quote:

Originally posted by Nina:
Jodi, I know what you mean about needing crunch. For me, it's those little baby carrots. I can munch away on those and they seem to help with the need to just snack mindlessly. Now it's more like "mindful snacking." LOL

If you want crunch, try Whisps, the parmesan cheese flavor. Zero carbs, tons of crunch.

Whisps. A staple in the wtg household.

Costco. On sale starting the 7th.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Whisps. A staple in the wtg household.

Costco. On sale starting the 7th.

Just ordered some - from Amazon! (Wishing again we had a COSTCO.)

Maybe try the underwater treadmill.

Jodi, I’m mostly in.

I may still add sugar to my latte in the morning, or I may use a Splenda. But otherwise, no sugar.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Jodi, I’m mostly in.

I may still add sugar to my latte in the morning, or I may use a Splenda. But otherwise, no sugar.

Splenda counts as sugar???

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Anna:
The inflammatory marker Quirt mentions is something specific to inflammation of cardiovascular vessels and thus heart disease. I'm familiar with C-reactive protein and ESR, and it's not that. His was at a concerning level. Mine was borderline, but my A1C was also marginally concerning so I'm focused on trying to get it down so my doctor will shut up about it so that it doesn't edge up into the danger zone.

I found the summary of the testing.

The two inflammation markers that they tested for were hs-CRP and LpPLA2 activity. In July, I was well into the increased risk range on both.

hs-CRP is high sensitivity C reactive protein.

"The hs-CRP test is different than the standard CRP test. The standard test measures high levels of the protein to find different diseases that cause inflammation. The hs-CRP test measures low levels and focuses on the risk of heart disease and stroke."

https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/abq4481

LpPLA2 is Lipoprotein-associated Phospholipase A2, also known as Platelet-activating Factor Acetylhydrolase (neither of which means a damn thing to me). However:

"Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is an enzyme that appears to play a role in the inflammation of blood vessels and is thought to help promote atherosclerosis. This test measures the amount or activity of Lp-PLA2 in the blood.

"Some recent studies have shown that Lp-PLA2 is an independent risk marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease (CHD), and ischemic stroke."

https://labtestsonline.org/tests/lp-pla2

But there's more!

"While the findings from recent studies support the potential usefulness of Lp-PLA2 in CHD and ischemic stroke risk assessment, its ultimate clinical utility has yet to be established.

"The Lp-PLA2 test is not widely available. In most cases, the blood sample will be sent to a reference laboratory and results will be available within a few days."

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
...The two inflammation markers that they tested for were hs-CRP and LpPLA2 activity. In July, I was well into the increased risk range on both.

hs-CRP is high sensitivity C reactive protein.

..."The hs-CRP test is different than the standard CRP test. The standard test measures high levels of the protein to find different diseases that cause inflammation. The hs-CRP test measures low levels and focuses on the risk of heart disease and stroke."

https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/abq4481

LpPLA2 is Lipoprotein-associated Phospholipase A2, also known as Platelet-activating Factor Acetylhydrolase (neither of which means a damn thing to me). However:

"Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is an enzyme that appears to play a role in the inflammation of blood vessels and is thought to help promote atherosclerosis. This test measures the amount or activity of Lp-PLA2 in the blood.

"Some recent studies have shown that Lp-PLA2 is an independent risk marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease (CHD), and ischemic stroke."

https://labtestsonline.org/tests/lp-pla2

But there's more!

"While the findings from recent studies support the potential usefulness of Lp-PLA2 in CHD and ischemic stroke risk assessment, its ultimate clinical utility has yet to be established.

"The Lp-PLA2 test is not widely available. In most cases, the blood sample will be sent to a reference laboratory and results will be available within a few days."

Many thanks, Quirt! I suspected that the CRP was "high sensitivity" ( a different and more expensive test than just CRP) but never heard tell of that "Lp-PLA2 test ".

Your "but that's not all" is just what I was referring to earlier when I mentioned I'd had to pay out of pocket for these tests per my insurance company. That they had refused to pay for CRP HS and homocysteine "since there was no known treatment for an abnormal results" even though the correlation with heart disease was acknowledged.

Looks like that's still the case now, at least, about this other test - and a decade after I had the CRP HS and homocystine tests they balked at paying for.

Wondering whether I should ask for these tests to repeated. Since I plan to only take statins if I am dragged to them kicking and screaming, perhaps it's bad psychology to ask for the other tests too which might just confirm the need for statins. (Especially since they are so expensive since I'd probably still have to pay for them out of pocket with the same rationale as before. Likewise, re taking the homocystine test over - as if I even remembered what it was for!)

Seems to me they all (some?) have to do with calcification of the coronary arteries, especially of a sort that is apt to break off (plaque) and cause "coronary events".

Wondering too if I'm being stupid about the degree of my resistence to statins considering I also have atrial fibrillation for which I take Xarelto...
The cognitive effects worry me the most - definitely don't need them!

*******

Still wondering about the Splenda issue, as I almost live off it in a variety of used...If anybody knows. Sugar alcohol, yes, but sugar plain and simple? I await confirmation for somebody who knows!