High Cholesterol at 26

ama5502

Hi I'm new here and am wondering if anyone has any advice on high cholesterol...I went to my family dr yesterday and found out that despite dieting (I gave up pretty much everything I like to eat) my cholesterol has gone UP. I also started eating a ton more protein than I used to (chicken and ham) and my blood protein level has gone DOWN. I don't understand how any of this is possible. I also don't eat any red meat and I only eat egg whites (taste preference). My numbers are as follows:

Total cholesterol: 224 (was 220 a couple months ago)
LDL: 154 (was 153)
HDL: 58 (was 44, this is good)
Triglycerides: 59 (were 139, YIKES)

I used to drink a ton of soda and completely cut that out, that lowered the triglycerides but I haven't lost one damn pound from it.

I was trying a low(er) carb diet, but obviously that is making my sky high cholesterol worse. I have no idea what to do...I feel like I'm basically "circling the drain" at 26. I'm 133 pounds and I'm 5'2", which I know is on the heavy side. How am I supposed to eat better when a low carb diet does this to my body? And how in the world did cutting soda out not make even a slight difference??

I'm pretty sure I got this issue from my dad and his disgusting genetics (along with a plethora of other problems he gave me). Where should I go from here? I don't want to be on medication, however I pretty much can't eat anything but boiled chicken and vegetables for the rest of my life. My fasting blood glucose was 96 (went up from 92 before, again I don't know why. I don't have ANY sweets and barely any carbs!!) so I have to restrict pretty much everything I eat.

Has anyone else been in this situation? I feel so depressed about this

Need2Exerc1se

If this is your only medical issue then it's not really that high. LDL < 130 is typically the goal without other risk factors or health issues. And your HDL is high enough to be a protective factor.

Do you exercise?

lpappas84

I've heard from a couple of dietitians that the basic cholesterol test/lipid profile doesn't really tell you much, and that people with high cholesterol should be requesting VAP tests for a clearer picture:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17110240.

It measures cholesterol particle size among other things, which may be a more important indicator of potential for coronary disease. Having your c-reactive protein tested in conjunction can also tell you how much inflammation is in your body, which is what causes cholesterol to become a problem. CRP number should be less than 1.

RockstarWilson

Go to the success forum. Look for "My Success on keto/high fat diet". Those are my results. I dont know what the numbers looked like before, but they are there for after. Maybe thatll help.

RockstarWilson

@ Pu-239....where do you get that information for Tr/HDL? My triglycerides are 93mg/dL, and HDL is 48 mg/dL (LDL is 103 mg/dL). Based on those numbers, I am at risk for a heart attack? All my levels otherwise are normal, or better than normal. That ratio doesnt make sense to me.

chelsmaee7

I don't really have any advice since I'm in a very similar situation but I'm 24 with high cholesterol. You're not alone though! I was shocked when I found out and I'm also trying to find a way to do something about it without taking medication.

RockstarWilson

In any case...my advice, based on evidence on myself....eat more fat. I am going to confirm my findings on June 5 when I go in for another lipid panel, but my numbers are stellar and I have eaten higher fat for 7 months. Go figure.

RockstarWilson

Yeah, not quite 2, but just below it by .07. Theoretically, I should see those ratios get closer to 1 on the next panel.

Also, those conclusions are only valid for people 45.5 to 68.5 years of age who have history of CA disease prevalence. It is extremely common for heart/cv issues to develop between those ages, as well. What does that say for a 26 year old, I wonder?


I didn't understand a whole lot of the biochem mumbo jumbo, but I got the gist of the study.

RockstarWilson

ama5502 wrote: »

I was trying a low(er) carb diet, but obviously that is making my sky high cholesterol worse.

Not necessarily. OP, what is your workout routine like? Do you workout routinely, do you change it up, and do you hit a higher heart rate if/when you do work out?

RockstarWilson

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/features/exercise-to-lower-cholesterol

Good article on this topic....sources are Duke University Medical Center and John Hopkins Research Hospital. Read it all the way through.

RockstarWilson

Age has to be relevant, because the people they chose for the study already had issues. I would have to see their survey technique to confirm, but if they were looking at just people that already were at risk...why did they not use people of -any- age?

I would guess that the risks go up as one gets older, as the heartbeat slows, so whatever goes in will more than likely stick around for longer in an older person than younger, say 60 and 30 years, respectively.

RockstarWilson

That article was definitely up my alley. Thank you, I understand it better.

It was kind of funny how the blog stated that "although a high carb diet will increase your ratio, doctors still recommend the diet to reduce it." (Paraphrasing). Doctors are too afraid of a high fat diet bc the government has been preaching "eat from farms" since the 1940s (what a load of crap). They are probably afraid the Medical Board would strip their license.

gsxrguy03

Eat oatmeal for breakfast with a piece of fruit.

marmaladepixie

cholesterol is weird... when i was completely vegan for 3 years (eating dr. fuhrman style) , and did not eat refined fats like margarine, processed foods, or flours etc. My cholesterol was just over 200. I was told the ratio was more important than the total # though. my numbers were 101/100. As long as your triglycerides and CRP levels are good, then I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe less ham though, especially if it is cured.

Also, if your vitamin D is low, or activity level, then your cholesterol can be elevated despite diet.