Helpmytrap

One thing that I realised now with reading this is that when most people go onto LCHF, they are coming from a lifestyle full of refined carbs. I'm not trying to retract from LCHF but what if majority of the weight loss experienced on LCHF can be contributed to all the junk and grains that have been removed? In my case, already coming from a diet extremely low on grains and refined/processed foods, my weight barely even budged. So maybe credit isn't given where it is due because "In their conclusions, they could very well be confusing cause and correlation."

Well aware of their uses, most of my fruit consumption is on the bike and directly after. Now that I can consume dairy again, my recovery meals have gone over to milk, fruit and Greek style yoghurt with half a teaspoon raw honey as well as leftover veggies. I suppose now that I'm steering away from oats, I'll probably start having my "primal coffee" again. How I have missed that. (I haven't had it because I threw all those ingredients into the oats.)

Worth posting as these should be some of your goals when improving your health. You got it - spot on - just replace "low hba1c" with "low normal hba1c" - assuming by higher you don't mean more than about 20% higher than normal cholesterol levels... EXCEPT - if you are a diabetic - then low Hba1c numbers are potentially lethal - any diabetic with an hba1c number below 6 is most likely having glucose low's that are even worse than having an hba1c number slightly over normal - collapsing because you are low can be fatal... I can't post patient pics without their permission (and I am not planning to ask) but a fractured skull is definitely a possibility - had one of those earlier this year - Fit, healthy diabetic, with an hba1c of 5.5 (so according to a lot of people, well controlled) - collapsed at the gym.. clipped his head on something... small fracture and some bleeding... NOT GOOD - 4 days in ICU, 4 more in high care... And of course - the reminder that smoking is a MUCH bigger risk factor than slightly elevated cholesterol numbers - anyone who smokes is fooling themselves about several things.

High GI fruit? I assume these fall on that list; pineapple, melon, papaya, mango and bananas and I suppose all dried fruit?

I've done both and IMO you cant compare the two at all. The jock might be 151km, but you aren't even on the bike for more than 2h30 (worst case scenario for stage 3) at a time, so there is a lot of rest in between which compensates for any amount of climbing. The real tough part of the DC is the wind, we were luck to have the wind up our bum last year all the way from Robertson to Swellendam but if you have a head wind on that section like most other years, it is hell.

Statins do have their place, especially for those with Hypercholesterolaemia. So don't get me wrong, I just feel that it is an over prescribed drug that shouldn't be taken willy nilly.

The transportation companies aren't exploiting the public by playing on nerves in order to boost sales (edit: okay maybe they are by portraying certain idealistic/dream scenarios.) They merely advertise their product and if it is appealing to you, you go and buy it. On the other hand, drug companies (specifically statin) try and dictate what is healthy and what it not by misrepresenting/shifting the norm, the healthy level of total cholesterol being lowered is a good example of this. Yes they are all in it for the money but the means are definitely not the same! At the end of the day, I'd rather have a higher than average cholesterol with good HDL:LDL ratios and Low triglycerides and a low HbA1c than being diagnosed with a "healthy" level of cholesterol.

Apples and pears. But I get what you are saying. Do yourself a favour and watch that 2 part documentary that I posted one page back.

We had guests over for lunch today and I decided to take dessert into my own hands. That way I could at least come up with the healthiest thing I could think of. The outcome, Eton mess. I mean you can't go too wrong with cream and berries. Although there was meringue for those that wanted. So I whipped up some cream with a little vanilla essence and diced up some strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. It was delicious. My only thing from a culinary perspective re the berries, in a non healthy world one adds a little sugar to the diced berries -some time before serving- in order to get all the juices "going" (don't know how to describe it.) Can one achieve this juicy berry situation by means other than sugar or squashing a few of the fruit? Thought I'd post this since we have been meaning to find LC desserts.

Most definitely. Out of interest, how much is actually still intact? Because it looks like a few more bumps and there would have been a lot of pain that would have gone your way.

The dust yesterday was nothing compared to last year when the event was in the middle of winter. But I know what you're talking about, whoever rode the MTN Rooiberg race this year would know! There was about 2hrs of involuntary coughing after finishing the race because of all the dust that we had in the first 20 or so kilometres. Funny that you don't cough while riding but once you stop it feels like the coughing never ends.

Simple really, let go of the front brake. Sure it is easier said then done but a lot of falls occur because people are on their front brakes (because they are outside their comfort zone at that point.)

Momentum is your friend, the rest is choosing a line with the least amount of sharp rocks to avoid sidewall cuts or bashing through and knocking your rim (although if your bashing rims it is because you are too stiff/tense on the bike and/or tire pressure way too low.) It is easier to ride over most of the rocks than trying to knit pick through them. edit: spelling

Fats & Fatty Acids (http://nutritiondata...-and-oils/617/2) Amounts Per 100g Serving Total Fat 99.8g Saturated Fat 33.2g Monounsaturated Fat 49.3g Polyunsaturated Fat 12.9g Total Omega-3 fatty acids 1000mg Total Omega-6 fatty acids 11999mg It is rather high in O-6 fatty acids, I would say that butter is a better choice since it is lower in O-6 and PUFA and higher in saturated. edit: but probably better than avo oil. Fats & Fatty Acids Amounts Per 100g Serving (Butter) Total Fat 81.1g Saturated Fat 51.4g Monounsaturated Fat 21.0g Polyunsaturated Fat 3.0g Total Omega-3 fatty acids 315mg Total Omega-6 fatty acids 2728mg

I believe it was PhotoMarx who took pictures on the trail and the rest will be posted on the "Nissan Trailseeker" FB page. https://www.facebook.com/trailseekermtb

Here is part 1 and 2.

One can get Coconut Oil at Dischem and most if not all health shops. Else check Crede's website to see who stocks their product in your area. Yes it is expensive R150-170 per litre but get the Virgin Organic and not the odourless. http://www.credeoils.com/store-locator/gauteng/

Or if you are feeling particularly frisky for a 2h30 ride, just be about 30 seconds faster than this ride. Contains both tcx and gpx file. 94.7 2h30.zip

Eina!! Better than last year and I loved the rocky technical section not too far from the end, it separated the men from the boys. I unfortunately picked up 2 punctures simultaneously(front and rear) 8km into the race which I had to plug, so the rest from that point was rather painful trying to not concede too much time. Thanks Tim.

Ghee is your friend. (Clarified butter)

Very aware of the LDL particle size story and keeping the triglycerides low. In a lot of the talks between pro and anti cholesterol, that seems to be where they get lost in translation. Pro-cholesterol will focus on increasing the amount of fluffy LDL particles while anti-cholesterol will focus on decreasing the particle count. But because they are so focussed on there views, they are blind to the fact that both their ideas actually overlap. Lowering particle count can be a sign of an increase in the fluffy LDL particles. (This happened in the Noakes, Rossouw debate not to long ago.) I actually think that the above link is from that exact debate. edit: PS, I edited my previous post to include part 2, I forgot the http in the url.

Just as an alternative/objective view on the cardiovascular topic, the second video is more specific to cholesterol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDVf-00w5gk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAKaM330xzg

Technically speaking, they only work partially. If they were 100% effective they'd kill you since life cannot be sustained without cholesterol. I have the same stance as johannrissik on the matter.

Because it is part of the MTN series now.

Geez, life handed you some proper lemons!