Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 75 year old healthy male. I’m a little frustrated after seeing my regular doctor for a checkup and getting a call from his physician assistant who was suggesting a low-fat, low-carb diet. I asked for more specific dietary suggestions, as I admit to being nutritionally ignorant (my late wife always bought groceries and cooked meals for us). Other than beef and bread, I’m not even sure what a carbohydrate is.
My LDL cholesterol is 152 mg/dL, my triglyceride levels are 256 mg/dL, and my A1C level is 5.8%. Since I was 20, my A1C has been 5.6% or more despite being very active and fairly thin, and I don’t eat sweets or add sugar to coffee, tea, or cereal. I have severe neuropathy, but I just work with it every day, as sitting is not in my nature.
My weekly exercise routine consists of three days of strength training, plus running on the treadmill at the gym, and three days of walking 2.5 to 3.5 miles on the days I don’t hit the gym. I try to eat a good variety of vegetables, fresh fruit at every meal and I rarely eat beef or anything fried as fat causes stomach problems.
