Diet to lower cholesterol

amandadunwoody

A friend has recently been diagnosed with high cholesterol. I'm trying to help her learn the ropes of healthy eating. There's so much mixed information out there. Can you recommend any resources that give reliable info on a heart healthy diet?

queenliz99

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/Cholesterol_UCM_001089_SubHomePage.jsp

tennisdude2004

High fat / low carb is a proven diet for: Increasing HDL, lowering triglycerides and increasing LDL particle size.

That being said it's not for everyone and if your friend just ate a balanced diet, in a calorie deficit and exercised, they would probably see an improvement.

High cholesterol isn't necessarily a bad thing. The cholesterol we get in out diet really has no bearing on our cholesterol level (those levels are determined by your body) on account of the fact it is a essential hormone that your body naturally produces.

If your friend maybe just tries to reduce the amount of inflammatory foods and eats more food high in anti oxidants it will probably help as well.

amandadunwoody

Wow that's so interesting @tennisdude2004. She's been avoiding fat and ice been trying to encourage her that good fats are super important. I have not found anything recommending high fat /low carb. Is there a site with info that you can recommend?

Melmo1988

Look up Atkins diet (same as high fat/low carb) and read Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, it'll explain it all

tennisdude2004

amandadunwoody wrote: »

Wow that's so interesting @tennisdude2004. She's been avoiding fat and ice been trying to encourage her that good fats are super important. I have not found anything recommending high fat /low carb. Is there a site with info that you can recommend?

Good fats are important.

Eat mostly:
Saturated Fat
Monounsaturated fat

Limit:
Polyunsaturated fat (focus on omega 3 when you have your polyunsaturated fat).

And if possible avoid:
Man Made trans fats
interesterfied fats

amandadunwoody

queenliz99 wrote: »

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/Cholesterol_UCM_001089_SubHomePage.jsp

I looked at the link and will definitely go back and check it out later.

Thanks for the info everyone.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

when I did lower carb(100g) for awhile it did make a big improvement in my cholesterol. the numbers went down half on some to more than half on others, mine is also hereditary as well.

queenliz99

I also had elevated cholesterol numbers but I got my weight in check and I exercise everyday.

NewMeSM75

When I lowered mine enough to cut my meds in half, I exercised (doesn't have to massive amounts. A walk after dinner helps); stopped frying my foods, baked most of my meats, changed to olive oil and ate really high fiber foods. It's amazing how sweet and flavorful roasted vegetables are; even radishes are great.

rsclause

I took up MFP, lost 50 pounds, started eating oatmeal w/ fruit, berries, walnuts (any tree nut will do), chia seeds and almond milk daily. Added running 25 miles a week to my routine and dropped my bad cholesterol over fifty points. Blood pressure is down too. I cut back on breads and potatoes and gave up fast food & fries.

Need2Exerc1se

The most proven method for improving lipid profile is aerobic exercise. Diet wise, the Mediterranean Diet is probably the most proven. Olive oil, nuts, beans, vegetables and exercise. It works.

amandadunwoody

Great to hear your success stories! Her carbs are coming mostly from fresh veggies and beans, eating lean meats, and no more sausage, bacon, deep fried food, or processed cookies etc. We're walking a few times per week and working her towards doing more. Thanks for all of the information.

cwolfman13

I've personally found a Mediterranean inspired diet to work quite well...and it's very balanced and full of nutrition. I personally think the whole low carb/keto thing is very cultish at the moment...

LKArgh

Tell your friend to go back to her dr and get instructions. Is she truly going to follow advice based on the replies you get from strangers on the internet? What if the advice is contradictory? Or if you get an eating plan that will no work because of other medical issues your friend might have? She needs to go back to the dr and get an eating plan. if her dr cannot do this, then she should see a dietitian or see if the local hospital has a department dealing with this. There a few standard approaches about lifestyle changes.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

I agree she needs to see a dr/dietitian, but they instructed me to follow a low cholesterol diet which meant cutting out fats,oils,eggs, fatty meats,full fat dairy,eggs,and so on. that did not work at all even after exercise and losing weight. it even made my cholesterol worse. for me I had to stop meds due to the health problems they were given me(I dont recommend going off them unless the dr says its ok). but I stopped my meds and ate lower carb,not low carb but lower carb and that is what made the biggest difference. I was also eating eggs,full fat dairy,etc again, and it still went down.Drs will tell you to follow the low cholesterol diet and exercise. for some that may work for others exercise and lower carb will help. everyone is different.its not going to hurt to try lower carb(I dont mean keto either,unless you want to try that).It wont hurt to try the Mediterranean diet either. I would say try one for awhile and then have bloodwork done. if that is helping then stick with it as long as its not causing any other health issues.of course clear it with a dr first but sometimes drs think that certain foods causes cholesterol to raise and thats usually not the case. also cholesterol can be hereditary or caused by other health issues,so make sure she has no other health issues causing it.

ldrosophila

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

The most proven method for improving lipid profile is aerobic exercise. Diet wise, the Mediterranean Diet is probably the most proven. Olive oil, nuts, beans, vegetables and exercise. It works.

