High Cholesterol
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I was diagnosed with diabetes late last year despite losing a lot of weight. Also high cholesterol, high triglycerides and high blood pressure.
Last check cholesterol had dropped by nearly 2, don't have the figures for tri's, and at the moment my bp is hovering around 130-140 over 80 from mid 150's over 90 about a month ago, blood glucose largely totally controlled via diet and is usually between 5 and 7 from a diagnosis blood sugar reading of 24.8.
I stopped all processed, refined, manufactured crap, cut out take aways, introduced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, blueberries, vegetables (mainly above ground, no starchy carbs) and chicken, turkey, tuna, sardines and pollock (with the odd trout or salmon if i can afford it or have it in), i no longer drink coffee or cows milk, i have fruit teas, green teas, normal black tea, sometimes i have a chicory and barley coffee replacement which has no caffeine and have gone onto almond milk and soya milk.
They put me on metformin for diabetes, but i am not the best with organisation so for all practical intents and purposes I don't take it, but while the blood sugars are controlled that isn't an issue.
They want to put me on blood pressure medication and statins too, I refused as I would rather improve my health by improving my health as opposed necking medication. So far improvements are coming, but it is really important you keep your doc in the loop and it may help to record everything, then over time you have evidence to show your doctor that the healthy lifestyle is having a positive impact.
I told my doctor to give me until january to see what I can do, so far it is looking promising, I hope the same is true for you too mate.
Regardless of anything, losing weight, increasing exercise, getting fitter are pretty much all positive things you can do for yourself, so keep on, well done and good luck.0 -
I'm going to weigh in a little on the plant-based diet thingy and genetics and stuff, all strictly personal experience, mind you.
I've been mostly ovo-lacto vegetarian all my life (and I'm in my 40s), having refused meat from the day my mother started feeding me solid food. (Must be a taste/texture thing, since I certainly didn't have ethical objections when I was an infant.
) I've only ever eaten not-fried chicken breast in restaurants, which I trained myself to like mostly so that I'd be able to eat something. (I grew up in the Midwest in the 70s/early 80s; at the time, there was no such thing as a "vegetarian option" on any menu, unless you wanted to eat a little side salad as your meal.) My family -- every single member of my immediate family and most of my slightly extended family, aunts/uncles/cousins -- has high cholesterol, some of them with numbers over 500. They're all big "meat and potatoes" people, yet most of them are quite active because they work farms and a good percentage are in the military. They're not "desk job" people, as I come from a strong agricultural family tradition. Some of them are even into "fitness" nowadays and some of them are eating healthier, cutting down on red meat and such. Yet, they still have high cholesterol. But I, the lone veggie, have never had high cholesterol, which I have checked every year, at least, because of my family history. When I was ovo-lacto, mine was generally around 170, even at my fattest and most sedentary.
So, I'm pretty sure I've got the genes for high cholesterol. I mean, it'd be weird if I didn't. But even when fat and sedentary I didn't have high cholesterol. The only difference that I can see between me and my relatives is diet and activity level, with me being far more sedentary than most of them. I mean, my diet wasn't the healthiest. We were dairy farmers, so I drank plenty of raw milk straight from our cows and ate a ton of cheese and was not above eating three large french fries from McDonalds in a sitting, although I've never eaten a hamburger. So unless I somehow DON'T actually have the genes, I think dietary cholesterol does play a role, at least in my particular family. I'm aware of the research that says it has little-to-no effect, but...I don't know.
Now that I'm completely vegan, my total cholesterol is around 100 with an acceptable LDL/HDL ratio. It's dropped about 40 points since I went vegan...but in my case that's not really evidence of anything, as the reason that I went vegan was to reduce protein due to a malfunctioning liver that isn't processing protein well, which was ultimately caused by long-undiagnosed structural heart defects. It is POSSIBLE that my liver has been damaged (thus artificially lowering my cholesterol because it's not producing it as it should) for longer than I think, but that's not likely since prior to around January of this year, my liver enzymes always came back completely normal.
