The Irony of "healthy".... freakin cholesterol

Forgive my ignorance but if you didn't get your cholesterol levels tested. How would even know? If you're eating healthy and losing weight etc does it even matter?

I can relate to this, although I am one of those with "perfect cholesterol that I take for granted" lol. My mother and all of her family have very high cholesterol which has to be controlled by medication. When it is hereditary, as this is, it cannot be controlled by diet. Its sound as though your high cholesterol is genetic and if that is so even though you have a healthy diet and you do exercise, it will never make it perfect! Not fair huh?

My mother said the same thing you have said when she was diagnosed, ie how can my Dad eat much more unhealthy stuff than her and his is normal?

I have to have mine checked every year because of my family history, and up to now its been very much on the low side. You are right, I probably did take it for granted but maybe not so much any more. I am thankful every time I am tested and it is still low.

They are learning more and more about cholesterol every day. For example, it's not necessarily bad if your cholesterol isn't low, now they're saying the size of the particals is more important. You might want to check it out!

Also, I know someone who eats healthy, but has a triglycerides level of 600. His doctor says part of it is too much beer, and then they discovered he is diabetic... so there is much more at play than simply eating healthy.

Doing *the best you can do* may not solve the problem completely due to the genetics factor, but it's definitely better than ignoring the situation and letting it all go to pot. Who knows, you might find that switching to a completely different kind of diet might help. Medical researchers still don't have all the answers on this subject, by a long shot, according to my doctor.

My cholesterol levels improved dramatically with dietary changes, most likely thanks to incorporating fairly large amounts of raw walnuts, and ground flax, eating more fish, and a few other tweaks. My doctor said the nuts are probably making the biggest difference. Nuts are pretty calorie dense though so other parts of my diet had to be changed to accommodate them. To me it's been worth it. But it's one of those things that works for some, not others... like just about everything else.

Yeah, cholesterol is produced by your body. Its mainly genetics if you have good or bad.

I'm guessing my genes are somewhere in the middle.
Both parents on statins. Both parents ate like typical Americans. Both are still on the heavy side, and diabetic (type 2), and sedentary.
Seems like a conflict. If I inherited genes in the middle, why are parents on statins and diabetic. Answer: eating behavior, activity levels.

Myself. I had great HDL, avg. LDL, avg. triglycerides. And still had a circulatory problem crop up (reduced blood flow to left leg). My doc said....statins. I said "what is root cause?". He said cholesterol. I said but blood tests don't indicate that. So, since insurance wouldn't, I paid for a full body cat scan.

Reduced left leg circulation was due to inflamation not cholesterol. Probably from smoking. Areteries and veins were squeeky clean of plaque.

I quit smoking. And started my journey of diet and exercise.

Then....while working from hotel with high fat, and free breakfast bar, I ate lots of bacon and eggs. For months. Blood test showed LDL rising fast. Doc said ...... statins. I said........diet and exercise. He said....we'll see if you can do it. Blood tests came into line as I ate better again. (I began taking my own food to the hotel, so I could eat healthy....so hard to do if eating out).

LDL is back down. Met my weight goals. Got control of my fats and salt. Working my sugar intake now. This is harder than the fats and salt. I had to go to making some of my own foods (chili, soup, bread, etc.). But it has allowed me to still enjoy the foods I like, without all the fat and sugar (e.g. low meat chili, no salt, LOTS of Chili Pepper).

Moral.....you have to work with what you've got. If your blood tests show problems. Work them. Build a diet that addresses your particular situation. But don't just assume you have to take pills (read pills = lifetime expense). Research. Get a second opinion. Look for alternatives (e.g. fish oil or flaxseed supplements, more fish and chicken instead of red meat).

P.S.-It's amazing how much cheaper home made food (from scratch ingredients) is compared to the processed convenience items in American stores now days. And Healthier!