Help on Cholesterol

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Hi I've been told by the doctor my cholesterol level is too high, all i'm really asking would it be harmful to have maybe 2 medium boiled eggs a week with a slice of wholemeal toast or would that be defeating my object of trying to combat this. I'm really new to all this but I've decided enough enough I have to convert to healthier living. i'd really value some help thank you

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  • cyclist_44060
    cyclist_44060 Posts: 86 Member
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    Two eggs a week should not be a problem. I have high cholesterol and I switched to eggbeaters. Good luck with your journey.
  • LizaDK914
    LizaDK914 Posts: 54 Member
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    It isn't actually cholestorol that is the problem in food. Sounds weird, I know. It's saturated fat that is the problem. Two eggs a week really shouldn't be a problem, but you should avoid going over your saturated fat limits.

    I will advise being careful with eggbeaters. I tried to make that switch and it gave me horrible gastrointestinal distress. I read elsewhere online that this happens to A LOT of people. So, just be careful!

    Good luck with your journey to get healthy!
  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
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    Dietary cholesterol in eggs isn't going to add to your blood cholesterol levels unless you eat a shed load of them. Trans fats, sugar and refined carbs are likely to do more harm than a couple of eggs. Try to avoid processed foods.

    My father was told that diet makes very little difference to dietary cholesterol levels unless you are already eating unhealthily.

    Some of the cholesterol lowering foods on the market may help somewhat, but eating healthily, eating plenty of protein and getting regular exercise should also help.

    Have you been prescribed statins? There also seems to be some debate as to whether these are useful for anyone except those that have had a heart attack or angina etc. Of course, do listen to your doctor but do your own research too.

    I hope it comes down for you :smile:
  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
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    I was also wondering if you have a thyroid problem. High cholesterol is very common in people with hypothyroidism and also people with a vitamin D deficiency (also remarkably common unless you live somewhere sunny). Might be worth getting checked out if you have any symptoms. If you feel fine chances are these don't apply but I thought I'd throw it out there.
  • HornedFrogPride
    HornedFrogPride Posts: 283 Member
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    I have high cholesterol too and have been reading a lot about this. Eating 2 eggs/week shouldn't affect you much but yes, you need to monitor your cholesterol and fat consumption on a daily basis. I am. I already was meatless on Fridays and now have meatless Mondays too (shifting away from red meat).
  • GaGa_UK
    GaGa_UK Posts: 3
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    yep I've been given statins im suffering from chronic kidney disease and its heartbreaking but ive sat down this week and thought long and hard and I have to change I've purchased a fit bit flex wristband got back on my bicycle and decided to help myself by losing weight I don't eat frozen foods because of the salt content only discovered yesterday that milk contains sugar that's crazy I eat reasonably well I love to cook I do a lot of healthy cooking of vegetables in wok using a teaspoon of olive oil , never fry food don't smoke don't drink :) I really value all your help thank you
  • GaGa_UK
    GaGa_UK Posts: 3
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    I did have thyroid test last week its come back ok but my cholesterol is high and your right about vitamin D im lacking that doctor said the kidneys would be effecting that :)
  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
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    Try to eat foods as near to natural as possible (obviously you need to cook some things!). Avoid packaged and processed foods. Plenty of fibre and vegetables will help. Do eat fruit but not too much because of the sugar. Don't worry too much about the sugar in milk and yogurt but don't have too much. Dairy is good because it helps fat pass through the body. A study a while ago showed that people who ate dairy lost more weight, but you do have to be sensible with it.

    Hopefully all these measures will help. the vitamin D should help too if you are supplementing. If you aren't supplementing you might want to consider taking cod-liver oil but do check with your doctor before taking anything given your kidney disease.

    Do you happen to know what your thyroid test came back as? If you're in the US you can probably trust your doctor when they say it's ok but if you're in the UK they seem to think it's ok when it really isn't.

    Take care and I hope your new lifestyle helps to improve your health.

    Very best wishes

    Carolyn
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    Your profile is closed. I can't figure out if you want to lose weight or simply maintain it while lowering your cholesterol.

    I have had success in lowering my blood cholesterol level by exercise and caloric deficit. Fructose (a.k.a. fruit sugar) is associated with higher level of cholesterol. Since basically all of our sweet food contains fructose to some degree, limiting sugar and carb intake is a good idea. Table sugar (sucrose) is half fructose and half glucose.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21849529

    While cholesterol from food doesn't directly affect blood cholesterol, it's still a good idea to limit it to a reasonable level. Two eggs a week are ok, but I wouldn't do more than that.
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    I eat chocolate and coconut to raise mine...