So, take all that for what you will. I say that lowering dietary cholesterol certainly can't hurt, but I don't think it's some kind of boogieman, either. And, really, high cholesterol doesn't always mean heart disease, either. Some people have really high cholesterol and no blocked coronary arteries, etc. But, if one is worried about it, a good way to lower cholesterol intake is to eat more plant-based meals, since you can only get cholesterol from animal products. But I don't recommend extremes in anything, myself, unless there's a good, solid medical reason for it.0 -
I'm going to weigh in a little on the plant-based diet thingy and genetics and stuff, all strictly personal experience, mind you.
I've been mostly ovo-lacto vegetarian all my life (and I'm in my 40s), having refused meat from the day my mother started feeding me solid food. (Must be a taste/texture thing, since I certainly didn't have ethical objections when I was an infant. ) I've only ever eaten not-fried chicken breast in restaurants, which I trained myself to like mostly so that I'd be able to eat something. (I grew up in the Midwest in the 70s/early 80s; at the time, there was no such thing as a "vegetarian option" on any menu, unless you wanted to eat a little side salad as your meal.) My family -- every single member of my immediate family and most of my slightly extended family, aunts/uncles/cousins -- has high cholesterol, some of them with numbers over 500. They're all big "meat and potatoes" people, yet most of them are quite active because they work farms and a good percentage are in the military. They're not "desk job" people, as I come from a strong agricultural family tradition. Some of them are even into "fitness" nowadays and some of them are eating healthier, cutting down on red meat and such. Yet, they still have high cholesterol. But I, the lone veggie, have never had high cholesterol, which I have checked every year, at least, because of my family history. When I was ovo-lacto, mine was generally around 170, even at my fattest and most sedentary.
So, I'm pretty sure I've got the genes for high cholesterol. I mean, it'd be weird if I didn't. But even when fat and sedentary I didn't have high cholesterol. The only difference that I can see between me and my relatives is diet and activity level, with me being far more sedentary than most of them. I mean, my diet wasn't the healthiest. We were dairy farmers, so I drank plenty of raw milk straight from our cows and ate a ton of cheese and was not above eating three large french fries from McDonalds in a sitting, although I've never eaten a hamburger. So unless I somehow DON'T actually have the genes, I think dietary cholesterol does play a role, at least in my particular family. I'm aware of the research that says it has little-to-no effect, but...I don't know.
Now that I'm completely vegan, my total cholesterol is around 100 with an acceptable LDL/HDL ratio. It's dropped about 40 points since I went vegan...but in my case that's not really evidence of anything, as the reason that I went vegan was to reduce protein due to a malfunctioning liver that isn't processing protein well, which was ultimately caused by long-undiagnosed structural heart defects. It is POSSIBLE that my liver has been damaged (thus artificially lowering my cholesterol because it's not producing it as it should) for longer than I think, but that's not likely since prior to around January of this year, my liver enzymes always came back completely normal.
So, take all that for what you will. I say that lowering dietary cholesterol certainly can't hurt, but I don't think it's some kind of boogieman, either. And, really, high cholesterol doesn't always mean heart disease, either. Some people have really high cholesterol and no blocked coronary arteries, etc. But, if one is worried about it, a good way to lower cholesterol intake is to eat more plant-based meals, since you can only get cholesterol from animal products. But I don't recommend extremes in anything, myself, unless there's a good, solid medical reason for it.
