Cholesterol numbers moving the wrong way on low carb/ high protein diet
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While it is true that genetics play into your numbers, most people can lower them with diet/exercise. Limit saturated (animal fats) - will help lower ldl, and get more polyunsaturated/monounsaturated (plant-based fats) - will help raise you hdl. It makes since that your triglycerides were lowered, carbs have a direct effect on that number. So try lean meats, non-starchy veggies, low fat diary, fish, nuts, avocado, olive oil, ect - see after a few months if that makes a difference.0
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The one thing that really helps to remove cholesterol from your diet is nonsoluable fiber. Which you get from fruits and veggies. Which a "low carb/high protein" diet typically excludes because people tend to focus on protein, and fatty proteins at that.
Fiber, when eaten, acts like a pipe cleaner to the gut. The cholesterol actually binds to the fiber and gets passed too quickly for the body to reabsorb it. Yes, you can get fiber through supplements. However, if you don't drink enough water fiber supplements turn into cement for the gut. My recommendation (as a nurse) is to increase the amount of fruits, veggies and whole grains in your diet. Also, look at switching some of your fats to plant based fats.0 -
Honestly, the glucose level is far more troubling. Is that a fasting bg?0
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pollypocket1021 wrote: »Honestly, the glucose level is far more troubling. Is that a fasting bg?
Erm. Why? It's within normal limits.0 -
The one thing that really helps to remove cholesterol from your diet is nonsoluable fiber. Which you get from fruits and veggies. Which a "low carb/high protein" diet typically excludes because people tend to focus on protein, and fatty proteins at that.
Fiber, when eaten, acts like a pipe cleaner to the gut. The cholesterol actually binds to the fiber and gets passed too quickly for the body to reabsorb it. Yes, you can get fiber through supplements. However, if you don't drink enough water fiber supplements turn into cement for the gut. My recommendation (as a nurse) is to increase the amount of fruits, veggies and whole grains in your diet. Also, look at switching some of your fats to plant based fats.
It's actually SOLUBLE fiber that does what you describe in terms of lowering cholesterol. Non-soluble is good for many other things but it is the soluble type that binds with cholesterol in the digestive tract.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/cholesterol/art-200451920 -
To all, thank you for the many responses. I've decided to see my original dr. who is also a nutritionist. I would like one more opinion on this strategy and these numbers. I will open my diary for public access if you want to see my details. I agree the triglycerides are moving in the right direction which is hopeful. I have a family history of heart disease so I know what's in store for me if I don't make these changes. Again, this is a wonderful community with many knowledgable people. Thanks gain. Kurt0
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Consider that maybe low carb/high fat/high protein isn't for you.
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Yes, this stuff is pretty complicated. Not everyone can use google.Burt_Huttz wrote: »badgerbadger1 wrote: »The most accurate measure of risk for heart disease is your triglycerides to HDL ratio.
Ideally it should be kept below 2. If it's around 3.5 is at risk, 7.3 is very high risk.
SO lets do some math
At the start your triglycerdes are 214, and HDL is 48.
214/48 = 4.75 This is pretty bad.
After
132/43 = 3.07
A lot better, you're doing good, so don't stress it. Keep doing what you're doing.
Oh so you're a doctor now. Cool.
It would take a doctor to know that? Only a doctor?
No. It takes someone better than a doctor.
Sure, the OP is concerned about his health and his alarming lab results, but the dr is not qualified to help him, because years of studying and practising cannot match up to your skills at googling. I am sure that a 30 year old student (and not a medical student) with the help of dr google can help OP save his life better than a dr (yes, sarcasm here). I understand that dropping down from morbidly obese to normal is a major accomplishment and it means there a lot if questions regarding to weight loss you can answer from personal experience. However it does not mean you are qualified to give medical advice and that weight loss is the beginning and end of health. I understand why it feels this way to you, and to many of us, but it is not. There still is a need for drs...0 -
Yes, this stuff is pretty complicated. Not everyone can use google.Burt_Huttz wrote: »badgerbadger1 wrote: »The most accurate measure of risk for heart disease is your triglycerides to HDL ratio.
Ideally it should be kept below 2. If it's around 3.5 is at risk, 7.3 is very high risk.
SO lets do some math
At the start your triglycerdes are 214, and HDL is 48.
214/48 = 4.75 This is pretty bad.
