Rethinking The Paleo Diet



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This is a follow up to my last 6 months of Paleo Diet, and I’ve finally done my blood test…and it’s shown that my lipid count is quite bad (cholesterol spike). There is a fair amount of fattiness to my liver as well. I spoke to one of my doctor friends, and they advised for a diet change to a “cleaner” one, and to do another review in three months time.

Honestly, I’m disappointed.

With the paleo diet, I’ve lost 3.5 kgs in the last 6 months, felt better than before, got leaner than before, not as hungry as before…but my cholesterol and liver results failed me. Perhaps, something to consider is that I have increased my workouts intensity and frequency, so that may have contributed to my weight loss and increase in energy.

Health Check Results as of 5/7/2012:

Weight (kg): 94.8 (down from 98.3 kgs)

BMI: 32

Lipid / Cholesterol Profile:

  • Total Cholesterol 276 (best below 200)
  • HDL Cholesterol 48 (best above 40)
  • LDL Cholesterol 201 (best below 130)
  • Cholesterol/HDL Ratio 5.8 (best below 4.51)
  • Triglycerides 136 (best below 200)

Liver Profile

  • SGPT/ALT 81 (best below 37)
  • SGOT/AST 41 (best below 41)
  • Gamma GT 78 (best blow 51)

The results of the health screening shows that my lipid/cholesterol profile is high, especially the LDL, which is waaaaay above recommended levels. The doctor mentioned to not worry about the liver profile as there is a high likelihood that it is because of the short-term Paleo Diet which contributed to the fattiness of the liver. They recommended that with a change of diet to a less fatty one, it’s likely that both lipids and liver function should improve (if it doesn’t then diet IS NOT a problem, but will be attributed to a problem of my own liver – hmm…perhaps a detox diet will help?)
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Conclusion: the Paleo Diet is currently an unsafe program for me to continue. With this event, I’ll be considering going on a raw juice (vegetable and fruits) diet (more than 60% of my diet will consist of this), aggressively cut down on fatty/high-fat diet, and monitor for the next three to six months before repeating my blood test again. I’ll still workout in the meantime, so that’ll be a consistent variable.

I’m sad. I…think I feel a little twinge of sadness plus fear of how my life would be in poor health and the possibility of cholesterol related problem later. Though I know it was a test and recommendation and may be short termed, but perhaps I enjoyed it. I loved it. I don’t hungry so often with the Paleo Diet, which I attribute to the higher intake of saturated fats.

…then again, it may not be entirely blamed on Paleo. I wonder if it’s the cholesterol in the eggs that’s causing the cholesterol spike? Should I just shed eggs from the diet (previously on an average 2-3 eggs daily)? My doctor said that actually 70% of the cholesterol in our body is created by our liver…so in many situations, the blame can be pinned on our own body’s cholesterol-producing liver. Damn.

Hmm. After discussing with Louise, Hendri and one of my doctor friends, it’s best for me to drop this Paleo Diet entirely for now to drop all possible nutritional cholesterol contributors (possible culprits: eggs, animal fats, evaporated milk) to ensure my cholesterol levels normalize first.

Hmm…but this scare has scared me enough to think and rethink my life and focus.  I’m thinking of selling off my physical rehabilitation company Urbanrehab Pte Ltd, and to change the focus of my life to one that is lesser stress and better quality of life. Of course, Urbanrehab’s profitable – in fact, it’s profits has risen and stabilize quite a bit this year, I hope that this will be a major upside to potential buyers.

Anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed and praying hard for open doors – pray for us and send good vibes to us in the meantime ok =)



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