Unfamiliar With PP...Please Enlighten Me
 

Just before Christmas, my DBF was told he has high cholesterol. The Dr. immediately tried to prescribe Lipitor (NO WAY!!) Since then, he's totally changed his eating habits & in less than 2 months, he's lost 30 lbs :thup:

He saw Low Carb CookwoRX on PBS and was quite impressed. I've ordered him the Protein Power book which should be arriving in a few days. I'm on Atkins (4 years next month) and am not very familiar with PP. For those of you that have been doing PP...do you feel this program would be helpful for cholesterol issues?

Thanks for your help :)

PP is very similar to Atkins, and probably provides similar benefits with blood lipids- namely lowered insulin that leads to a cascade of benefits.

The main differences between Atkins and PP is that Atkins has an "induction" level of 20g daily carbs followed by gradually increasing carb levels, while PP starts you out at 30-40g of carbs per day, and you stay there until all the weight is gone. Also, PP requires a minimum amount of protein per day (calculated based on your individual needs- bigger people need more protein) - so we keep track of two macronutrients (carbs and protein) while Atkins only keeps track of carbs.

There are other subtle differences between the two plans but those are the two major ones.

Are you saying generally that on PP you eat more protien than atkins?

Just wondering

Hi Kim:

Curious to your aversion to your BF taking Lipitor?

I don't know what OP's aversion is, but I share it! I quit the Zocor my doctor had me on ... without her "permissiion." She's pretty mad at me, but I don't care. I don't have heart disease, not one whit of a symptom of it, nor do I have a family history of it. She only prescribed it because I was "over 50." :p During our discussion of it, she gave me the usual propaganda from the AHA, who, as she put it "really care about you." Bah! They don't even know I exist!

Another difference is that the Dr. Eades are still kicking and have there own blogs where you can get new info on there diet and Dr. Mike is always disecting the latest science and explaning it so we can understand. Here is there home page

http://www.proteinpower.com/

I wouldn't say that someone on PP eats more protein, it is just that there is a minimum amount you have to eat relative to the amount of lean body mass you have and your activity level. You are only required to eat the minimum amount. That would be a lot of protein for some, less for others. The book will explain a lot...there is much detailed information in Protein Power, but it is worth reading & understanding.

Hi Mike,

I'm sure you don't want to get me on a tirade about the medical community & statin drugs do you? ;)

Lipitor and other statins have only been found helpful in males in a certain age range (and I forget what that is) who have already had one heart attack. Outside of that, it is more likely to cause harm than good.

Besides, there is indication that high cholesterol causes heart disease.

Don't you mean there is NO indication that high cholesterol causes heart disease :q: :q: :q:

Sounds like some of you need to THROW a copy of Gary Taubes's "Good Calories, Bad Calories" directly AT your physicians, LOL.

Yeah, I did mean to say NO indication that high cholesterol causes heart disease!

Kim-I think we know each other from somewhere else.
The science that suggests high cholesterol is the cause of heart disease is questionable at best. And the science that suggests that statins reduce heart disease because they lower cholesterol is also questionable. They appear to do a lot of other things as well (particularly anti-inflammatory) and that may be responsible for their benefits.

Watch it with your tirade about the medical community. ;)

Hey Petra! :)

I'm not at all thrilled with the way the "medical community" handled DBF's situation. Without going into a long, drawn out production...he was basically told "your cholesterol is high...a prescription for Lipitor has been called into the pharmacy" To add insult to injury, this was his first visit to this particular Dr. and he never did get to see or speak with him...everything was done via the "physician's assistant". Needless to say, he won't be returning.

That sounds like a wise decision with that particular doctor. That was not handled well, I would agree.