High cholesterol at 20 :(

normamalissa

I'm not overweight but somehow I have high cholesterol. When I first found out I cut back on the fast food and junk food, but 6 months later I went back for bloodwork & my cholesterol was even higher. Any help on how I can lower it besides rigorous exercise would be great. I'm trying to lose about 10 pounds by eating much healthier. Thanks!!

Sued0nim

You're not overweight ? Is it genetic

What does your doctor say ..have you had full tests

Are you on statins? Do you smoke? Exercise? Drink a lot? Family history?

Dietary cholesterol does not have an impact on cholesterol ..saturated fats do though try to cut this down, focus on healthy fats like oily fish, avocados ..the omega-3 is supposed to be helpful

normamalissa

Yes I've had bloodwork done. My doctor thinks it's mostly genetic. Also, I don't do much exercise. Maybe about 1-2 hours a week. No smoking or drinking. But my on my dads side, all of them have high cholesterol. My doc told me to take 2000 mg of fish oil a day. Not a fan of fish, but I do like avocados so I'll add that into my daily diet

BuddhaB0y

I think you need to see a specialist... It sounds to me like you need statins and/or some other cholesterol lowering medications. My mom was petite and her idea of good eats was a bowl of dandelion greens and her cholesterol was sky high. Sadly it's the luck of the draw sometimes. Luckily they have good meds to control it in most cases.

SeptemberFeyre

What is your HDL cholesterol like? HDL is the good cholesterol and your LDL (bad cholesterol) is probably what's high. If your HDL is high, that makes your LDL less of a concern especially if your diet is healthy and LDL is still high and genetic. I have high cholesterol in my family too. Eat a healthy diet LOW in sugar and try to cut out junk food, processed food and fast food as much as possible. Fish oil is good because it raises your HDL. Healthy fats are good and even saturated fats within reason.

yarwell

normamalissa wrote: »

I'm not overweight but somehow I have high cholesterol. When I first found out I cut back on the fast food and junk food, but 6 months later I went back for bloodwork & my cholesterol was even higher. Any help on how I can lower it besides rigorous exercise would be great. I'm trying to lose about 10 pounds by eating much healthier. Thanks!!

Bit light on info - LDL, HDL, Total, Triglycerides etc ?

RodaRose

What were your numbers?

normamalissa

Here you go.

normamalissa

My dad has the high cholesterol & when they gave him meds to lower it, he had very severe side effects such as heart palpitations, tremors, constant nausea, fatigue, and joint pain. Trying to stay away from the meds!
Also, what are statins?

normamalissa

Also I'm new to this so I'm not quite sure if everyone can see my numbers, I posted a photo of them. Let me know if you can!

yarwell

Statins are cholesteorl reducing drugs, with side effects and limited evidence of improved life outcomes. No evidence for effectiveness in women as far as I know (as in less heart disease thather than just lower numbers).

yarwell

Information about your risk score:

Age:20

Gender:female

Total Cholesterol:219 mg/dL

HDL Cholesterol:47 mg/dL

Smoker:No

Systolic Blood Pressure:120 mm/Hg

On medication for HBP: No

Risk Score*
Less than 1%
Means less than 1 of 100 people with this level of risk will have a heart attack in the next 10 years.

normamalissa

Yarwell. I don't know how I feel about possibly having a heart attack at 30...

yarwell

another calculator says "On the basis of your risk for heart disease and stroke, the ACC/AHA guidelines suggest you have no indication to be on a statin."

I had to guess your blood pressure so re-run if I was too far off.

candylilacs

You're on niacin? DHA, should be limited red meat, eat vegetables!

RodaRose

normamalissa wrote: »

My dad has the high cholesterol & when they gave him meds to lower it, he had very severe side effects such as heart palpitations, tremors, constant nausea, fatigue, and joint pain. Trying to stay away from the meds!
Also, what are statins?

Statins are medications to lower cholesterol.

Your cholesterol numbers are good. You are fine. Be happy about that.

LKArgh

normamalissa wrote: »

Yes I've had bloodwork done. My doctor thinks it's mostly genetic. Also, I don't do much exercise. Maybe about 1-2 hours a week. No smoking or drinking. But my on my dads side, all of them have high cholesterol. My doc told me to take 2000 mg of fish oil a day. Not a fan of fish, but I do like avocados so I'll add that into my daily diet

If it is genetic, there might not be much you can do. Eat healthy, limit saturated fats, try to eat lots of high fiber food and exercise regularly to limit your overall risks, but you might still need medication for life.

yarwell

normamalissa wrote: »

Yarwell. I don't know how I feel about possibly having a heart attack at 30...

that's a fact facing us all, at <1% you appear to be in the lowest risk category. That calculator doesn't return zero as there's no such thing as zero risk.

Unknown

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CaptainJoy

I know you posted this in December but I noticed that the only number that appears way off is your LDL cholesterol. Since high levels of LDL can lead to a heart attack, diet is super important.

The TLC diet works well for lowering the LDL, even if your high cholesterol is genetic. Limit total fat to no more than 25-35% of your daily calories. Go to MY HOME and click on Goals. Under Daily Nutritional Goals edit the Fat setting to a max of 35%. It'll show how many max grams of all fats a day you should eat just right of the word Fat. Total daily saturated fat should be 5-6% of your daily calories. To the right in the Micronutrients, edit your Saturated Fat to 13 grams and your Cholesterol to 200 mg.

Eat high fiber grains like whole-grain breads, whole-wheat pasta, and whole-grain rice. They'll help keep some of the cholesterol from absorbing into your system.

Most important is to avoid trans fat. Look at the ingredients and make sure there's no partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Even if it says there's 0 trans fat, if partially hydrogenated oil is in the ingredients there is trans fat in the food. The food industry hides it in foods by making the serving size super small so they don't have to report it. It's in seasonings, biscuits, non-dairy coffee creamer, cakes, cookies, chips, etc. I know it's harder to lose weight when you cut the fat, but I'm proof it can be done.

If they want you to go on a statin, ask them about taking the supplement CoQ10. It could decrease your risk of developing breast cancer and other autoimmune diseases. A lot of people also develop type 2 diabetes after taking statins. If you can lower your LDL cholesterol by diet, that would be the best. Good Luck!

chastity0921

Along with your total cholesterol being high, your LDL is pretty high, and HDL is low. Do you eat fast foods or a lot of animal products?

I agree with the person who posted about healthy fats and exercise, too.