What is the truth about Cholesterol?

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So just got my bloodwork back from the doc and my HDL is 59 and my LDL is 141 and VLDL is 18 = 218

My HDL is "in range" but my LDL is high. How do I lower my cholesterol? And what is the truth about cholesterol? Do I eat the whole egg or not? Some say yes some say no.

I'm so confused!
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Replies

  • brendaj39
    brendaj39 Posts: 375 Member
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    i know exercise like walking is suppose to help lower the bad cholesterol, and so does soy milk, these are two things my doctor told me about that could help lower it.

    I still and always will eat whole eggs, can't stand just the whites...

    good luck!
  • bradwwood
    bradwwood Posts: 371 Member
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    and fiber
  • craigineson
    craigineson Posts: 88 Member
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    Your body produces FAR more cholesterol than you can get through diet. Eat the whole egg and don't worry about cholesterol.

    If you're worried about cholesterol, low carbohydrate eating will put your blood lipids in good shape within a few weeks - upping HDL, decreasing the deadly VLDL, and decimating triglycerides like your body forgot how to make them.

    Certainly don't worry about lowering your numbers if your VLDL and triglyceride numbers aren't unhealthy. From what I've read, lower cholesterol is associated with higher incidences of all-reason mortality.
  • Celeigh12
    Celeigh12 Posts: 763 Member
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    I've eaten 2 whole eggs every morning for a year and my total cholesterol just came back 149 and my triglycerides 101 (less than 150 is low risk). At least for me, eating cholesterol doesn't equate to raising my blood cholesterol.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    If you want to lower your cholesterol, stop eating dietary cholesterol. It's that simple.
  • JoeSzup
    JoeSzup Posts: 51 Member
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    Three years ago, I was diagnosed with High Cholesterol. I simply changed my diet and started taking fish oil. To quote WebMD "Load your plate with fruits and vegetables -- five to nine servings a day -- to help lower LDL "bad" cholesterol. "

    Check out this slideshow here:
    http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/ss/slideshow-lowering-cholesterol
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    If you want to lower your cholesterol, stop eating dietary cholesterol. It's that simple.

    Rubbish!
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
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    If you want to lower your cholesterol, stop eating dietary cholesterol. It's that simple.

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  • craigineson
    craigineson Posts: 88 Member
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    If you want to lower your cholesterol, stop eating dietary cholesterol. It's that simple.

    Your body produces significantly more cholesterol than diet. Dietary cholesterol reduction will do nothing to decrease blood lipid cholesterol.

    If you want a great primer on cholesterol, Dr. Mercola provides a great overview here:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/the-cholesterol-myth-that_b_676817.html
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    One of the reasons I've made this life style change is due to my high LDL and low HDL levels. Here's what I do:

    Keep my dietary cholesterol at or below 200
    Keep my saturated fats at or below 15
    Trans fats..as close to zero as possible; there are trace amounts in meat, but steer clear of hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils.
    No butter...margarine of the tub variety...the stick variety contains hydrogenated oils and some tubs do as well, so read the label, if it says hydrogenated/partially hydrogented oil on there, steer clear.
    exercise

    I have also increased my consumption of omega 3 fatty acids by eating more salmon and tuna...and just fish in general, as well as taking an omega 3 supplement. I do eat red meat, but usually only once per week...sometimes twice. I focus primarily on lean protein sources and have substantially increased my fiber intake. Soluble fiber is particularly good for this...see oatmeal for breakfast; I'm also fond of the Kashi heart healthy, whole grain cereals...particularly the "Go Lean Crunch"...loaded with soluble fiber. I limit my eggs to one weekend breakfast per week...usually on a Sunday. I usually do a 1 egg/2egg white scramble or omelette or just one fried egg sunnyside over my 21 whole grains toast. I don't worry so much about the dietary cholesterol as I do my sat fats.

    I'll be getting more blood work done in another 6 weeks or so and I'm hoping for more, continued, positive results.
  • newjourney2015
    newjourney2015 Posts: 216 Member
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    Thanks to everyone for your advise! I will review the website links posted and hopefully in 3 months (when I have my bloodwork done again) the results will be better.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    So just got my bloodwork back from the doc and my HDL is 59 and my LDL is 141 and VLDL is 18 = 218

    My HDL is "in range" but my LDL is high. How do I lower my cholesterol? And what is the truth about cholesterol? Do I eat the whole egg or not? Some say yes some say no.

    I'm so confused!

    How did you get your HDL to be that high? It's excellent.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    If you want to lower your cholesterol, stop eating dietary cholesterol. It's that simple.

    Its all coming together for me now! If you want lower your bodyfat, stop eating fat. If you want to stop having gas, stop drinking gasoline. It makes complete sense to me. What else can we lower by this easy to follow method?
  • cordianet
    cordianet Posts: 534 Member
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    For most people, dietary cholesterol is not a problem.

    http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cholesterol-food
  • portwein
    portwein Posts: 29 Member
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    Visit with a registered dietitian, your doctor should be able to recommend one. Once you know the basics, it's fairly easy to comprehend.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    If you want to lower your cholesterol, stop eating dietary cholesterol. It's that simple.

    Its all coming together for me now! If you want lower your bodyfat, stop eating fat. If you want to stop having gas, stop drinking gasoline. It makes complete sense to me. What else can we lower by this easy to follow method?

    If you want more hair, forego hair transplants and eat a hairy chicken.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    If you want to lower your cholesterol, stop eating dietary cholesterol. It's that simple.

    Its all coming together for me now! If you want lower your bodyfat, stop eating fat. If you want to stop having gas, stop drinking gasoline. It makes complete sense to me. What else can we lower by this easy to follow method?
    Obviously some should lower their intake of bull excrement.
  • NuggetLovesEdie
    NuggetLovesEdie Posts: 477 Member
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    1 to 1.5 cups of oatmeal every day was also recommended to me by a dietician at my doc's clinic.

    Is that because of the fiber that it helps lower cholesterol?
  • takumaku
    takumaku Posts: 352 Member
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    I would suggest going back to the doc and asking about a more detailed cholesterol test. Some of your reading is genetic.

    For example, I had a detail cholesterol test done. Mine were:
    HDL-P: 26.9
    LDL-P: 446
    Large VLDL-P: 0.8
    Small LDL-P: <90
    Large HDL-P: 9.9
    VLDL Size: 47.4
    LDL Size: 20.8
    HDL Size: 10.0
    LP-IR Score: 14

    While my HDL-P is high risk, the ratio of LDP-P to HDL-P is extremely small. I am a runner, vegetarian, and take omega-3 via flax seed. To me and my doc, there is nothing more I can do.
  • SarahAFerguson
    SarahAFerguson Posts: 250 Member
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    Well, what worked for me was lowering my stress level significantly (I took a year off work). I also completely stopped eating out at any restaurants. I ate anything I wanted including lots of eggs and ice cream. I wasn't actually trying to lower my cholesterol at all, it just happened. My total cholesterol went from 200 down to 129 in a year.