About Smarter Cookies’ First Customer

In 2007 I sold Smarter Cookies to my first customer, Viento Y Agua café in Long Beach, CA.   The owner, Bela McGordy was looking for a healthful treat that meshed with the sense of wellness, peace and creativity his café’s environment fosters. Smarter Cookies were an instant hit at Viento Y Agua.

The recipe has evolved since I sold my first cookies. I have located sources for bulk organic ingredients so Smarter Cookies’ relative nutritional value has increased while their price has remained stable.

My experience with The Fast Track Detox Diet After I Finished Chemotherapy
By Richard Harvey

In July of 2008, I completed my last dose of Chemotherapy. In September of 2008 JoAnn and I decided to try a comprehensive nutritional detox as prescribed in The Fast Track Detox Diet, a book by Ann Louise Gittleman PHD. It seemed like a good idea after 2 years of chemotherapy. JoAnn and I completed the 10-day detox in late September. One of the things Gittleman noted is that people who complete this detox often see significant drops in their serum cholesterol when it is over. According to the results of my blood test on 4/15/08, the favorable trend I started while on chemo was really helped by Gittleman’s detox. My overall cholesterol number was 147 on that date.

The nutritional remedies I worked with are the only possible explanation for the dramatic changes that occurred between 7/06 and 4/08. I can’t attribute it to exercise. I tried to exercise regularly, but I didn’t feel very good about half of the time, so I just did the best I could to stay active.

For me, nutrition was the solution to my cholesterol problem. Looking at the effect oat bran and grape seed oil had on my test results while I was on strong medication that is known to negatively impact cholesterol makes me feel good about having those as major ingredients in Smarter Cookies. These are among the key ingredients that make Smarter Cookies an intelligent nutritional choice.

How Two Major Ingredients in Smarter Cookies Helped Improve My Cholesterol Numbers
By Richard Harvey

Within four months of when I added significant daily quantities of oat bran and grape seed oil to my diet in July, 2007 my cholesterol had dropped from 246 to 214. This was without prescription cholesterol medication. In 2008 when my doctors followed up on my cholesterol numbers we were surprised to find that the numbers had moved all the way from 246 to 147. That is a 40% Drop! My LDL’s dropped, my HDLs went up and my triglycerides improved as well. My weight did not change significantly during that time.

From July of 2006 I exercised consistently at the moderate level I had been maintaining before I changed my diet. By the spring of 2007, my level of exercise dropped off. I had been on chemo for 1½ years and I felt tired a lot. Decreasing exercise can negatively impact cholesterol levels, yet even in this time my HDL’s went up. So I am pleased to conclude that given the lack of other significant factors, oat bran and grape seed oil, as indicated in prior clinical trial evidence helped me to solve my cholesterol problem. Both of these are major ingredients in Smarter Cookies.

Table of Richard Harvey’s Cholesterol Change
between 2006 and 2008

In August of 2007 I completed my final cycle of Chemotherapy. As the numbers show, Between July 2006 and August of 2007, my LDL cholesterol dropped 26 percent and the ratio of LDL to HDL improved from 3.2:1 to 1.93:1. My overall cholesterol dropped 10%. Again, this occurred while I was on chemo and with no pharmaceutical cholesterol medication.