Hello friends, I hope this letter finds you healthy? I thought that I would take the time to write to you and let you know about a few things that have been happening since my last letter. Firstly, I am happy to report that I have already lost almost two and a half stones in weight. I fast for 18 hours per day, avoiding food after six o’clock most evenings. I have also moved onto a low-carb/ketogenic diet, so I no longer eat anything containing sugar, starchy veg, and anything made with grains. I still enjoy dairy, although I am now a black coffee drinker. I’m also happy to report that my blood pressure is beginning to normalise, helped by the daily consumption of Hibiscus tea and long walks. I still have to change the way I work. I need to find a job that involves very little stress, so I continue to pursue my HGV driving licence. The good news is that I have now passed the medical to have the provisional entitlement added to my licence.
I invested in a blood glucose monitor to see where my numbers are a few times per week. So far, all of my glucose levels seem to be normal?! Therefore, I guess I can say that I’m in remission. I’m not worried about my cholesterol. Having spent some time researching problems associated with high cholesterol, I could not find any recent studies that prove it causes heart disease. The cause of most heart disease is inflammation, not cholesterol. Here are a couple of YouTube videos to watch that make a compelling case for the direction that I have taken with my health.
and…
So, there you have it. Despite my doctor throwing metformin, statins, and channel blockers at me for the three “deadly” diseases that I am suffering from, I have already made significant changes by changing what I eat, when I eat, and when and how much I exercise. As an adjunct to all of the changes, I have increased my meditation practice to reign in some of the anxiety that I have been feeling since my diagnosis. The only drug that I am now taking is Amlodipine; a calcium channel blocker used to reduce blood pressure. Next week, I will reduce the amount of that drug that I take by 50%, or one tablet every other day. At the same time, I will increase my hibiscus tea intake.
Okay, that’s about it for this letter. This weekend, I will be at Brands Hatch to see Valentino Rossi racing his Audi R8 LMS in the GT World Series. I will make a couple of short videos and take plenty of photos for you to look at, all of which will be available via this letter and my Flickr page. Look out for the write-up and links to the media soon.
Until next time, adieu!
JP