Cholesterol

ljkelly

OK. I have passed the shocked and denial stages and am running head long into the ticked off stage. Just got my yearly physical and my cholesterol is 100 points higher than last year! I have lost 45.5 pounds and have been at reasonable weight for over a year; moreover, I weigh less now than I did at my last physical. I going to retest in a month, but $%&!

My question is how do you live with 40 g of sugar per day? I just ate 1 bowl of Cheereos (plain), a piece of light wheat toast (no butter) and 2 egg whites for total calories of 285. But that also included 16g of sugar. AHHHHH.

Sincerely discouraged.

SHBoss1673

Veggies (most), chicken, fish, nuts. All staples

You start to go wrong with sugar by eating things that have been processed, bagged, and put in a box. Not saying that everything bagged and boxed are bad, but more often than not, if it's been pre-ground, bleached, enriched, or packaged in an air tight seal, it's probably going to have added sugar and preservatives.

skip the cherios, instead go with steel cut oats (NOT instant oatmeal), almost no sugar and quite tasty, want something sweet in it? OK, puree 1/2 a serving of blueberries, and add it in, about 3 grams of sugar, and delicious.

see where I'm going? there's always a better way.

Miss_Chievous_wechange

I agree with SHBoss1673. Stay away from processed foods, enriched/bleached flours, and preservatives. I also agree that steel cut oats taste good and keeps you feeling full. When you shop for food, pay close attention to the nutrition labels. You'd be surprised at how much junk is in some foods. Good luck with your weight loss and I hope your cholesterol goes down.

BrendaLee

Don't worry about milk sugars or sugar in whole fruit, check everything else for sugar, and try to choose low-sugar versions of things like cereal and bread. Sugar is everywhere, and in everything...you just have to try to make the best choices you can on as many items as you can. Trying to limit sugar is, in my opinion, THE hardest part of eating healthy. It's also probably the most important step since sugar is so damaging to our bodies. Your breakfast wasn't bad- I assume the majority of sugar came from the milk on your cereal? Cheerios on their own are low in sugar.

mdale2

(Cross posting this answer from another thread...)

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.

ljkelly

Thanks all. What is the most frustrating about this is that last year my lipid pannel was excelent. Total colesterol was 160. And I am, in other respects, in better shape now then I was then. it was a shock to be sure.

CrystalT

Do you have a family history of heart disease? My cholesterol was up when I went to the dr in Oct. He is giving me until April to get it down on my own or he's putting me on meds. He isn't sure that my diet is my problem. He told me that if keeping my cholesterol under 300 every day didn't help, then genetics is most likely the problem. Heart disease is a major problem in my dad's family, so it wouldn't be a big surprise. My dad had a bipass 10 years ago. His dad died of heart disease. All of his siblings have had issues of one kind or another.

Just try your best to keep it under your daily limits. I changed my food log to track cholesterol so I can make sure I don't go over.