Medical Observations
Jul. 24th, 2006 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI had my annual physical today. The doctor was very quick today and very happy that I'm "perfect." I think she based this conclusion mainly on the fact that I had none of the complaints she listed (any surgery during the past year, stomach pain, etc.) and that I had a low blood pressure this morning (94/60). This is the lowest blood pressure I've had since I was my proper weight although it's been dropping lately, down from a high of 120/70 to 100/60 lately. For decades it was 90/60.
What she didn't mention is that I weigh six pounds more than last year. Also, she showed my my test results from last year, which I never found out about before. My cholesterol level had become borderline. All the bad ones went up since the previous time; the good one went down slightly.
(Another thing I'm monitoring is any signs of hypothyroidism; my TSH fell from its high the previous year, so that's good.)
So, my conclusion is not that I am perfect, but that I should look into doing something about my cholesterol level. I looked up what to do online, and out of all the things I should be doing, the main one I should be doing that I'm not (in addition to losing a little weight and exercising a little more) is eating less saturated fat and cholesterol.
I don't think there's much saturated fat or cholesterol in my cooking. I do use eggs, hamburger, and occasionally butter. I'm fine with that. However, I suspect fast-food burger and fries aren't so great. Probably the majority of restaurant food I eat isn't so great. So today I made a tuna salad sandwich for lunch instead of eating out. The mayo has some saturated fat and cholesterol from the eggs; the tuna has cholesterol but no saturated fat; and the bread and mustard have neither.
(The ginger dark chocolate bar I started on today has no cholesterol, plus some fiber. Very good for me! Oh, but there's plenty of saturated fat.)
(I'm still on for pho with friends tomorrow. It will contain red meat and be floating in some sort of deliciously-spiced grease. Just so long as I am not doing this sort of thing every day.)
Well, I'm guessing the difference between the doctor's verdict and mine is that she is comparing me to her typical patient, or at least her typical 43-year-old female patient, whereas I am comparing me to my previous self.
Another weird thing. I've been having this odd sensation lately that medical personnel have started lying to me. For example, my numbers were down again at my dentist, but my gums look exactly the same to me as they did when I first started going back. And suddenly I might not need my wisdom teeth out after all. My blood pressure is somehow almost back to normal (for me), even though my weight (and volume) aren't that far from my all-time high. The picture is all rosy and happy for me! I don't think I'm the type that medical personnel see and then think about to themselves, "I better give this person good news, or else she might do something really scary." But maybe I better check the mirror for signs! Or maybe once you get older, people start interpreting the same data better. (Not gums at the dentist though! Or sphygmomanometer readings! Surely!)
Another weird thing. I just read another article that said that one sign of Lance Armstrong's amazing physical condition is that he can get his heart rate up to 200 beats per minute. That strikes me as extremely odd, because ten years ago, I could too. But I am not an amazing athlete, nor was I one ten years ago. I just assumed my heart rate was more like that of a mouse than the average person's was. In fact, if you believe that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age, then all kinds of people under the age of 20 can get their heart rates up to 200. I just don't understand that measurement. Using the resting heart rate makes more sense to me as an indicator of general health.
What she didn't mention is that I weigh six pounds more than last year. Also, she showed my my test results from last year, which I never found out about before. My cholesterol level had become borderline. All the bad ones went up since the previous time; the good one went down slightly.
(Another thing I'm monitoring is any signs of hypothyroidism; my TSH fell from its high the previous year, so that's good.)
So, my conclusion is not that I am perfect, but that I should look into doing something about my cholesterol level. I looked up what to do online, and out of all the things I should be doing, the main one I should be doing that I'm not (in addition to losing a little weight and exercising a little more) is eating less saturated fat and cholesterol.
I don't think there's much saturated fat or cholesterol in my cooking. I do use eggs, hamburger, and occasionally butter. I'm fine with that. However, I suspect fast-food burger and fries aren't so great. Probably the majority of restaurant food I eat isn't so great. So today I made a tuna salad sandwich for lunch instead of eating out. The mayo has some saturated fat and cholesterol from the eggs; the tuna has cholesterol but no saturated fat; and the bread and mustard have neither.
