Dominique Larose
Dominique Larose is an unlikely candidate for high cholesterol. This 32 year old is fit as a fiddle and currently leads a Global Telecommunications consultancy team.
In August 2009 he had a routine blood test which showed that his total cholesterol was high at 6.9mmol/l, the current government recommended level being 5.0mmol/l.
Dom has always been particularly active, not only completing a trek through the Himalayas in 2004, but also regularly taken part in triathlons, cycling and was a keen rower throughout university.
Having high cholesterol was a surprise for Dom, who had never previously worried about cholesterol because he’d always been active and took part in regular exercise.
However, cholesterol can affect anyone at anytime in their life and Dom realised that the amount of saturated fats in his diet had crept up in recent years. He was eating lots of prepared meals and even lots of aeroplane meals, due to the large amount of travelling involved with his job, which often can be high in saturated fats.
Dom’s raised cholesterol shocked him into looking at dietary and lifestyle measures to help reduce his cholesterol levels. From mid 2009 Dom also made the decision to join part of an 800 mile expedition to cross the Arctic Ocean and be amongst a team of British explorers hoping to be the first to reach the Arctic Pole - the unconquered Everest of the Polar Regions.
The Arctic Pole, or Pole of Inaccessibility, is the furthest point from land and requires a treacherous crossing on sea ice; it is one of the most inhospitable environments on earth.
Dom says, "I wanted to join the Ice Warrior expedition to the Arctic Pole because I wanted to pit myself against the elements, and it will be the first time anyone has ever reached it. I didn’t want high cholesterol to stand in my way so I looked into diet and lifestyle changes that would help lower cholesterol, that’s when I found out about Benecol."
To improve his diet, and moreover start to lower his cholesterol levels ahead of the expedition, Dom went to speak to his GP and started visiting a nutritionist regularly.
Dom’s new diet needed to factor in high protein and carbohydrate levels that would increase his muscle mass and weight, as at 70kg Dom would need to make sure he put on weight ahead of the arduous expedition. At the same time his new diet had to factor in a reduction of saturated fat intake and ensure that he would start to lower his cholesterol levels.
Dom started to incorporate Benecol® foods into his daily diet and started with yoghurt drinks and buttery spread. The plant stanols are clinically proven to lower cholesterol. When consumed daily, 1.5 to 2.4g of plant stanol can reduce cholesterol by around 7-10% in 2-3 weeks as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. Dom also started to increase his intake of nuts, avocados and fibre to further aid cholesterol lowering and help put on muscle weight.
Through improving his diet and lifestyle alone Dom was able to actively reduce his cholesterol and in December 2009 a blood test revealed that his total cholesterol level had reduced to 5.8mmol/L. As he has continued to eat Benecol foods since this test he hopes that his next test will reveal a healthy cholesterol level of under 5mmol/L.
In addition to the dietary changes that Dom had incorporated, he has also been visiting the gym on a daily basis. His focus areas are ongoing weight lifting and tyre pulling to bulk up muscle and develop the muscle strength that will be required for the 800 mile Arctic expedition. This is being followed by a 4 month period of aerobic exercise to build up base fitness levels, followed by a 2 month period of both aerobic exercise and development of muscle strength to further increase body mass.
Furthermore in preparation for crossing the Arctic, Dom and the Ice Warrior team spent 10 days in the UK learning basic medical and survival skills, 20 days in Svalbard in the Arctic (78ºN) in near-permanent darkness. The team then spent a further eight days on the frozen Arctic Ocean at Frobisher Bay, Canada.
The expedition will be the first to ever reach the Arctic Pole, which is further north and harder to reach than the Magnetic Pole and Geographic North Pole.
It is expected to last 80 days and Dom plans to take Benecol® spreads to add to his rehydrated breakfasts in order to increase the energy values of his food whilst also helping keep his cholesterol low.
The biggest challenges facing Dom and the Ice Warrior team are not just the extreme cold, at -50ºC, but also exhaustion and fighting off psychological fatigue to keep alert and consider changes in thickness of the ice, spotting the onset of hypothermia, or even the risk of coming into contact with polar bears!
Overall Dom’s training has put him in an excellent position for the expedition, which will be setting off in February 2011, and having achieved a healthier cholesterol level in addition to the fitness and endurance training, he is in good stead to complete the Ice Warrior expedition and literally be on top of the world.
Tagged in Health