Lowering Cholesterol & Triglycerides

PhotographerOfNature

I'm 42, female and was just told that I need to diet and exercise more to lower my cholesterol which is 212 and my triglycerides which are 264. Any ideas on what to eat and what not to eat to lower these 2? Thanks everyone!

catherine1979

Fatty fish is good for lowering LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. Oats are supposedly good as well. Nuts like walnuts and almonds which contain good fats are said to help as well. I am borderline high, and those are a few things my doc recommended to me.

khskr1

There are only 2 ways to get cholestrol. Your liver and animal products. Increase your veggies and whole grains which have fiber. Fiber helps bind to the cholestrol in your body and take it out instead of storing it! You can change your settings to watch your cholestrol. That will help you figure out where the big culprits in your diet are. You can also take garlic supplements which I have seen wonders with people on. But take the Garlyic (I think that's how it's spelled). This one won't make you smell like you downed a plate of pasta for every meal! Hope it helps!

PhotographerOfNature

Thanks! I will check out the garlyic. And add fiber.

SHBoss1673

More complex carbohydrates, less simple carbs.

I was in this exact situation when I started 3 years ago, in fact, my cholesterol was around 225 although my triglycerides were a little lower than yours.

now my cholesterol is about 160 (HDL of about 60 and LDL just over 100, WOO HOO!!!), and my triglycerides were around 150 in November (although after the holidays, it's probably a bit higher, even though I was pretty good).

And I didn't cut out any specific food group, or over do any other food group, I just got rid of the simple carbs, and started exercising vigorously.

mrskathywright

www.myshakeology.com/twoblessed - check out Shakeology drink which is pricey but LOADED with good stuff & is proven to lower cholesterol! i sell this through my Beachbody coaching website which i've listed. i've been drinking one chocolate shakeology a day for months & love the taste!

mmtiernan

You also need to cut out trans fats - watch out for anything that lists hydrogenated or partially hydragenated olls in the ingredients list - don't just trust the Nutrition Information section because by law they are allowed to list 0% Trans Fat if the food item contains less than .5%, so read the ingredients list.

Saturated fat is also a big contributor, and all of the information that I have read suggests that you keep your caloric intake from saturated fats to less than 10% of your total calories. In general, I aim for 7g or less of sat fat per day.

You might want to check out Robert Kowalski's book: The 8 Week Cholesterol Cure. It has a lot of good information. There's also a book by Dean Ornish on Reversing Heart Disease that will give you good information also.

Also, check out the American Heart Association web site and do a search on lowering cholesterol. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute website is also a good resource.

Hope this helps!

mdale2

Cutting refined grains, starches, sugars, oils, and other processed foods is, like always, your best idea. Another idea is to check with your doctor as to which equation they are using to calculate your lipid panel. There are various methods - some better than others. Also factor in 2 other things - fasting blood sugar and Vitamin D levels. Is your blood sugar high? Not good. Is your vitamin D low? Search for a D3 supplement - pref. one that's oil-based as it's more easily assimilated by the body.

Eating excessive carbohydrate and sugars can produce an inflammatory response in the body and is directly correlated to increased triglyceride and VLDL (very low density lipoprotein - the big offender - worse than larger LDL particles) levels. Like the previous commenters have said, complex carbs with healthy fiber are a good choice in the carbohydrate realm. Real life example: munching down a bowl of honey nut Cheerios to "lower cholesterol" isn't your best answer. It's just a poor marketing tactic - and apparently quite a few people buy into it...

Healthy fat sources like cold-water (oily, fatty, Omega 3 rich) fish are fantastic as are lean meats. I'd go against the common advice and say you also need to concentrate on eating items WITH cholesterol content - eggs, some seafoods as there isn't a direct correlation to eating natural cholesterol = high cholesterol. A quality vitamin D supplement is also extremely helpful.

Saturated fat? Oh that's a huge can of worms... You're best deciding for yourself if limited saturated fat content (namely from whole food sources - meats, dairy, natural oils) Popular advice is to slash all sat. fat intake AND cut standard fat intake to nearly nothing (MacDougall, Pritikin, Ornish), but slashing it may typically replace it with more carbohydrate which cycles you right back into the "decrease overall cholesterol number, increase LDL/triglyceride" roller coaster. Eating a near vegetarian diet low in protein and fat can certainly lower your overall cholesterol number, but it can also skyrocket your Tri-G and LDL levels as well as your blood sugar! - not what you want! All I can say is don't go overboard with fat consumption, but do realize it is an essential nutrient for your body and aids in the retention of vitamins and minerals in the digestive system. And also, fat, in itself does not equal "clogged arteries" as long as it's whole food sources (i.e. not from a donut). Our body simply does not process fat in that way (Google: Mediterranean diet). There is growing research available in popular press and the medical world regarding fat's importance in daily nutrition. Real life example: Avoiding all meat, natural oils (olive, peanut), real dairy, and fish is not your best tactic. Avoiding sugary fats (pastries), trans fats (processed food), and excessive refined oils (vegetable, soybean, hydrogenated anything) is a good idea.

I guess my passion for this advice is that my Dad follows it and has slashed his high LDL and increased HDL. I also follow it and have a clean lipid panel. So, eh, hope it helps.