And adding wine to raise those HDL...MMMMM wine

Traveler120

amandadunwoody wrote: »

A friend has recently been diagnosed with high cholesterol. I'm trying to help her learn the ropes of healthy eating. There's so much mixed information out there. Can you recommend any resources that give reliable info on a heart healthy diet?

In this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338379/, a patient with angina and a family history of heart disease dropped his LDL from 158 to 69 mg/dl in four months of eating a plant-based diet. At the 2 yr checkup, he was symptom free and still off meds and didn't need surgery.

I started a plant-based diet 2 months ago to reduce my LDL which was 113 (should be under 100) even after exercising for 6 months and getting down to 135 lbs. I'll be checking it again at the 3 month mark to see if it's working. All other labs were normal.

mrs_j_smith

Google the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Eating Plan. Here's the link to the PDF http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/chol_tlc.pdf. Yes, I know it's the government and they can't be trusted (I kid), but the TLC is a good guide to follow. Good luck!

psuLemon

Personally weight loss and exercise had the greatest impact on cholesterol for me, except for LDL because genetics.. so thank you genetics for that one.

amandadunwoody

@aggelikik Yeah, I know it was a shot in the dark!

Yes, the responses here have been all over the place. The info on the internet is all over the place. Most docs and dieticians are parroting the FDA guidelines they learned in school with little new info. And the FDA says every couple of years that they were wrong about everything... So again thanks lol. I feel like regardless of the details she is on the right path with cutting out processed pork, deep fried everything, and junk food. She's supposed to go back in 6 months but I'll ask her if she had thought about asking to see a dietitian.

DennyB1964

One thing to keep in mind - the formula used to calculate cholesterol may change as the cholesterol levels drop.

The Friedewald formula is fine if triglycerides are between 100 and 400. Lower than that and you'll probably want to use the Iranian formula because the particle size is larger and the math will be different.

It honestly sounds like she's eating pretty well though, no matter what the numbers say.

tennisdude2004

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I've personally found a Mediterranean inspired diet to work quite well...and it's very balanced and full of nutrition. I personally think the whole low carb/keto thing is very cultish at the moment...

Cultish? Definitely effective.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14601690

Plus you get to eat lots of fatty meat - so super yummy.

sixxpoint

You don't necessarily have to go "low carb", but a lot of highly processed foods are very carb/sugar laden and high calorie. With a diet rich in these processed foods, it is easy for a person to overconsume beyond their activity level. That is one of the reasons why following macro targets and knowing your daily maintenance calories is so important. Avoiding rice, potatoes, bread, veggies, fruits, whole grains, etc. is not the answer... but limiting highly processed foods and not overindulging will help.

Here is the same type of meaningless correlation that just about every low carb fanatic uses to justify their recent turn toward better health:

tennisdude2004

Another good tip is to reduce grains.

psuLemon

tennisdude2004 wrote: »

Another good tip is to reduce grains.

I do not concur. Why avoid whole grains?

amandadunwoody

@sixxpoint Thanks! That's too good!

@Raviv64 She is eating good now but she was not before. She mostly ate everything she doesn't easy now. I was shocked that she could just stop cold turkey on sausage and cakes etc. She was lost about what to eat at first and I helped her as much as I could.

I have seen so many differing views on the right way to deal with the cholesterol issue. I really don't know why I thought asking on an Internet forum would help lol. Oh well. Very interesting conversation and maybe the main thing I can say I got from this is that there's not a one size fits all answer.

psuLemon

amandadunwoody wrote: »

@sixxpoint Thanks! That's too good!

@Raviv64 She is eating good now but she was not before. She mostly ate everything she doesn't easy now. I was shocked that she could just stop cold turkey on sausage and cakes etc. She was lost about what to eat at first and I helped her as much as I could.

I have seen so many differing views on the right way to deal with the cholesterol issue. I really don't know why I thought asking on an Internet forum would help lol. Oh well. Very interesting conversation and maybe the main thing I can say I got from this is that there's not a one size fits all answer.

Essentially, find a woe that you enjoy that will help you lose weight and start to exercise. Concentrate on getting a variety of whole foods and on occasion if you want a treat, go ahead as long as you dont binge because of it. Looking across all the available diets out there, you will find plenty of people who improved their cholesterol numbers. Heck, even the guy on the twinkie diet improved all his health markers. And exercise (cardio and resistance training) will help with health too.

tennisdude2004

psulemon wrote: »

tennisdude2004 wrote: »

Another good tip is to reduce grains.

I do not concur. Why avoid whole grains?

Reduces intake of potentially inflammatory foods - less likely to oxidise LDL particles!

It's just a tip, which is what the op is after! Also I did say reduce - not avoid!

goldthistime

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

The most proven method for improving lipid profile is aerobic exercise. Diet wise, the Mediterranean Diet is probably the most proven. Olive oil, nuts, beans, vegetables and exercise. It works.

I agree. Diet is said to be much less of a factor in improving cholesterol levels than aerobic exercise. Or at least LDL/HDL ratios (which I have read is more important than just the level) . In my mind, the importance of this cannot be over emphasized. Kind of like when people say weight loss happens in the kitchen, cholesterol levels are improved in the gym.

Having said that, I have read the same about flax seed and above mentioned olive oil, nuts, beans and vegetables in terms of a diet.

goldthistime

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/reduce-cholesterol/art-20045935