Lipid panel results

WilliamBThomas

Frustrated with my Lipid panel last week. I thought I was doing good with my nutrition. Here are my current levels. Total cholesterol 274 HDL 36 LDL 134 Triglycerides 470 I've been trying to gain some weight back and lose some body fat. The goal is to weigh 230 and 12% BF. Gonna check my starting values tomorrow. As far as my goals, some of the macro totals listed on Bodybulding.com conflict with the totals on here, but they are within 10%. I can tell already that my protein intake is going to have to go UP! Carbs will have to go down, but I won't want to kill my energy level and fat will have to be lower as well.

The funny thing is when I had my blood drawn last week the nurse asked if I worked out. Of course I said yes and then she asked me if I competed. Nice compliment but that was shattered when I got my results. Some of my problem is genetic i know but the Dr. put me back on Lipitor 20mg.

costelloscountryshed

Don't be so hard on yourself. Do you take fish oil? It can help increase the "good" cholesterol. Good luck

WilliamBThomas

Thanks for the reply. I'm not really being too hard on myself I think. Actually my good cholesterol is 36 which is over the recommended 30. I have taken fish oil before, but it tastes NASTY! I may have to find a substitute to increase my HDL even more.

costelloscountryshed

If you refrigerate the fish oil it is better and you won't burp it up.

WilliamBThomas

Thanks, I will have to try that!

MinnieInMaine

Oops, too quick posting, will try again in a minute....

MinnieInMaine

2nd attempt - hehe - hit enter by mistake and posted a half written message. Here it is again:

First of all, it's best to get this kind of advice from a medical professional. Talk to your doctor or even a nutritionist.
Second, I can relate. Even with major weight loss and fitness improvements, my levels are borderline high. That's somewhat due to genetics and lifestyle though and thankfully it's not high enough for my doc to insist on meds just yet. .

You could just flat out eat more fish if you don't mind the taste. Just don't fry it - or any other foods for that matter as trans fats are a big no-no for high cholesterol. I take a fish oil supplement that has vanillin added so the fish burps are more tolerable. I usually take mine right after dinner and rarely get those burps. You can also take them right before bed so you don't have to worry about fish breath offending anyone (other than you SO or pets, I guess).

The advice for dietary suggestions to help with high cholesterol always seems to change which is why I recommend talking to a medical professional. What someone may have been told 10-20 years ago may have since been disproven to be true. For instance, we know now that dietary cholesterol has little effect on blood lipid levels.

Eat more whole grains, more fruits and veggies (especially green leafy ones).

There's some controversy over whether saturated fats or added sugars have an impact but it might not hurt to try to avoid them just to see.

If you smoke or drink a lot that does't help either.

Not sure if you've got any cardio in your workout routine but that may help as well.

That's all I've got for now. Good luck!

Frayde

If the doc recommends meds, just take the doggone pill. What's worse, popping a Lipitor once a day, or an MI when you're 50? And heart failure? And a pacemaker?

Of course always try diet and exercise first. But if they don't work, that is what medication is there for!

And I also agree with the above poster about getting current advice--see a nutritionist. Most insurance companies will pay for 6 visits with one. Many of them have expertise in not only lowering cholesterol, but in helping with exercise routines. Shop around, interview them on the phone.

Best of luck!

WilliamBThomas

Well, since I'm 55 I won't worry about the MI! LOL, JK! Exercise is not the issuse for sure. I work out 5 days a week with heavy weights and cardio. I'm 6'4 220 lbs. and prolly around 18% BF. I'm getting my measurements taken tomorrow AM. Just from watching my entries today on my food log, I need to eat a bunch more to obtain my goal. I hate taking the pills and don't want to have to rely on them. Something in my diet is putting me over the edge and I can't figure out what it is. Thanks for the replies.

radmack

I tried to get my levels down with diet and exercise and they went up. I am not at my ideal level yet but my Doc said that for some it is just genetics. So now I take the pill and also do the diet and exercise. The cholesterol doesn't just lay down plaque in your veins, it also lays it down in the brain . . .

Fish oil also didn't seem to have any impact on my lipid levels.

deoxy4

You might want to do some research on triglyceride:HDL ratios. Very good ratios are less than 2 and high ratios approach 4. Your ratio is 16. A desirable HDL number for men is 50 and over and triglycerides should be lower than 150. Many lipid experts feel that triglycerides should be 70 or less.

It is difficult to raise HDL but not impossible. It is not difficult to lower triglycerides; if you restrict carbohydrates severely. Triglycerides are fats converted from carbohydrates. I have seen references of people lowering a triglycerides number from 600 to 100 in a few weeks by limiting carbohydrates 20-50 grams.