After
132/43 = 3.07
A lot better, you're doing good, so don't stress it. Keep doing what you're doing.
Oh so you're a doctor now. Cool.
It would take a doctor to know that? Only a doctor?
No. It takes someone better than a doctor.
Sure, the OP is concerned about his health and his alarming lab results, but the dr is not qualified to help him, because years of studying and practising cannot match up to your skills at googling. I am sure that a 30 year old student (and not a medical student) with the help of dr google can help OP save his life better than a dr (yes, sarcasm here). I understand that dropping down from morbidly obese to normal is a major accomplishment and it means there a lot if questions regarding to weight loss you can answer from personal experience. However it does not mean you are qualified to give medical advice and that weight loss is the beginning and end of health. I understand why it feels this way to you, and to many of us, but it is not. There still is a need for drs...
You're completely missing the point.
I know I am.0 -
I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice.
Dude. Your triglycerides have dropped through the floor. Your HDL ratio is getting awesome. Your VLDL is damn near perfect and has dropped substantially (and it's only the small, dense LDL that are problematic anyway).
Total cholesterol is proven to have 0 correlation to total mortality. It's up, down, and sideways, and the only way anyone has ever proved a "correlation" is to cherry-pick populations that have both low cholesterol and low mortality; you can cherry-pick similar areas with high cholesterol and low mortality to create an opposite result.
I say pop 3-5 fish oil pills a day and enjoy your ongoing success. Your relevant markers -- triglyceride, LDL/HDL ratio, and VLDL numbers -- are GREAT. If you're on low-carb, your total cholesterol will go up, but all the biomarkers of early mortality go DOWN. This is a truly radical transforamtionin the right direction.
Total cholesterol is -- at present, due to lack of evidence -- not an indicator of overall health.0 -
Yes, this stuff is pretty complicated. Not everyone can use google.Burt_Huttz wrote: »badgerbadger1 wrote: »The most accurate measure of risk for heart disease is your triglycerides to HDL ratio.
Ideally it should be kept below 2. If it's around 3.5 is at risk, 7.3 is very high risk.
SO lets do some math
At the start your triglycerdes are 214, and HDL is 48.
214/48 = 4.75 This is pretty bad.
After
132/43 = 3.07
A lot better, you're doing good, so don't stress it. Keep doing what you're doing.
Oh so you're a doctor now. Cool.
It would take a doctor to know that? Only a doctor?
No. It takes someone better than a doctor.
Sure, the OP is concerned about his health and his alarming lab results, but the dr is not qualified to help him, because years of studying and practising cannot match up to your skills at googling. I am sure that a 30 year old student (and not a medical student) with the help of dr google can help OP save his life better than a dr (yes, sarcasm here). I understand that dropping down from morbidly obese to normal is a major accomplishment and it means there a lot if questions regarding to weight loss you can answer from personal experience. However it does not mean you are qualified to give medical advice and that weight loss is the beginning and end of health. I understand why it feels this way to you, and to many of us, but it is not. There still is a need for drs...
You're completely missing the point.
No, I am not. I see a lot of advice on MFP by people who are not qualified to give such advice, based on the fact they have lost weight or changed in other ways their appearance. Which is at times like this even dangerous. Losing weight means you know how to eat at a deficit and it also means you know how to mentally get there. It does not mean you can reassure someone concerned for his health that he is doing things right. Because you really have no clue. Linking to medical research so the poster can further investigate, yes it is good advice. Giving medical advice with no medcial qualifications, it is extremely irresponsible.0 -
I work in medical publishing but I have no clinical experience and cringe whenever I see medical advice given or accepted over the Internet. There is no substitute for seeing your doctor and, if you have any doubts about your physician, getting a second opinion or finding a new doctor with more specific credentials in the area of concern.0
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badgerbadger1 wrote: »Listen to your Doctor and not random people on the interwebs.
Doctors always want to put people on statins meds. Statins are known to be dangerous. Cholesterol can be changed with diet and exercise.0 -
I know there are people who say this, but there are also those who with expertise who strongly dispute this. There are obviously other factors. What are your best scientific sources to support your view?jennifershoo wrote: »
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OP, eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Avoid trans fats (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils) (there are some in your coffee creamer) and increase your ratio of omega-3/omega-6.
ETA: stop with the fried food.0
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