Cigna is Making Progress

Yesterday as I put my lunch in the refrigerator at work, I noticed a bunch of unfamiliar people in the break room. One of them, Pepe, started in: they were there for the health fair, they would check your cholesterol, the sugar in your blood, your height, your weight, and it would just take six minutes. A coworker asked him if he'd ever considered a career in sales. Just for blog fodder, I participated.

They really were fast, and one even found me at my desk (in an office nearly half the size of a city block) after the tests were finished.

My HDL cholesterol was 65--up from 42 from a year and a half ago, and up from 57, where it was last year when I'd been three months a low-carb diet. A level over 60 is considered good. I haven't taken any medication to make this happen. I went on a low-carb diet and eliminated wheat. I also take vitamin and mineral supplements in addition to a high-nutrient diet.

What impressed me more, though, was that the nurse (and Cigna) said that blood glucose under 140 was considered good. For a long time now, anything under 200 was considered good. Research indicates that sustained levels of 140 or above can cause organ and tissue damage. When I told the nurse I ate a low carb diet and was pleased with the results, she approved--even though she said she'd have a hard time giving up pasta. As for me, I don't miss it. The days of people looking at you like you have two heads when you tell them you eat low-carb seem to be going away--and I won't miss them, either.

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