High Cholesterol

12Sarah2015

Hi
my GP said i may have high cholesterol because i had just eaten dinner before the test (i was getting blood test for another reason). Its the first time Ive had this.
Blood pressure has been normal all my life. Im 2kg to my goal weight (been this weight for about 5 months now) but the problem mostly that Im carrying weight all around my middle (thanks mainly to medicine im on...slowly reducing). The reading may not be a problem if its wrong but then again it may be, so I want to do better while im waiting for the results.

Can someone explain what you did that was successful in getting high cholesterol down? Thanks!

psuLemon

How are they defining high cholesterol? Because there are several factors that need to be considered. Like what is your entire metabolic profile look like. Particularly, triglycerides, HDL, ldl, A1C, and CRP.


Overall to improve metabolic health, you should: be more active (to include improving body composition), weight loss (which you have done), eat more fish and sources of omega 3s (chia), eat more fibrous foods (fruits, veggies, oats/whole grains), limit omega 6s, and limit sugars.

AnnPT77

Are you scheduled for a repeat blood test, with instructions to fast beforehand? If so, wait for that. As your doctor pointed out, a non-fasted cholesterol test may simply give incorrect results.

If you're not scheduled for another, more reliable test, but are worried, ask your doctor to schedule one. That would be a reasonable step.

Best wishes!

cheryldumais

I was thinking the same thing as @AnnPT77. Whenever I have had my cholesterol tested I had to fast at least 10 hours first. I wouldn't panic yet.

apullum

It’s hard to say much from a non-fasted test. I wouldn’t worry until you get the fasted bloodwork.

If you do have high cholesterol, exercise and getting to a healthy weight are the most effective ways for the vast majority of people to lower their cholesterol. If you don’t already have a regular exercise routine, now might be a good time to consider one, since exercise has many other benefits in addition to lowering cholesterol.

12Sarah2015

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Are you scheduled for a repeat blood test, with instructions to fast beforehand? If so, wait for that. As your doctor pointed out, a non-fasted cholesterol test may simply give incorrect results.

If you're not scheduled for another, more reliable test, but are worried, ask your doctor to schedule one. That would be a reasonable step.

Best wishes!

Thanks. Yes I go for the blood test Saturday

12Sarah2015

Thanks. I will wait for the repeat blood test. Ive been doing low impact exercise 3 days/week. Can easily up this to moderate/vigorous. I can also add fish to my diet and eat less red meat. Also less oil..husbands happy for me to take over cooking 100% now (he basically deep fries everything and i hate it!). My veggie and sugar intake is fine. I can cut junk food...usually snack once to twice a week. I guess this will help me lose the last 2 kg even if everything is fine

AnnPT77

12Sarah2015 wrote: »

Thanks. I will wait for the repeat blood test. Ive been doing low impact exercise 3 days/week. Can easily up this to moderate/vigorous. I can also add fish to my diet and eat less red meat. Also less oil..husbands happy for me to take over cooking 100% now (he basically deep fries everything and i hate it!). My veggie and sugar intake is fine. I can cut junk food...usually snack once to twice a week. I guess this will help me lose the last 2 kg even if everything is fine

Perhaps you realize this and I'm just being a busybody (as usual ), but it's possible to keep being low impact, while being moderate/vigorous. (To me, that difference is meaningful because of knee problems.) Aerobic dance kind of exercise can be low or higher impact, and that relates a little bit to intensity. But something like running is higher impact, whether slow running or faster. Seated cycling is pretty much low impact, at any intensity from low to high.

So, if you need to stay low impact, there may be options to increase intensity (i.e., basically be working harder) without changing impact.

psuLemon

12Sarah2015 wrote: »

Thanks. I will wait for the repeat blood test. Ive been doing low impact exercise 3 days/week. Can easily up this to moderate/vigorous. I can also add fish to my diet and eat less red meat. Also less oil..husbands happy for me to take over cooking 100% now (he basically deep fries everything and i hate it!). My veggie and sugar intake is fine. I can cut junk food...usually snack once to twice a week. I guess this will help me lose the last 2 kg even if everything is fine

One thing to note, not all oils are equal. Olive oil and avocado oil has little to no omega 6s and have been linked to improved health (especially olive). Its moreso standard highly processed oils like vegetable oils that should be used sparingly.

mburgess458

There is a reason they normally require/request you to fast before checking cholesterol.

On the other hand, my 24 year old son recently had his cholesterol checked for the first time. It wasn't planned, he needed blood drawn for another test and the doctor through in the cholesterol test since it had never been checked. I forget his exact cholesterol number but it was <140 taken a few hours after he ate lunch and a snack.

12Sarah2015

psuLemon wrote: »

12Sarah2015 wrote: »

Thanks. I will wait for the repeat blood test. Ive been doing low impact exercise 3 days/week. Can easily up this to moderate/vigorous. I can also add fish to my diet and eat less red meat. Also less oil..husbands happy for me to take over cooking 100% now (he basically deep fries everything and i hate it!). My veggie and sugar intake is fine. I can cut junk food...usually snack once to twice a week. I guess this will help me lose the last 2 kg even if everything is fine

One thing to note, not all oils are equal. Olive oil and avocado oil has little to no omega 6s and have been linked to improved health (especially olive). Its moreso standard highly processed oils like vegetable oils that should be used sparingly.

Thanks for this info. Yes i can easily switch to olive oil in my cooking