Cholesterol Help

There are certain things you can change in your diet and your doctor should have provided you some guidance. Salmon and flax are really good to help cut out some of the LDL. Eggs, butter and cheese are some of the worst sources of cholesterol so try to avoid consuming much dairy. Obviously fried foods are really bad for cholesterol.

Dietary cholesterol has very little effect on blood cholesterol, so cutting dairy and "eggs, butter, and cheese" is essentially pointless. Blood cholesterol is more of an indicator of overall health, which can be manipulated through diet & exercise.

The notion that eggs have a negative effect on blood cholesterol is just an "old wives tale" perpetuated through the years by the uninformed.

Reducing cholesterol is simple: get healthy. I've yet to meet a non-overweight / non-skinnyfat person with bad cholesterol.

Heck, I used to eat up to 8 eggs every day, along with bacon and butter, and my cholesterol levels are perfect. Just eat right, workout, and get healthy.. the cholesterol will follow.

Bump to read later. Even though I've lost weight and upped the exercise, I got a call to discuss the cholesterol on my blood tests from my doctor's office today. I'm upset and disappointed!

Okay, I am not at all a cholesterol expert (which is why I posted the question....).

My Total cholesterol is 220
My HDL is 43 which I thought was okay...but, I guess could be higher
My LDL cholesterol is 148
My ratio is 5.1

I have lost the weight mainly through diet, but with some exercise (about 3 times a week).

What diet specifically which foods and food groups, what type of exercise and do you still have body fat to shift? Are you just calorie counting or are you eating specifically for cardiovascular health and hypercholesterolaemia? How intensively are you training, assuming the doctor has cleared you for intense activity? Have you had targeted advice on either from someone other than your regular doctor (registered dietician, health/ fitness professional with an honours degree)?

My doctor gave me 3 months to improve my cholesterol. i didnt know what to do so I did nothing for the first month. I did some reading and came to the conclusion that I needed to get with the program. I lowered my total cholesterol by 20% in the matter of 2 months by simply taking these every day:

1200 mg fish oil capsules
PGX fiber supplements
Niacin
Oatmeal with cinnamon and walnuts

And eliminating or restricting these:

Butter
Eggs
Fried foods
Cheeses
Red meats

At my follow up appt I had lost 17lbs (which was 8% of my weight)

Hmmm....basically just counting calories. And, no, it's just my family Dr. that I've talked to. I am going to try fish oil...several people have suggested that.

Definitely up your intake of the long chain omega-3s but do also be careful not to take in too much omega-6s because the balance is key. This is helpful, some of the foods might surprise you given you have been calorie counting but Medscape is sound
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/775156

I eat lots of veggies, fruits, wild salmon, nuts etc but it wasn't till I added Psyllium Whole Husks twice a day that I got my LDL within normal limits and raised my HDL from 70 to 80.
Oh and I forgot, I also exercise about 90 minutes daily.

hi there - your post is very helpful! i have just found out that i have high cholesterol and am worried about it. also, i am upset with feeling old, fat, and tired of losing / gaining 3 stone!

how to keep positive and know that i can take on this challenge -- i will try your ideas and hope that i can get back in the swing.

anyone else have good ideas on the cholesterol and diet front?
thanks, cbteco :flowerforyou:

hi there, do you find that the exercise is an essential part of the cholesterol / diet approach?

It's a must for a healthy lifestyle period and beneficial at reducing the bad subfractions of LDL (ApoB) and improving HDL as well as improving our sensitivity to insulin, which I'm sure will benefit you.

Dietary cholesterol intake probably has little effect on serum cholesterol levels; saturated fat intake is probably more closely linked to serum cholesterol.

So as others have said, exercise and increase your intake of healthy fats. If you happen to have the genetic makeup to have high cholesterol, these things may have little effect. I've seen patients go vegan and take the fish oil, etc. and still have serum cholesterol levels over 300.

Dietary cholesterol intake probably has little effect on serum cholesterol levels; saturated fat intake is probably more closely linked to serum cholesterol.

So as others have said, exercise and increase your intake of healthy fats. If you happen to have the genetic makeup to have high cholesterol, these things may have little effect. I've seen patients go vegan and take the fish oil, etc. and still have serum cholesterol levels over 300.

This is pretty much what my doctor has said, as I have lost 35+ and HDL, triglycerides, BP, and sugars are all improved, and within normal ranges....just the LDL is pretty much unchanged. Regardless, I'm increasing exercise, tweaking the diet (it was already pretty good), taking fish oil, plant sterols and thinking abut red yeast, and will be rechecked in 3 months. I'm not convinced about statins. There's something funny about a lot of the research I've seen; however, it seems silly to go to a doctor and be totally unwilling to take their advice, so I'll probably try if the numbers are still unchanged. Does that sound reasonable?