(The ginger dark chocolate bar I started on today has no cholesterol, plus some fiber. Very good for me! Oh, but there's plenty of saturated fat.)
(I'm still on for pho with friends tomorrow. It will contain red meat and be floating in some sort of deliciously-spiced grease. Just so long as I am not doing this sort of thing every day.)
Well, I'm guessing the difference between the doctor's verdict and mine is that she is comparing me to her typical patient, or at least her typical 43-year-old female patient, whereas I am comparing me to my previous self.
Another weird thing. I've been having this odd sensation lately that medical personnel have started lying to me. For example, my numbers were down again at my dentist, but my gums look exactly the same to me as they did when I first started going back. And suddenly I might not need my wisdom teeth out after all. My blood pressure is somehow almost back to normal (for me), even though my weight (and volume) aren't that far from my all-time high. The picture is all rosy and happy for me! I don't think I'm the type that medical personnel see and then think about to themselves, "I better give this person good news, or else she might do something really scary." But maybe I better check the mirror for signs! Or maybe once you get older, people start interpreting the same data better. (Not gums at the dentist though! Or sphygmomanometer readings! Surely!)
Another weird thing. I just read another article that said that one sign of Lance Armstrong's amazing physical condition is that he can get his heart rate up to 200 beats per minute. That strikes me as extremely odd, because ten years ago, I could too. But I am not an amazing athlete, nor was I one ten years ago. I just assumed my heart rate was more like that of a mouse than the average person's was. In fact, if you believe that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age, then all kinds of people under the age of 20 can get their heart rates up to 200. I just don't understand that measurement. Using the resting heart rate makes more sense to me as an indicator of general health.
Trans Fat
on 2006-07-26 04:18 pm (UTC)Most fast food places have their nutrition info online, including info about trans fat, so you can research it if you're interested.
Re: Trans Fat
on 2006-07-27 04:22 am (UTC)But I forgot to check for trans-fat when I looked at fast food nutrition information. So sad. I also used to think that Taco Bell bean products aren't that bad because they have fiber! Like real food! But no, it's all garbage.
It's so not fair.
I guess you can still get fast food made out of real food instead of poison at Whole Foods. Except my favorite stuff there is full of white flour, which at least is only poisonous to diabetics.
After reading your post I checked La Sierra refried black beans, which are not fat-free. There is a small amount of saturated fat, but no trans fat. Even Wolf brand lean beef chili with no beans has no trans fat, and it has no fat of any kind except what's in the beef. So I really should make my own burritos, even if they're so boring that they need to be smothered in chili and I'm too lazy to make my own chili. And then they'd be on whole-grain tortillas and everything.
For now I'm eating leftover (to-Mali) tamales with beans, chili, and cheese. Much better for me than Taco Bell.
Re: Trans Fat
on 2006-07-27 04:16 pm (UTC)A couple of weeks ago, I got some fries at a fast-food place I don't normally go to. (Well, I don't normally eat any fast food, but I'm familiar with the nutrition info for Wendy's, McD's, Taco Bell, etc.) After I ate the fries and checked out the website, I found that the small order I had eaten had 11 grams of trans fat! I had to remind myself that it's not actually poison, and people can eat like this for years without dropping dead immediately. (Even my dad, who ate nothing but fast food for basically his entire adult life, lived to the ripe age of 53 before dropping dead from diabetic comlications.)
I like Wendy's, where you can get a grilled chicken sandwich and a baked potato, all with no trans fats. I think they're greatly reducing the trans fats in their oils (used to fry french fries and whatever else) by the end of the year too.
Fast food is basically the worst trans fat offender. I've managed to convince myself that trans fats are akin to poison (even though I don't usually that type of psychology stuff on myself about eating) and it keeps me away from a lot of otherwise tempting and fattening foods (fast food, donuts, etc.)
Tam (also the author of the original comment)
Re: Trans Fat
on 2006-07-27 04:39 pm (UTC)