Cholesterol confusion
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lauragreenbaum
Posts: 1,017 Member
I just had lab work done and my doctor said my cholesterol is the highest she's ever seen and wants to put me on medication. I don't understand this because I never eat fast food or fried food. When I cook, I use either grape-seed oil or olive oil, and I try to use sparingly. What foods should I be staying away from??
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Replies
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The impact of dietary cholesterol on blood cholesterol is very low unless you're a hyperresponder.9
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As a very general rule, a diet higher in refined and processed carbs will usually raise triglycerides, lower HDL, and decrease LDL particle size. Diets with whole plant foods (meaning veggies and fruits) have a lot of fibre and that helps. Fats are also helpful in improving cholesterol, although oils from seeds (soy, corn, etc) don't tend to be as beneficial.
When dealing with cholesterol and CVD risk, it appears to be helpful to look at HDL and triglycerides ratio, triglycerides and HDL, and Maybe LDL particle size. Total cholesterol has very little value except to maybe identify those with familial hypercholesterolemia. For those, cholesterol is affected in an out of the ordinary way compared to others. The same rules don't apply.
There are a few good books on cholesterol: Cholesterol Clarity, Great CholesterolMyth, and Cholesterol Con. Dr. Peter Attia has a great blog series on cholesterol. And Dave Feldman has done some interesting n=1 group experiments on manipulating cholesterol numbers within a few days.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZu52duIqno 10 -
fuzzylop72 wrote: »The impact of dietary cholesterol on blood cholesterol is very low unless you're a hyperresponder.
This^ Are you overweight and sedentary? In those without hereditary cholestetolemia, those are 2 of the biggest factors.1 -
New research has shown that High Cholesterol is more than likely heredity and not related to diet. Dietary Cholesterol has little to no impact on Blood Cholesterol. Did they test your blood for anything else? I'm curious about your blood glucose numbers because some times blood sugar dis-regulation and insulin resistance go hand in hand with Cholesterol numbers. Not all the time by any means, but one can be a sign/symptom of the other.
ETA: did your doctor discuss your Cholesterol Ratio with you? Often times, the ratio of good (HDL) to bad (LDL) cholesterol is a much better indicator to overall health than the total number.6 -
Try stopping meat, dairy and eggs for 30 days.25
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WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »
There's no benefit. Clearly, she's being punished.14 -
WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »
It would eliminate the possibility that the cholesterol is diet related. It's extreme no doubt, but also effective.
It's not necessarily the first thing I would suggest. Because you still need fat in your diet so you would swap for plant and fish based protein and fat sources.7 -
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What are your actual numbers? And breakdown of LDL / HDL and triglycerides?
High cholesterol numbers are not always the full picture.3 -
stanmann571 wrote: »WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »
It would eliminate the possibility that the cholesterol is diet related. It's extreme no doubt, but also effective.
It's not necessarily the first thing I would suggest. Because you still need fat in your diet so you would swap for plant and fish based protein and fat sources.
The advice given by both yourself and the person that I originally quote is very antiquated and not in line with current medical research.10 -
Ask your doctor for dietary recommendations or (even better) a referral to an RD. When my husband was prescribed cholesterol medication, the doctor gave him some dietary guidelines to go along with it.
If you are overweight or sedentary, addressing these may also help. My husband increased his physical activity and made a few simple dietary changes and no longer takes medication. This won't work for everyone, but it's worth exploring all these avenues with your doctor because sometimes lifestyle can help.5 -
I find the #1 influence on my cholesterol numbers is the amount of cardio I'm doing. When I'm good about cardio, my cholesterol numbers are great. When I'm not, they're not. Diet is pretty much the same in either state. N=1 and all that, but that's been my experience.5
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Thanks everyone. I'm meeting with my doctor on Friday to discuss. I know my father and one of my sisters has high cholesterol and both are on medication. I am already dieting but focusing more on calories than cholesterol. I do exercise (minimum 10,000 steps per day) but I don't do a lot of cardio or anything that really gets my heart rate up. I truly appreciate the insight and input!4
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tennisdude2004 wrote: »What are your actual numbers? And breakdown of LDL / HDL and triglycerides?
High cholesterol numbers are not always the full picture.
^^^^^Ding ding ding! Technically, I have high cholesterol. But, I am in the lower end of "normal" for my LDL or "bad" cholesterol, and at the high end for HDL or "good" cholesterol. So while my numbers may be high, I am in no need of any medication to lower my cholesterol.3 -
lauragreenbaum wrote: »Thanks everyone. I'm meeting with my doctor on Friday to discuss. I know my father and one of my sisters has high cholesterol and both are on medication. I am already dieting but focusing more on calories than cholesterol. I do exercise (minimum 10,000 steps per day) but I don't do a lot of cardio or anything that really gets my heart rate up. I truly appreciate the insight and input!
Weight loss can raise cholesterol, mainly triglycerides, for a while. It can take 6 or so months for numbers to stabilize after losing weight.3 -
stanmann571 wrote: »WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »
It would eliminate the possibility that the cholesterol is diet related. It's extreme no doubt, but also effective.
It's not necessarily the first thing I would suggest. Because you still need fat in your diet so you would swap for plant and fish based protein and fat sources.
This is exactly why. A short term elimination will show you if it’s the food. There are PLENTY of ways to get fat on a plant based diet.6 -
My cholesterol was very high last October, and my doctor was also considering medications for it. I subsequently started exercising regularly, dieting, and lost 50 lbs. 8 months later, my levels were back in the normal range.
If you are overweight or not exercising regularly like I was, you may have success in lowering your cholesterol by losing weight and exercising.4 -
I don't see the benefit of reducing meat eggs and dairy unless you know you have familial hypercholesterolemia. Otherwise there is no point since those foods are now known to not negatively effect cholesterol.
Now eliminating refined and highly processed carbs might show you an improvement. Or do like Feldman and increase calories and fats for a few days and that will improve cholesterol rather quickly - it s actually a hack that many use to improve cholesterol before an insurance physical and labs. Fasting or eating less will often raise cholesterol in the blood.7 -
stanmann571 wrote: »WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »
It would eliminate the possibility that the cholesterol is diet related. It's extreme no doubt, but also effective.
It's not necessarily the first thing I would suggest. Because you still need fat in your diet so you would swap for plant and fish based protein and fat sources.
I'm with nowine and stan.
Give a low cholesterol diet a try and see what happens. Give it a few months -- if you can. If things improve, great! That's better than medication. If not, go on the medication.
Good luck.7
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