CHOLESTEROL CONTROL

According to cardiologist Michael H. Davidson, M.D., executive medical director of Radiant Research in Chicago, people who get about 6 g of pectin a day can lower their cholesterol by at least five percent. This amount can be found in three cups of grapefruit sections. Here at Carrington, grapefruit sections appear every morning at the Continental Breakfast, as well as platters of melons and orange slices. Yogurt and both hot and cold cereals are featured along with fruit juices, coffee, tea and toast. Two hours (between seven and nine a.m.) both dining rooms are available and residents sit wherever they wish. At other formal meals we sit at tables with three other residents. At 9:30 an exercise program is available on the Third Floor and we can follow the program with a TV exercise channel. We are also encouraged to walk the cement circular sidewalk around the building and can jot down the time distance at the main desk and keep track of doing a “virtual” walk to the Chartwell Headquarters in Ontario. We will soon be as far their main Saskatchewan Branch.

Judy Dodd RD, assistant professor in the School of Health and Rehabilitation at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and former president of the American Dietetic Association tells us how the pectin in the whole grains, beans, vegetables and fresh fruits dissolve into a gel that traps fat and cholesterol, transporting it into the stool. It glides through the body’s organs where other chemicals produced by the liver that interrupts the production of cholesterol. Whole grains, beans, and fresh fruit and vegetables, cooked or raw can be made into salads or a blender drink. There are over 400 strains of bacteria in the gut – some are good like the yogurts that contain probiotics and some are bad (pathogenic). The intestinal flora can be thrown off kilter by medications that may be advised by each person’s family doctor. They can explain why it is often neessary to take yogurt after consuming some medications. The intestinal flora can be thrown into disarray by too many sweets, and other refined foods. It is always a good idea to make a list of questions before your next trip to your family doctor.