Pritakin and zone diets

[dyce]

Good morning all.
                 Has anyone here ever used either of thease diets for weight control and maybe helping the liver.I'm not schooled in this area but have noticed certain foods do seem to aggitate my liver being hcv pos.


Dyce

[Mister beagle bailey]

Good morning.

I really did not like the South Beach and low carb diets because you eat alot of fatty things like cheese, etc., and it's not good on the liver.

What I did like and dropped alot of weight with is the Suzeann Somers diet.  You can eat everything, you just can't eat it together.

How are you this morning?  I had a problem sleeping been up since 4:30 this morning.

Hopes this helps,

BB

[dyce]

Good morning BB!Thanks,I'll have to look up that imfo.I don't have a lot of time for research and any imfo. are helpful.Last summer I started eating a lot of grilled food and man did it bring on the hep. sx's.I itched so bad it was like getting poison oak or ivy(LOL).Today is shot 3 for you,man your doing good!Alot of adversity yesterday and being a boss where I work I know how it is not to be liked.Can't win em all my friend!Hope Ice and fish are good today.I tell you life can be cruel.

Stay stroug my friend.

Dyce

[Mister beagle bailey]

Yesterday was crazy but I hope today is better.  How are you doing?  I do hope iceboy and fisheress come on and let us know they are all right.

Stay well my friend,

  BB

[Mister beagle bailey]

Thank God we agree on some thing,  Yes to all of us SUV in 2006.  Now please try and behave.

Peace,

  BB

[jmjm530]

I've been on both diets at various times since they were "invented" which gives away my age (59) LOL. I introduced my late father to the Pritikin regimen back in the 70's which undobutly prolonged his life after an early heart attack. I spoke to Barry Sears and his brother several times when they actually had a free help hotline at the time of his first book.

First Pritikin -- To simplify it's total fat calories under ten per cent of total calories. This is not your typical low fat diet, much lower in fact. Most of the calories come from complex carbs. In short, under Pritkin, I lost weight, lowered my total cholesterol as well as both LDL and HDL cholesterol, which is typical. And while most cardiologists will tell you that it's not good to lower HDL, older studies do exist that show that in so-called primitive populations like New Guinea where they eat most sweet potatoes with a pig fest every three years or so (a literal pig fest LOL) there is almost no incidence of heart disease in spite of low HDLs. The conclusion is that if total cholesterol is under 150-140, the protective effect of HDL is unecessary.

In addition to its cardiac benefits, I also found more stamina on the diet although this is more a diet for endurance sports like marathon and not at all a diet that will bulk up your muscles, quite the contrary. Simply not enough protein and fat. Take a look at pictures of aborigines and other older world people. It's that very lean look you end up with.

Of interest to those here, every time I stayed on the Pritikin diet for more than a month my liver enzymes (ALT and AST) completely normalized. As soon as I went off the diet, they went back to their previous level. I would have to conclude then at least anecdotally that this is a very liver friendly diet. Last point is that there is no way I could have stayed on the Pritkin diet during treatment. I would have lost too much weight plus my taste sensation has been altered to the point that most of the foods on the diet would not have been palatable.


Zone Diet -- I lost weight, lost fat, gained muscle mass, initially a dramatic increase in energy. I also found the intensity of my workouts increased. Unfortunately, after four months on this diet I noticed a significant increase in both my ALT and AST liver enzymes. Was it the diet or the increased exercise or both? Dunno. But I can't really recommend a strict zone diet to anyone with an impaired liver based on my single experience. That said, most people on the zone diet really aren't strictly on it anyway as they tend to add more carbs which probably is more liver friendly.

For those who want more information on the Pritkin diet, visit the Pritkin Center's website : http://www.pritikin.com/  A great place btw to take your next "spa" vacation. In addition to be liver and heart friendly, a lot of folks with high blood pressure, diabetes and the so-called new metabolic syndrome have tremendous results there often reducing or going off medication entirely. I may go back to a modified Pritikin diet at some point after my body recovers from treatment. The diet has similarities to the Dean Ornish diet which came later.

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

Dyce,

I don't want to scare you off the Pritkin diet by suggesting you'll definitely end up looking like an aborigine. LOL.

