Dag
 

33
New Gatorade Zero should be called Gatorade 1 Carb or Gatorade 5 Calories, or something,

https://www.gatorade.com/products/sports-drinks/gatorade-zero-thirst-quencher

34
Update for May 6 2018:

Yesterday I discovered something I find interesting about these 3 carriers which are about 10 Hz apart on 6993 KHz.


I was watching the three signals on the waterfall and found that two of the three carriers showed an equal and stable signal strength over perhaps 3 minutes of viewing.

However, the third carrier, in this case the lowest frequency carrier, showed obvious fading from moment to moment and at one point faded out. It soon returned to perhaps 2/3 signal strength as compared to the other two, but the signal fading continued.  I recall seeing this selective fading of one carrier in the past but paid no attention to it. Keep in mind these 3 carriers are only 10 Hertz apart.


Atmospheric fading of constant carriers  is easily seen on the waterfall, but two of the three carriers seemed pretty much in lockstep with signal strength: only the third showed obvious fading.

I submit these possibilities:

   The signals are emmitted from one source but with different antenna patterns

   The signals are of different power

   The signals are eminating from different locations

   A combination of the possibilites above.


The 6993 KHz signal is clearly readable during daylight hours her in Florida and with the current lack of decent HF propagation, I venture to guess the antenna is in the Southeast USA, Caribbean, Central America, or perhaps less likely South America north of the equator.
   
The source and function of these carriers is still a mystery. With nearly 5 years of casual monitoring of these signals, not much has come to light about their reason for being. 
   
The 4993 KHz sister-signal is still readable here, but only at night.

Dag




35
TV DX Loggings / Re: I miss analog TV!
« on: April 28, 2018, 1429 UTC »
I was watching TV while at  home sick one day during my teenage in the mid-1970s   Our central Florida local tv channel 2 (WESH-tv) went off the air suddenly while I was eating lunch.

At that moment, a slightly grainy but very readable image appeared on my TV :  CBFT, Montreal Canada. The image persisted, so I had plenty of time to see it (and impression made on me!) and figure out that 6 meter propagation was hot. There was perhaps part of a commercial airing from CBFT up next before WESH-TV returned to the air.

That was my first and only TV DX.

Dag

36
I have two HIFER beacons on 22m: one is slow speed frequency shift keying CW  (FSKCW4), where each dit is 4 seconds long, and another in slow speed CW (QRSS3) where each dit is 3 seconds long.  Each transmits "FL" identifier.

The reason for the slow speeds is because low power beacons (<2 mW) will be likely very hard to copy by ear unless the propagation is spectacular, and we won't have decent HF conditions for years to come. We haven't even hit the bottom of our current solar cycle yet and there's been a number of sun-spotless days this year.  Copying HIFER beacons is mostly due to software like ARGO where you can actually see the signal on the waterfall.

So, for those two reasons (very low power and poor propagation until the sunspots return), if you are going to run QRPp CW on 22 meters, my suggestion is to slow it way down to about 5-7 WPM. This allows for ear copy if conditions allow, and copy by ARGO software if conditions are poor.

Good luck with it!

37
Other / Re: Three carriers: 6993.015 KHz +/- 10 Hz Dec 13 2014z i
« on: October 19, 2017, 0028 UTC »
Update:  the 6993 kHz has a parallel transmission on 4443 kHz  (heard Oct 145 2017 @ 2300z.)

Note: I can usually hear the 6993 kHz signal best in daylight hours, suggesting it's somewhere in the southeast USA or in the Caribbean.

 What is this signal for?

Dag

38
10 hours since my post, CHUs frequencies show only a carrier: no time pips or other information.

Dag

39
I've been listening to CHU on 3330, 7850, and 14670 KHz for the past 30 minutes: There are no time pips and no announcements, but the signal is strong.

I've never heard CHU as a quiet carrier before.

There's no mention of any testing or absence of time pips on the National Research Council Canada (CHU) web site.

Dag

40
22 Meter Band HiFER Beacons / Re: FL beacon 13555.520 KHz CW
« on: May 26, 2017, 2305 UTC »
Thanks Ed.  The other "FL" as listed on lwca.org in FSKCW3  mode is also my hifer beacon.  I am putting the FSKCW3 beacon to bed for awhile and cultivating the QRSS3 CW beacon as described above.

A report from John on LWCA shows that NC is on the same frequency my FL.  If there's going to  be collision between NC and FL, I'll move FL to a new frequency. I am using EPSON programmable oscillators , one of which is 13555.520 KHz-- the other is about 40 Hz lower I think.

Thanks for comment Ed.

Regards

Dag


41
22 Meter Band HiFER Beacons / FL beacon 13555.520 KHz CW
« on: May 25, 2017, 2351 UTC »
I have activated a very low power milliwatt beacon on 13555.520 KHz sending  "FL" in slow speed CW (QRSS3) where each dit is 3 seconds long.

The antenna is a dipole in my attic and the sunspot minimum is nearly upon us, so it's not a great time to launch QRP signals, but there's still some good propagation occurring on 22 meters.

I also have a FSKCW beacon "FL" on 13555.465 KHz which will be temporarily deactivated while I test the CW circuit on 13555.520 KHz.

Dag

42
Utility / Re: Carrier pulse on 13.560
« on: May 16, 2017, 2355 UTC »
https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,20854.msg75763.html#msg75763

See if you can access the above link. I have heard pips in the 22 m ISM band that are very close the one second apart, with a double pip nearly at the one minute mark, but it seems to be of industrial application, not a time station.
Dag

43
Other / Re: Dasher 5170 USB 03:27 UTC 26 April 2017
« on: April 30, 2017, 1228 UTC »
I think that signal is Link-11 at 1364 bits per second in Conventional Link Eleven Waveform (CLEW).

See http://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Link-11

Dag

44
Other / Re: Three carriers: 6993.015 KHz +/- 10 Hz Dec 13 2014z i
« on: November 06, 2016, 2220 UTC »
Update: It's hard to believe I've been monitoring (from time to time) the warbling carrier on 6993 KHz since my initial post and never heard anything of note, but here are some observations:

-The carrier is easily heard during daylight hours from my Florida location and can be nearly S9. It's solid S7-S8 without any fading as I write this.

-I rarely hear it at late at night.  Perhaps it's within a single hop of daytime propagation from me and skips over me at night?

- Today I put the receiver on 6993.000 KHz, zerobeating the carrier while I did some paperwork nearby.
 At 2145 UTC (4:45 pm EST), I was startled by approximately 15 seconds of what sounded like a STANAG 4481 (?) signal. I can't be certain of the mode, but it was very similar to STANAG 4481 and strong.

Except for the carrier, the frequency was quiet again for 30 seconds after that short 15 second signal. Another 15 second ?STANAG?  signal followed.   I've been listening now for nearly 25 minutes after those two 15 episodes without any other intelligence and the 6993 KHz carrier persists.

Could the constant carrier on 6993 KHz be a guard-signal? What other information is available for this signal?

Dag

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