The test results of my annual medical check-up came in on Saturday. The results are mixed.The level of total cholesterol in my blood has dropped to 4.5 mmol/L (normal) from a high of 7.4 mmol/L just over a year ago. The level of LDL cholesterol (the so-called bad dudes) is down to 1.5 mmol/L, although triglycerides is still high.
On the other hand, uric acid level has shot up to 7.5 mg/dL, above the reference range of 3.3 to 7.0 mg/dL. High uric acid levels means that I may easily be inflicted with gout, a type of arthritis.
Three years ago, my cholesterol levels were borderline but my uric acid was high. Last year, I managed to bring down the uric acid level to within normal range but cholesterol levels increased. I've managed to control the cholesterol levels this time round due to the daily dose of Covastin 20mg and restricted consumption of my favourite foods (lamb chops and beriani kambing). However, the see-saw game by those uric acid molecules is pissing me off.
According to my doctor, high uric acid levels is predominantly caused by diet. The main sources are red meat, liver, anchovies (ikan bilis), sardines and even soybeans. Heck... all the food that I love.
Seems that I now have to go easy on that sambal tempe dan ikan bilis goreng during lunch... sigh...
24 comments:
Take care Oldstock.
Maybe Mrs Oldstock would like to try serving Lobak Putih (horse radish) plus celery to Oldstock?
They're said to help reduce the uric acid. Garlic sauted, then masuk lobak putih and celery, plus a cup of water, a dash of salt.
Rasa? err....ok, so-so lah, definitely nothing close to lamb chop and mutton beriani...tapi nak sihatkan...
To me boleh aje I makan horse radish plus celery tu...sedap aje if dah lapar hehehe...
hehe... a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, eh? Selamat 'berpuasa'! ;)
kena pantang bang, makan buah dengan sayur je.
an ustad said, when we were born, God has provided a budget for our life time, for eg 4 truckloads of sugar for our 80 years of life. but if we consume too much, we will finish our budget before our time is up. so for the remainder years, we can't take it anymore. for eg, if we finish our budget of sugar by the age 40, the other 40 years we can't take sugar anymore ie we will be suffering from diabetes.
Now kena hati-hati with your diet, Pak. masalahnya, bila you sebut sambal tempe I pun turut terliur sekali.. hehehe..
banyak uric acid tuh! Boleh kena gout skali tuh!
dengar kawan cakap, dia makan epal hijau, sebiji sehari, pun boleh turun the level of uric acid.
Need me to lecture more? Ha ha ha..what is it with men and lamb or mutton? Jaga badan ye Pak Oldstock.
Why don't we add in more fresh food like fruits and vege..ulam2..non-cooked food and plenty of water. Kalau rajin banyakkanlah jalan2 ke jogging ke..I was trying to bring down my colesterol level since this Feb; I have high level due to family history..it was 6.5 since I was single. I refused to start medication and started serious exercise this year..and increase fresh food in my diet..till accident happen and now no jogging. Anyway, you did great with the cholesterol level.
thanks for the nice comments..I appreaciate it.
Isn't it sad when the very things we love prove to be the ones that're making us ill? Sigh.
Everything in moderation - that's what I try to do. We need to balance the quality of our lives, against the things we need to 'give up' to live longer. One without the other wouldn't make sense; not to me, at least.
Eat what you love, but not a lot of it, and not all the time - and you will be fine.
I'm in my fifties and just refuse to hear that anything is a 'no-no' :)
Stay well and healthy, my friend.
Dear Oldstock,
Do take care and avoid all the food that can cause a spike in uric acid levels.
I am also at that stage when health is a major concern and my better half is going for yet another surgery next week.
All the best to you and may you stay happy and healthy always.
Salam to you and yours.
Chahya,
Celery tu ok kot, tapi horse radish ada sikit problem... but thanks for the tip.
I'm asking the missus to add more salads to our meals. Fresh veggie yg tak payah masak. Cucumbers, carrots etc.
D, berpuasa ni memang bagus. Masalahnya, time berbuka tu, semua jenis nak makan... lagi teruk jadinya, heheheh.
Tok Snake,
Susah nak control temptation makan ni... especially bila tengok orang lain makan seafood (ketam dan udang).
The food budget thing is interesting. I think I have exceeded my quota for sugar intake already. Sekarang ni, minuman semua kena jenis yg kurang manis.
Kak Kama,
I love tempe and ikan bilis. Bila I pegi makan nasi campur, kalau ada lauk sambal tempe ikan bilis sure I amik.
Time keje outstation, I can survive on ikan bilis and telur goreng. Masa keje kat Emirates, siap bawak ikan bilis 2 kilo dlm luggage.
Verse,
I am quite worried about the gout because I've seen the pain my father had to endure. He likes meat and kambing... a trait which I now inherit. I'll try your tip about the apples.
Hi Hliza!
Nice to see you in cheerful spirits.
Wow, 6.5 choles level tu tinggi jugak kak. Hopefully you get well soon and continue with the exercise.
Pat,
Everything in moderation, is the best rule. But what to do... I give in to temptation easily, heheheh.
I need to re-train my willpower skills. Otherwise, you and all my other blogger friends will be telling me, `I told you so.' :-)
masterwordsmith,
Thanks for the kind thoughts and reminder. I'll try my best. I need to re-focus my mind... veggies are good, veggies are good, ugh!
Hei Oldstock..takper..if you can't take those stuff, there are so many delicious food yang lain2!! Check it out..you don't have to mendiet sangat2!!Just keep on exercising yes..
I had my first experience with gout 4 years ago and almost every year I had it once. Funny thing, golf is the only culprit so far (dehydration). Since I stopped playing golf - now it seems I am free from that awful joint pain.
the beast withing is really hard to tame.
we are what we eat...abah :D
Oldstock, wow.. gout is no joke. My husband has gout everytime he takes beer or too much red meat especially, beef. These days when he suspects that he has alittle too much red meat, he will juice a mix of celery, parsley, cucumber, and capsicium to drink first thing in the morning for a few days. Not very nice tasting but it works.
mamasita,
I am actually slacking on the exercise part. I really need to resume my swimming and cycling sessions.
As for the delicious food, beriani kambing is still no.1 in my list :-)
Dr Sam,
I don't play golf so maybe gout would not affect me that much, yet. But still, I think I'm starting to feel the first signs. Sekarang ni, nak naik tangga dua tiga tingkat pun dah start rasa sakit lutut.
Along,
Actually, I had thought to use what you wrote as the title of this post.
Andrea,
Yes, I take your point about gout being no joking matter. I'm trying to revise my diet to include the very veggies you have mentioned, except that they would be as a salad rather than juiced as a drink.
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