AJ’s Blood Work, suprising results!

Getting your blood work done is the best way to measure how the food you eat affects your body. I get mine done every time I go in for a checkup, so far it’s been 3 times J. What’s really cool however is that my doctor puts the results online so I can graph the progress. Check if your doctor can do this, it’s really cool.

The graph shows my results done in Feb 2005, August, 2009, and January 2010. My results showed good news, and some not so good.

In August, my blood work indicated that my HDL levels were low at 40mg (that is the bottom of the normal range). So I started taking Omega-3 fish oil pills regularly every day. Notice the increase in my HDL when tested again in January. Currently, my HDL is the highest it has ever been (based on known data). The only thing I did different was start taking Omega3’s:

The next graph shows my triglyceride levels have been falling steadily. Notice the sharp drop in August, that’s when I started balancing my meals (1/3 protein, 2/3 carb, some fat). I was pleased to see that in January they were even lower. I definitely blew it a lot during the holidays, however these levels fluctuate meal by meal, so apparently I was balancing well just before the test. J

The next piece I found a bit surprising. My LDL (bad cholesterol) rose sharply since August. The graph shows that it’s even higher than it was back in 2005. I can attest this to the chronic blowing it over the holidays, combined with reduced exercise (I dropped back to doing CrossFit twice a week).

There are LOTS of other measures we can look at that tell us specific things. Here are some specific tests not part of the typical lipid profile you should ask your doctor to order:

• LDL-particle size – Smaller particles can get trapped in the lining of the arteries.
• C-reactive protein – sign of inflammation
• Hb1aC – Measures blood glucose levels, typically measured for diabetics.
• White Blood Cell Count

If you haven’t gotten your blood work done lately, definitely check it out! Btw, here’s what I ate yesterday:

• Breakfast: 2 Omega 3 Eggs over hard, 1 chicken sausage, ½ cup sweet potato fries, 1 cup sautéed mustard greens, handful of blueberries
• Lunch: Smoked Salmon, Sauteed String Beans, Mixed Veggies
• Snack: 1 can of wild salmon w/mayo, ¼ cup sweet potato fries, 1 cup of organic apple sauce.
• Dinner: 3 oz of cod, 1 cup of string beans.
• Before Bed: Half a pizza hut pizza!! (man I blew it, and it was good.)

Questions? What’d you eat yesterday? Post to comments!