Genetics plays a dominant role in generating muscle mass, and I've heard (from the nutritionist at the center) that you can add muscle by on the diet by increase carb calories while adding weight lifting to your exercise regimen.

It's definitely worth a try for health reasons and you can always see if it provides you with the amount of muscle you will be comfortable with.

I should add that this is not an easy diet to stay on and requires that every meal adhere to the diet. If you don't cook, you'll find it very tedius (and boring) to eat out a lot as your selections will be greatly limited. The Zone diet, on the other hand, I found fairly easy to comply to.

-- Jim

[Fisheress]

Good morning all.  Thanks for wanting to hear from me and asking how I am doing.  Last night was shot night for me, no big deal.  The injection does not affect me until about 2-3 days later....weird huh?  Then I get muscle aches, joint pain, leg pain and have to have a nap on a daily basis unless I just push myself and I've been known to do that alot also.

Bro would not answer phone last night, so after dinner we put together some leftovers, packed up his laundry I did and went over there to check on him.  Took Tiki too (my Westie) so he would have some entertainment.  I was having all thses visions of him on the floor not able to get up or something cause he would not answer the phone.  Thank god when we got there, he was alright.  Still in his chair not feeling good.  I made him eat something, gave him some Motrin, Roger cleaned out the fridge and washed that stuff and took out the garbage while I put away the laundry, swept the kitchen floor and unlaoded the dishwasher.  Rog cleaned the bathroom when he got back. Rog is wonderful, he pitched in w/o me asking...... just to help me.  He's great!

I told Bro that he will proberly need to be seen by the Doc on Monday, he said he was not moving!  Don't think he has had a bath in a week! eeewwwwwww! So don't know what the H*** I am going to do when Monday gets here to get him to the Doc.

This is terrible to say but my Bro showing up has really hampered my idea of how I was going to get thru this tx (stupid Katrina!).  Was really hoping for happier days and no stress. It was my time in life to concentrate on ME. With saying that.....I'M NO ANGEL!

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone as I am going to do the same.  going to give my sweetie the attention he deserves, put the christmas stuff in the attic and get things in order around here.

Again, thank you all for being here for me!  I appreciate ALL OF YOU!!!!!

Fisheress

[jmjm530]

I forgot your brothers stats and all that so don't really know how urgently he needs to treat but based on your stories of late, I"m not sure he's going to make it unless he starts taking some more personal responsiblity. There's only so much you and others can do, but at a certain point, if he isn't willing to seek help, I don't see a rosy outcome. You please take care of yourself and try and balance that vis a vie your brother who you have literally been an angel for. A lot of us have had terrible sides on treatment, but when it came time to see the doctor, I was motivated enough to get off the couch because I wanted to do everything possible to stay on  treatment. Your brother may just be looking for a way out but you know him a lot better than I do. Or...maybe he's just mentally whipped like happens to a lot of us. Is he on AD's and/or seeing a shrink?

All the best.

-- Jim

[Fisheress]

Yes, Doc just started him on Lexapro a week ago. I do make sure he takes that. Guess it will be a couple of weeks before it kicks in, hope it works for him. No, no shrink. Can't get him out of his chair to go anywhere at this point. I am going to tell the Doc this tomorrow when I give him a call.

Don, YES!  I found the sofa I was looking for and it's nice too! Just what we were looking for and got a great deal on it too! Fits perfect in the living room and ooooh so comfy! Rog went to walk Tiki the other day and I thought I would just lay on my snuggle area to try it out. That was about 6:00pm, crashed and burned for an hour & a half!!! Rog came in (never heard him) covered me up and cooked dinner.  Woke me when it was ready. Therefore, Yes the sofa is WONDERFUL!!!!! Hope I find more time to enjoy it!  LOL!

Oh and Rocker, thanks so much for the Sunday morn prayer! That was great! Very uplifting!

Fisheress

[jmjm530]

I'll also add that I found it difficult to write for a living and concentrate on the Zone diet. I was just too "wired". Too much excess energy. Slept two hours less a night and never took a nap while on it.

