During the Covid-19 pandemic I met obvious obstacles which prevented me from checking my health on a regular base. However, I was impressed when I realised that my last blood test dated back to 2019...so with normality restored, I took the chance to do a comprehensive test. I expected some bed news regarding my triglycerides' level balanced by a comforting change in HDL value. And indeed the results show exactly this trend. The unregular diet regime I underwent over more than 100 days abroad (and during which I had almost zero power to control what I ate) affected the tryg level, which is now almost twice as much as the figures in 2019. Resolution: to cut sugar, sweet things, alcoholic beverages, diary products, red meat. On the other hand, 2 years of continuing physical activities paid off, as my HDL value increased by 8 points. As a result of this, the risk of cardiovascular deficits keeps within a low / medium range. Of course, everything should be taken with a grain of salt, as the values indicating a risk differ slightly or even considerably: I found a website that claims that the tryg level should be within 50 and 170, and that the LDL value should be lower than 160. On other websites, I found that the risky levels are respectively 150 (this value is confirmed also by my medical report) and 130. As we live in a capitalistic (crazy) world, it is quite clear that these guidelines are heavily influenced by the pharmaceutic industry.
Anyway, I have developed a medium-term strategy: in the next 6 month I will not resort to drugs, but I will cut junk and industrial food, sugar & alcohol, giving priority to vegetables, fresh products, fruit, white meat and fish. I expect to eat less, too. Concerning the physical activity, I will include at least 2 long, slow-paced runs per week, which are expected to reduce both tryg and LDL cholesterol levels. In August / September I will repeat the blood test and compare the results. If the strategy shows no effects, I will turn to "bio-statins" like fermented red rice, which has already proved effective in the past.
