Cholesterol and high protein ---->>>>> “Fork over Knives”

huango

Hola,

Did anyone switch to plant-base diet when trying to reduce their cholesterol?
Anyone have experience with plant-based diet?
There’s a movie or documentary called “Fork over Knives”.



(I did a SEARCH and didn't find a thread about this)



I have high cholesterol. I am trying to NOT have to go on statins.
My Dr. is fighting me every day.

Guestimate from memory:
Last check = ~300 total.
HDL = ~95
LDL = ~175
My triglycerides are great, so is my ?sugar/not diabetic.

I’m 43yrs, only 4’11”, and 115#.


I keep hearing/reading conflicting thoughts about high protein/LCD.

I’m on Day 19 of the Dukan Diet (Cruise phase: high protein, alternating veggie days, low fat, daily oat bran).
I started it mainly to drop 25pounds, reduce body fat, and to get off my sugary/starchy carb-addiction.

I am loving the results:
- lost ~7# and few inches
- lost my cravings for carbage

But my Dr. and friends are all harping on me about my high protein would increase my already high cholesterol.
They say that I should switch to plant-base diet (w/ some seafood/infrequent meat).

I keep reading here on LCD about how people’s blood works numbers are improving.
I hope to see the same when I get tested in a few weeks.

Thank you,
Amanda

MyriiStorm

I don't know about high protein, since I'm doing LC and HF, not HP, but my cholesterol numbers have steadily improved with the high fat. I eat primarily animal fat (fatty meats, butter), and some plant fat (olive oil, coconut oil), but stay away from corn, canola and other vegetable oils.

I think there are some links in the Launch Pad about cholesterol and LCHF, and you can go to Dr. Peter Attia's site for his in-depth info on cholesterol (http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-straight-dope-on-cholesterol-part-i).

Good luck!

KnitOrMiss

The ratio between the triglycerides and HDL are what's important. The Total and LDL are not indicative of much. Your HDL is FABULOUS and you say your trigs are good, so ... the risk of heart disease/heart attack is minimal at best.

http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/796.cfm

This explains about the ratios and why it is important.

This is a great calculator that helps you see the big picture: http://www.cvriskcalculator.com/

tcunbeliever

I'm mostly vegetarian and low carb/high fat/moderate protein and my diary is open if you want to browse around, I do carb cycle, so don't let the high carb days throw you off.

FOK - love love love that movie - I was having migraines 5 days a week when I saw it and thought "wonder if migraines are really a root cardiovascular issue" went totally vegan and the migraines stopped within a day and didn't come back, it was like MAGIC and nothing in the world will ever be better than being pain free after daily agony for years. It was a quality of life saver for me. I have since added in things that my body will tolerate and been able to identify the foods that trigger my migraines, it's awesome to not eat 20 pills a day just to keep the edge off the pain.

I haven't seen it in about 4 years, but from what I remember the primary focus of the movie is plant protein is good and animal protein is bad, but there are a few details to keep in mind.

They eliminate fish from the animal protein category because they did not see the same kind of correlation in poor health from areas where the primary animal protein consumed was fish or seafood.

The animal protein magic number was 10%. So consuming 10% or less of your diet from animal protein was the same as consuming no animal protein in terms of health statistics. Consuming over 10% of your diet from animal protein was where they began to see correlations with cardiovascular issues, cancer, and other poor health markers.

I'm not familiar with the Dukan diet, but in my opinion any low fat diet is a bad idea for anyone, but particularly women. Your body needs fat to manufacture hormones and women have a very delicate hormone system, not eating sufficient fat is asking for estrogen dominance or a hormone imbalance if you are female. Plant fats have never been shown to increase LDL, so if you are low fat due to cholesterol concerns then limiting animal fats and consuming plant fats is a better option that just eliminating all fats. Of course, it's just my opinion, you should do what you think is right for you.

Sabine_Stroehm

Dunno. I've read the Dukan diet book (I read diet books for fun), and frankly, honestly, it just doesn't sound healthy. I kept thinking: inflammation! It seemed to ignore what science has told us, and while it referred to Banting, it seemed to miss the point. I also think it's unnecessarily complicated. I dunno.

Most folks here are high FAT low carb, moderate protein.

I, personally, don't count carbs. I eat more carbs that most folks here, possibly. I focus on the right carbs.
I do eat high fat, I'd say.
My diet is heavily plant based. Many of my fats come from plants (nuts, seeds, avocado) or dairy (cheese, cream). Most of my animal protein comes from fish and cheese, and then some from chicken, red meat, and plants. My diet ended up being pretty much like the South Beach diet. I heard an NPR report with Dr. Agatston while he was running the diet with Floridians, before the book came out. It made sense to me. I lost the weight and have eaten this way since.
My blood work has always been great. My triglycerides were 92. My chol/hdl ratio was 2.3. (.44 using the other method). I got a .6% on the worksheet knit or miss provided. I'm 51 years old.


Good luck finding what works for you.

PS: I loved forks over knives too.

ETA: I fully support low carb and keto approaches, I just choose a slightly different way to eat, in part based on my food preferences/palate.

Sunny_Bunny_

Fats not your enemy.

noclady1995

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

The ratio between the triglycerides and HDL are what's important. The Total and LDL are not indicative of much. Your HDL is FABULOUS and you say your trigs are good, so ... the risk of heart disease/heart attack is minimal at best.

http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/796.cfm

This explains about the ratios and why it is important.

This is a great calculator that helps you see the big picture: http://www.cvriskcalculator.com/

I had to remember this after I had my physical last month. My cholesterol had always been normal (been on keto on and off for the past 10 month, mostly on). But this year my total and LDL went up slightly above normal. However, my triglycerides to HDL ratio was lower than it's been.

FIT_Goat

https://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/

I recommend reading this review and the same author's link to his review of "The China Study." Both are really long. I mean, really flipping long. But, they are so well written that I don't even want to try and pull out quotes. You just need to read the whole thing.

Edit: I am an Ex-vegetarian, and current carnivore, so take that for what it is. The review is still a quality read and isn't anti-plant-based diets. It is just a review of The actual claims made in the movie.

suzqtme

huango wrote: »

Hola,

I have high cholesterol. I am trying to NOT have to go on statins.
My Dr. is fighting me every day.

Guestimate from memory:
Last check = ~300 total.
HDL = ~95
LDL = ~175
My triglycerides are great, so is my ?sugar/not diabetic.

I’m 43yrs, only 4’11”, and 115#.


Thank you,
Amanda

My blood chemistries dropped as follows so far:
Chol: 225 to 163
Trig: 108 to 87
HDL: 52 to 39 (should be back up when retested, I think).
LDL: 151 to 107
Glucose: 147 to 110 (and still dropping)
A1c: 6.5 to 5.5

My H's lipids dropped significantly though I don't have a written copy of results. His triglycerides were so high (>1000) that they had to be sent to a specialty lab so the rest of his panel could be correctly interpreted. Now, his triglyceride is about 150, HDL 60, cholesterol still high but dropped over 100 points and now his A1c is normal.

Hope that helps.

We are following a ketogenic diet with 5% carbs/20% protein/75% healthy fats.

I won't listen to anyone who tells me I should be eating any differently since my blood levels are so much improved. For me, end of story!