Discussion Board

Hi Star McDougallers,
I posted something like this message in the Lounge, but in hindsight, it seems like a good question to post to the Stars here too .

I used to be a big fan of low carb dieting and sometimes, when I'm trying to pass the time, I dip into some of the old low carb message boards I used to frequent, just to see what's going on with people I know. I'm always curious as to what they're talking about and how people are doing.

One thread in the South Beach Diet board struck me. Someone posted a question about experiences from people who had switched from Atkins to SBD.

What struck me was some of the responses about experiences with Atkins. One woman lost 100 pounds on Atkins but admits to having gained 25 of them back (and her pictures back this up), as well as having undergone open heart surgery 6 weeks ago which was "a shock" to her, since she claims she was "eating healthy" and physically fit.

Another woman stated that she's thinking of switching from Atkins to SBD because a "medical diagnosis" has her watching her sodium, sugar, and fat intake (she didn't mention what the diagnosis was). She said she lost 50 pounds on Atkins and kept it off for 4 years (and from her stats, it looks like she's gained back about 35 of those).

A third woman mentioned that she's also considering switching because her gallbladder is "acting up" and all the fat on Atkins makes it worse. From her stats, it looks like she's lost about 25 pounds so far.

I'm not posting this to poke fun at the Atkins people. But it struck me that these people were complaining about health issues that even they seem to feel was a result of Atkins, despite the fact that they were successful at losing a significant amount of weight on it.

I'd be very curious to know if any of you have experienced serious health issues (like the woman who had open heart surgery AFTER having lost 100 pounds on Atkins) after you not only lost the weight on McDougall but maintained this lifestyle for a period of time.

Djuna

Djuna

Actually, all my major health issues have cleared up or become dormant over the last ten years. When I started I was morbidly obese, had chronic life-threatening asthma, had severe allergies to basically everything, and the medications I was on resulted in osteoporosis from heavy steroid use, acid reflux from bronchodialators, and severe IBS and chronic constipation (resulting in a bad laxative addiction). I also had a bad gall bladder that brought on days of vomiting at random intervals. Oh, and migraine headaches.

Now, my asthma and allergies are under control without oral medication (I keep an emergency inhaler around just to be safe. Extreme cold can still trigger an attack). My allergies are completely under control now that I've gone gluten-free. I upped my intake of leafy greens and weight-bearing exercise and my last bone scan showed positive bone growth. I no longer have any digestive problems or constipation, and the only time my gall bladder gives me any problem is when I eat a fatty meal (I need to avoid nuts, in particular). I don't get headaches and can't remember the last time I took a Tylenol. I'm 55 and have none of the aches and pains of my friends at work. If anything my joints have gotten smaller. Rings I used to be unable to get over my knuckles now fit or end up being worn on my index finger because they'll fall of my ring finger.

I DO have an issue with my thyroid, although my TSH3 levels come out fine, I have all the symptoms of an under active thyroid. This has proved frustrating, but it's nothing I expect diet to cure. It might even be related to adrenal damage from the damn prednisone. I'm not sure, yet.

It was kind of funny. I moved to a new city last year, and started with a new doctor. He began by giving me a lung function test. When it came back, he was shocked. I had told him that not only didn't I take any meds, I had, in fact, made a hobby out of doing competitive 5k walks and runs. Turns out, I have only half the lung function of a normal person. He would have expected me to be dragging an oxygen tank around not running races It's taken a while to convince him it's my diet, but I think I've made a believer out of him. Last time I was there he brought his intern in to meet me. I was the only vegan she was ever likely to meet and he wanted me to explain my diet to her.

Kate

Here is a chronological list, by first appearance, of all the major medical problems I have had:

http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/2007/ ... ation.html

The inflammation problems are in bold. All my inflammation problems -- and they made my life nearly unlivable -- gradually disappeared after I began eating my "anti-itis diet," which is a subset of the McDougall regular diet:

http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/2010/ ... i-eat.html

However, my other medical problems -- lung collapses, atrial fibrillation, and emphysema have reappeared occasionally or continued after I began the diet. (I lost about 30 pounds, unwillingly, and my BMI dropped to a low of about 17 at one point, but is now about 18.)

A healthy diet does not stop all disease. A few people in our society die of suicide, murder, or accident. Most of the rest of us will die of some disease, but eating the healthiest possible diet (etc.) will probably help us live longer and better in the meantime.

I had a major issue after being on the McDougall plan for over a year. I had an aortic dissection that nearly killed me. The doctors(cardiologist and surgeon) that treated me seem to feel the damage done to my aorta from decades of high blood pressure were what caused the issue and seemed to believe if I had addressed the issue earlier it would have spared me from the torn aorta. I also believe this as I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in my early 20's and did largely nothing to address it till I was 51. That's a long time of abuse to ones vascular system. If only I had been on this program for even just a few years earlier I would have been spared much of the problems I would have visited upon me. I also think that even the year of McDougalling I had under my belt probably saved me from an even worse outcome. Sometimes we are our worst enemy. Sometimes we actually do the things that are in our own favor. Timing can be everything!
f1jim

Thanks so much, katy, Jim, and Burgess. I really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful responses.

Please don't think I was trying to imply that McDougall is a cure-all for every disease and health issue. I do know that many health issues take time to develop and we don't always heed the warnings early enough (in fact, many of us don't, myself included!) But your stories make it clear that something like McDougall can go a long way in improving the quality of life for the long haul and to me, that's the most important thing. I can only hope that coming to McDougall at age 41 with no significant health issues (other than migraine headaches and rashes) will help me develop some healthy habits to avoid some of the major health issues that I've seen run in my family, such as heart disease, high cholesterol, osteo, cataracts, unstable blood pressure, and cancer (especially in the women in my family).

I can say that, so far, everyone in my family (including my mom lately) have high cholesterol issues (my mom was showing high cholesterol only in her last blood test, so hopefully this is a temporary thing) and my blood tests in May of last year showed that mine was in the normal range (187). My doctor was pleased but I am not, especially after reading so much about how 150 and less is the range to be in to maximize the possibility of a heart attach. So I'm shooting for that, among other things, for my next blood tests (probably in May of this year) with this plan .

Djuna