Ketogenic diets for athletes are a hot topic. You might want to do an internet search. Dr. Volek / Dr. Phinney and Dr. Attia are publishing their research. The basic concept is that you fuel performance from dietary fat rather than glycogen stores. It takes some time to convert your system.

From personal experience, I do not eat grains or many processed foods. My triglycerides are around 100 in the summer when I eat a few pieces of fruit and my total carbohydrates are around 100. If I eliminate fruit and limit my carbohydrates to under 50 my triglycerides are less than 50-70. I have repeated this experiment many times and find it to be reliable for me.

deoxy4

Here is a good video by Dr. Attia describing his personal experience on ketosis as an athlete.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqwvcrA7oe8

Sabine_Stroehm

If I were in your shoes, I'd try making some big diet changes. But I prefer that to meds, usually.

rosebette

I checked out your diary, and you do have a lot of dietary fat. You might want to change the macros showing in the tracker to also show cholesterol, and try to stay under the daily limits for fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Even if you're active, it won't make up for bad diet. My last test was done after I came back from vacation in the winter; we walked a lot and worked out every day, but did our share of bad eating. My HDL, the good cholesterol, was high from the exercise (in the 60s), but the total number and LDL were also super high. For the fish oil burps, switch to the fish oil gummies. I think Nature Made and Sundown make them. I also take a B vitamin complex with niacin.

Sabine_Stroehm

I checked out your diary, and you do have a lot of dietary fat. You might want to change the macros showing in the tracker to also show cholesterol, and try to stay under the daily limits for fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Even if you're active, it won't make up for bad diet. My last test was done after I came back from vacation in the winter; we walked a lot and worked out every day, but did our share of bad eating. My HDL, the good cholesterol, was high from the exercise (in the 60s), but the total number and LDL were also super high. For the fish oil burps, switch to the fish oil gummies. I think Nature Made and Sundown make them. I also take a B vitamin complex with niacin.

Interesting, I was going to suggest he knock the carbs down a bit.

rosebette

He is eating a lot of carbs from processed foods and those can raise triglycerides. Whole grain products and carbs from fruits and vegetables won't do that. But overall, cholesterol is usually caused by either genetic factors or a diet high in saturated fat and transfats. Since transfats are often in processed foods that are high in carbs (He has a lot of fritos one day, for instance), those foods could also cause a boost in cholesterol. Some of the transfat labels are deceptive, too. For instance, a product may have a label that it has no or trace amounts of transfat for a serving size (1 oz. of chips), but most people eat several times that, so they are still eating quite a bit of the stuff. Here's the Mayo clinic link on cholesterol causes:

http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/what_you_can_do.htm

cwolfman13

I've reduced my LDL over the course of two years from around 150 to 96 last week. I credit much of this to changes in my diet. I personally don't worry a whole lot about dietary cholesterol...I eat eggs daily and in total I get around 60 - 70 grams of fat daily. I do try to keep my saturated fats below the RDA but really, it's my intake of fruits and vegg that have really gone up. I get around 6 or so actual servings of vegetables daily and a couple servings of fruit. I also eat beans 4-5 times per week...they are an outstanding source of plant sterols and soluble fiber. Plant sterols help block absorption of cholesterol...so if your liver is overproducing, at least absorption is blocked. I also take an over the counter plant sterol called Cholestoff daily. Additionally, I've substantially reduced my intake of processed foods and I don't eat any commercial baked goods at all because many of them use partially hydrogenated oils.

If I were in your shoes (which I was a couple of years ago) I would ask the doc if you can hold off for six months on the meds and see if you can make any notable improvements to your markers with diet. My doctor was very accommodating in this RE. It has taken me two years, but he has been impressed with my tenacity and improvements over these past two years. My triglycerides are still a little on the high side...actually, they jump around a lot...my doctor and I believe that it is largely a result of my affinity for craft beer. I went off beer almost completely last year for about three months and my triglycerides dropped like a rock...as soon as I started drinking beer regularly, they went back up and are sitting around 250 right now. I'm not deeply concerned with them since my LDL is down to 96 and my HDL is around 55.

deoxy4

An excess of carbohydrates raises triglycerides... beans...fruit...beer...bread...cereal... all contribute to raising triglycerides. Eating complex carbohydrates, vegetable greens, may not have as much influence.

Different strokes for different folks...I "worry" more about my HDL (being over 50) and my triglycerides being as low as possible. I am not greatly concerned about my Total Cholesterol or LDL.