cholesterol and other scary stories

Caiton
Caiton Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
I found out from my doctor that I have pretty high cholesterol today.

What? I'm 25. I've been a vegetarian for 5 years. I exercise a few times a week and am usually around 125lbs these days.

Total cholesterol of 241, what gives? My family has heart disease and massive heart attacks on both sides.

I guess I just feel a little betrayed. thought that looking fit meant healthy. I thought if I can run a sub 6 minute mile I can eat whatever the hell I want. I thought I was different and now it kind of feels like my genes are conspiring against me. I'm going to spend a week without saturated/trans fats and reduce my salt intake to see how it feels, then try to make it permanent.

Man though, this blows.

Replies

  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
    Look up "Familial Hypercholesterolemia" If your family has a history of heart disease and high cholesterol there is a good chance you may have this. Cholesterol levels depend on much more than just how much you are ingesting in your diet. Obviously a diet low in cholesterol will help but it may not be enough to lower your levels if you have a genetic predisposition like the aforementioned condition. Oatmeal is a good natural way to help cut down on LDL as it is believed to bind cholesterol and bile salts in your intestine and prevent absorption. There is no shame in getting put on a statin though if you can't make it go down with just diet and exercise. Statins just turn off your body's ability to make its own cholesterol and if you couple that with your already healthy lifestyle it should start making the number go down. Hope this helps.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,144 Member
    What is your ratio of HDL/LDL and what's your triglyceride number. No need to panic yet. Get checked for calcification, it's easy and it'll show whether you have concerns or not.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
    I'm 55 and about the same weight. I have been battling high cholesterol since I was in my mid-40s. For a while, I was able to keep it low by losing 10% of my body weight and being careful about fatty foods and eggs. I was on meds for a couple years, but not a statin. I'm still under 125 but my cholesterol is up again to 248, with LDL 180. My HDL is 67 because I exercise every day.I came back from a vacation and had been eating eggs for breakfast and shellfish, but it was two weeks before I was tested after that. Some people's systems cannot withstand even a modest amount of "cheating" and it stays in their system forever, it seems. My husband eats eggs every day; he's diabetic so there's not much else he can eat, but cholesterol is not an issue for him. It's normal, even when he travels and eats all kinds of crap -- steak dinners, business lunches, etc; only his sugar is affected. My mom has high cholesterol, too. She is 83 and in good health, but is now on a statin. I guess to some extent, we can't control our body chemistry and genetics. I'll probably end up on a statin, too, if I can't lower it by diet and exercise.
  • Sunbrooke
    Sunbrooke Posts: 632 Member
    My husband just found out he has borderline high cholesterol. He also has a family history of it. He eats most of the good foods already, but I'm going to have to cut out he eggs yolks if they make it worse. I'm having a hard time finding good info on how to lower it. Lots of conflicting stuff.

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