I think this is a common sympton for those on higher-protein diets. Perhaps it's transitory,  but writing/thinking has a lot to do with "calming" the mind and that's not what the Zone did for me. In fact, one of the reason old-school Yoga's don't eat much protein is because protein inhibits mediation by stimulating the mind.

[Fisheress]

I eat fish at the least 2-3x's a week.  We have some of the best fish markets just 3 mins here from the house.  I get GREAT snapper and Tuna.  I was told told fish is wonderful brain food.  Still waitng for the BRain part to kick in!  LOL

[jmjm530]

We've discussed this before, but I hope you're not taking the riba with flax seeds which can reduce the absorption of certain meds when taken together. Flax is fine but I'd wait at least a couple of hours after the riba. I would think something like peanut butter might work on a vegetarian diet. Personally, because of riba's long half life, I don't buy into take my riba 12 hours apart so I take it with my two largest meals of the day regardless of what time I eat. This usually turns out to be the first dose between 10-12 and the second dose between 4-7PM. My doctor said this is fine.

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

"Do not take any other medication at the same time as flax without first talking to your doctor or health care provider. Flax may decrease the absorption of other drugs when taken together."

I've read this a lot.. the above is just one source exerpted from:
http://www.drugs.com/mtm/flax.html

Here's my take, sure "talk to your doctor" but truthfully most doctors don't know sh*t about nutriments and absorption issues. I say always err on the side of caution. Why not just take your flax a couple of hours after the riba to be on the safe side? There're other nuts you can take to give you enough fat with the riba. BTW same thing with flax goes with antacids. Don't take them at the same time as your riba.

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

My doctor actually told me that if I wanted to take all six pills at once, go ahead. BTW I've never done this. His point is that ribavirin has a very long half life and therefore even a single dose will sit in your bloodstream a long time. Therefore, the trick is to keep "feeding" the stream daily with the correct amount while the actual timing of the dosing is much less important. I also had this confirmed by someone who does riba research.

On a personal note, I've rarely take my two daily riba does closer than 3 hours apart although frequently I take them 4 hours apart, as when I have a very late breakfast (Noon) and a an early dinner (4PM). More times than not, I take them about 6 hours apart.

Regarding taking all the pills at once, I should add that this is one doctor's (and researchers) opinion and is an off-label dosing of the drug and I'm not recommending it to anyone just sharing what I heard. In other words, when in doubt check with your medical team. I'll also add that when I've taken more than 4 riba's at once, I did feel a bit of a "rush" which is another reason I tend to space the two doses at least 4 hours apart.

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

I'm sure you'll be OK as it only "effects" absorption, not blocks it completely, and how much the effect, who knows. But, yes, I'd play it on the safe side and take any Flax let's (because you take a lot of it) at least 3-4 hours before or after a riba dose. Peanut butter is good, also full-fat Yogurt if you like it, especially the organic ones with cream at the top.


-- Jim

[Mister beagle bailey]

Jim,

Does eating say nuts( for the fat) help absorb the riba into the body.  Need to know.

  BB

[jmjm530]

I've read that riba absorption can be increased up to 70% when taken with a high-fat meal. I'll also mention that no studies have been done to prove (or dis-prove) if this is clinically relevant in regards to treatment. In other words, yes it does, but does it really matter -- no proof one way or another.

For me, I put two and two together, and take my riba with my two largest meals of the day which have the most fat.

Check here and scroll down to "major protocol ammendments"

LINK: http://tinyurl.com/czqj8


-- Jim

[roxxiroo]

Again I am so touched by your dedication to taking care of your brother while you are on treatment. And you so deserve a man like Roger. I hope for you and Bro that his Lexapro kicks in soon. You're an angel in my book. Your feelings of wanting to take care of yourself right now are only natural...so don't whip yourself over that. Hope the Bro can get out of his chair more so that you can enjoy your new sofa lots more.

[NYgirl]

As always...I think the BEST form of diet is the OLD FASHIONNED logic - moderation in fat and caloric intake and exercise.

Fad diets come and go and it seems the people who do them oftentimes (not always) gain back the weight and more once the return to eating normally.

Eating right...that's the ticket.

On another note: I gainned back two pounds this week I don't know why but...

[dyce]

If that don't help me keep the fat off the (you know what LOL)I don't know what will!Thanks

Dyce