cholesterol

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mrschurch
mrschurch Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
hi does the free version show the amount of cholesterol in the foods i log? what are the benefits of the premium ? thanks

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,198 Member
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    Yes, the free version shows the amount of cholesterol.

    The amount of cholesterol in our food is not the cause of high cholesterol on our blood tests, at least not an important cause. It's more complicated than that.

    The benefits of premium? No one can really answer that for you.

    Many of us do fine with the free version. I lost weight and did many early months of weight maintenance using the free version, later got premium. There are features I like, nothing I totally couldn't live without. (Examples: I like having more detailed control over macro goals and how exercise calories are allocated. I like not having ads.)

    Whether you need or would benefit from some of the features is very individual, depending on your personal goals and tactics.

    What I usually suggest is that a new person use the free version for a while, learn the basics. Premium and free work very, very similarly.

    After understanding the basics and deciding to keep using MFP, then take a look at the lists of premium features, and see if any look worth it to you for the money. For some people, just getting rid of ads is worth it.

    There are some unusual cases where a person may truly need a premium feature up front, but I think most of them would figure it out, or will figure it out by asking a "how do . . . " question here and discovering it can only be done in premium.

    Best wishes!
  • mrschurch
    mrschurch Posts: 2 Member
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    so if cutting out food which contains cholesterol isn’t the answer what is - doctors say cut back on high cholesterol foods 🤷🏼‍♀️ thank you for taking the time to reply to me - much appreciated 😃
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 909 Member
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    for me, doing cardio lowered my cholesterol to normal. nothing fierce or exhausting - i use an exercise bike on a low resistance and pedal along while playing video games.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,128 Member
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    mrschurch wrote: »
    so if cutting out food which contains cholesterol isn’t the answer what is - doctors say cut back on high cholesterol foods 🤷🏼‍♀️ thank you for taking the time to reply to me - much appreciated 😃

    Do doctors really still say that?
    Current general consensus (there are of course differing opinions): reduce saturated fat intake, increase unsaturated fats (for example fatty fish, avocado, nuts, seeds) because they are good. Increase (soluble) fiber intake. Exercise and, if applicable, lose weight.
    To reduce triglycerides, also reduce (simple) carb intake.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,198 Member
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    mrschurch wrote: »
    so if cutting out food which contains cholesterol isn’t the answer what is - doctors say cut back on high cholesterol foods 🤷🏼‍♀️ thank you for taking the time to reply to me - much appreciated 😃

    Unfortunately, doctors have limited nutrition education. Registered dietitians are more authoritative on that kind of question.

    There are kind of two general cases, with some differences between them: Some people have a genetic tendency to develop high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolemia), but others don't. That can influence which tactics work, or how well they work.

    Some interventions that can possibly lower blood cholesterol include:

    * Reaching a healthy weight, if overweight.
    * Reducing highly-processed/refined carbs and added sugar. This is oversimplified.
    * Getting a better balance of fats in one's diet. For most common eating patterns, that would mean getting more mono- and polyunsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocados . . .), rather than mostly saturated fat (red meats, cheese . . .). Also, getting a balance of Omega-3 fats (fatty cold water fish, walnuts, . . .) with Omega-6 oils (seed oils, mostly). This is oversimplified.
    * Eating more high-fiber foods, especially soluble fibers. Examples: Oatmeal, many beans, apples, pears . . .
    * Doing regular moderate cardiovascular exercise.

    Those are examples. There's a certain amount of dispute and disagreement still around those, and lots of ongoing research. The saturated fat and low carb ideas seem particularly still volatile.

    But don't believe me: I'm just some random idiot on the internet, not even a doctor let alone a registered dietitian. Here are some articles from mainstream sources:

    https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/02/control-your-cholesterol
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/cholesterol/art-20045192
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/cholesterol
    https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/02/control-your-cholesterol

    They disagree a little on some points, but have a lot in common.

    For me, reaching a healthy weight took me from high cholesterol to solidly normal range. For me, it happened about the time I was just above the border between overweight and healthy weight, part way through weight loss, down from class 1 obese. I didn't dramatically change the range of foods I ate (was already eating a lot of less-processed foods, including lots of fruits/veggies). I didn't significantly change exercise (was already routinely quite active while obese, even training/competing athletically). I don't think I have major genetic risks for high cholesterol.

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