Dr. Gott: Stop meds, recheck cholesterol level with low-fat diet

Dear Dr. Gott: I am an 81-year-old woman who has realized that her short-term memory has deteriorated this year. I am very healthy otherwise.

I had been taking Lipitor for several years. Recently I read that Lipitor can affect your short-term memory, so I decided to stop for two weeks.

My cholesterol went from 150 to 225, and I was not watching my diet. Is that too high for a woman my age?

Dear Reader: I am aware that Lipitor and similar drugs can cause memory problems.

In my experience, a cholesterol level of 225 in an 81-year-old person is common and does not carry the same side effects (such as stroke and heart attack) that would be much more of a problem in an adult half your age.

Therefore, I recommend the following approach, which you should run by your physician. Hold off on the Lipitor for now, follow a low-cholesterol diet, and have your blood-fat profile rechecked in three or four months.

If your doctor is concerned about your level, ask him or her about alternative, safer remedies, such as omega-3 fish oil capsules. Let me know what you decide.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Understanding Cholesterol.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: My 55-year-old husband’s fasting blood sugar is 114. Would your no-flour, no-sugar diet reduce that level? There is a family history of diabetes on both our sides.

He and I are both in need of losing weight, but we do exercise. Our doctor just gave us numbers but no suggestions.

Dear Reader: The upper limit for fasting blood-sugar levels is about 110. If your husband were a diabetic, he almost certainly would have a fasting level above 150.

This is not to say your husband couldn’t develop diabetes as he ages, but I doubt that he is, at present, diabetic.

Because it prohibits sugar-containing products, my no-flour, no-sugar diet is very appropriate for patients with diabetes. He should follow the diet for several weeks and then repeat his fasting blood-sugar test, along with a glycohemoglobin blood test.

I’ll be surprised if, during an active weight-loss program, his sugar failed to fall.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Introduction to the No Flour, No Sugar Diet.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092.

My no-flour, no-sugar diet book will be out around May or June this year. It contains food lists, meal planners, recipes and much more information to help with my diet. You can preorder the book directly from the publisher at www.quilldriverbooks.com or by phone at (800) 497-4909.