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From:	snickers (cache-mtc-ad03.proxy.aol.com)
Subject:	For Elsie
Date:	December 15, 2005 at 8:32 am PST

Elsie,

Over the years I've been participating at the McDougall board there have been a small but significant number of people who are unable to lose weight even when following MWL and/or whose triglycerides have become elevated (or stayed elevated). When they post a question on the board or email Dr. McDougall the advice is always the same: limit your fruit intake, make sure you're following the program to the letter, and exercise more. For some people, these things do not work.

Some people have had success by changing to the hasty version of MWL (2/3 vegetables, 1/3 grains/starchy vegetables). Others have gone even further and changed to a different program that is vegetable-based and not starch-based as the McDougall program is. That program is Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live program.

Eat to Live emphasizes unlimited amounts of vegetables, especially leafy greens; fruits (minimum of 4 servings daily); beans (minimum of 1 cup daily) and includes a small amount of nuts (1 ounce) daily as well as 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed. Grains and starchy vegetables are limited to 1 cup daily. A few people have eliminated the grains and/or starchy vegetables. I'm not sure if that's been done for weight loss, to control triglycerides or personal choice.

I encouraged a diabetic friend of mine to try the McDougall program. She did, and while she lost weight and her blood sugars were in better control than they had been in ages, her triglycerides skyrocketed. On her own she switched to something more like Dr. Fuhrman's program and her triglycerides dropped to normal levels between doctor visits -- which were frequent for her.

I don't understand this, but grains seem to be the problem for some people not only for weight loss but also for control of triglycerides. Limiting the grains and increasing the fruit does the trick for them. Some people find that grains are the problem, but they can eat starchy vegetables.

Since your doctor has recommended that you eliminate the grains, switching to Eat to Live might be a good option for you. Eat to Live can be vegan, or it can include small amounts of fish (or poultry) and fat-free dairy products.

If you're interested, you can email me (click on my name in blue above) for more about Eat to Live in terms of controlling triglycerides and cholesterol. Whether you choose to do that or not, I'd highly recommend reading Eat to Live and Cholesterol Protection for Life -- both by Dr. Fuhrman. In addition, here are some links for you to explore:

www.drfuhrman.com
www.vegsource.com/talk/eat2live
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/etl.shtml (for the basics of Eat to Live)

Hope this helps you!
snickers

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