Well thought out and coherent. I think the big thing, however, is still fiber (and I will find out in 3 months if it works for me). Anytime you eat a plant based diet you are taking in large amounts of fiber. Your "meat and potatoes" family does not eat a lot of fiber, and they have high cholesterol. I would suggest that you could add significant quantities of meat into your diet (if cholesterol is your only concern - clearly only hypothetical in this situation) while maintaining a high fiber intake and still have well controlled cholesterol.0 -
Lol gtfo or get your cholesterol tested on a meat based diet as a baseline and then a plant based diet. I'll say it again. Correlation is not causation and should not be seen as such. Period. A plant based or meat free diet is okay for some people. I get it, I used to be vegan for ethical reasons. Some people just don't like food. I happen to like food and enjoy meat. Does it make sense for me to restrict my meat intake completely because it might give me some extra years? If this is what it comes down to I choose meat. Sure, restricting my dietary cholesterol could contribute to a small decrease in blood cholesterol, but there are other ways to do that that have been discussed in this thread. I'm not about jump to an extreme for a small change to my bad, but not that bad, cholesterol before I try other things.
Bring me hard science supporting the elimination of meat and I might consider it.
You're trying so hard to pin a logical fallacy on me when I'm not even making any claims as to my own cholesterol levels, because I don't know them. I did bring research to the discussion, did you read the article that I posted? The only argument I am making, which is one you agree with yourself towards the end of your rant, is that reducing or eliminating cholesterol from one's diet has a beneficial effect on one's cholesterol levels, and should be considered by someone who has high cholesterol. That's just common sense. I don't even know what you are disagreeing with.0 -
Because dietary cholesterol contributes little to blood cholesterol.
My cholesterol when last checked was 162. I eat a ton of eggs.
Considering that nearly 50% of heart attack victims have cholesterol levels under 100, I wouldn't be too excited about that number.0 -
Also you're losing way too much weight way too quickly dude.
Why? I am in the best shape of my life and I am pursuing sports in a way that I have never been able to before. If I was really doing this in an unhealthful way, I doubt my body would be able to withstand the 50 mile bike ride I did a few weeks back, or the 110 or so miles a week that I am currently riding.0 -
Lol gtfo or get your cholesterol tested on a meat based diet as a baseline and then a plant based diet. I'll say it again. Correlation is not causation and should not be seen as such. Period. A plant based or meat free diet is okay for some people. I get it, I used to be vegan for ethical reasons. Some people just don't like food. I happen to like food and enjoy meat. Does it make sense for me to restrict my meat intake completely because it might give me some extra years? If this is what it comes down to I choose meat. Sure, restricting my dietary cholesterol could contribute to a small decrease in blood cholesterol, but there are other ways to do that that have been discussed in this thread. I'm not about jump to an extreme for a small change to my bad, but not that bad, cholesterol before I try other things.
Bring me hard science supporting the elimination of meat and I might consider it.
You're trying so hard to pin a logical fallacy on me when I'm not even making any claims as to my own cholesterol levels, because I don't know them. I did bring research to the discussion, did you read the article that I posted? The only argument I am making, which is one you agree with yourself towards the end of your rant, is that reducing or eliminating cholesterol from one's diet has a beneficial effect on one's cholesterol levels, and should be considered by someone who has high cholesterol. That's just common sense. I don't even know what you are disagreeing with.
Your whole holier than thou approach to a plant based diet is what I'm disagreeing with.
I didn't read or watch anything you posted because I've seen the corollary studies and do not fall buy it as science. You are misinterpreting my statements. Let me be clear. Reducing or eliminating dietary cholesterol might have SOME effect on overall cholesterol levels, but sources of dietary cholesterol are sources of macro and micro nutrients that should not be ignored by anyone for any dietary reason.
To be perfectly clear: Eat meat often. Eat enough fiber.
Lastly, I will never follow the diet of someone who loses 18 pounds per month. I care about my body.0 -
Keeping it simple...... My Cholesterol was high. I started watching what i was eating. I started running. I lost weight. I got healthier.
The Doc took me off the meds. No more cholesterol medication for me for almost 2 years now.0 -
Also you're losing way too much weight way too quickly dude.
Why? I am in the best shape of my life and I am pursuing sports in a way that I have never been able to before. If I was really doing this in an unhealthful way, I doubt my body would be able to withstand the 50 mile bike ride I did a few weeks back, or the 110 or so miles a week that I am currently riding.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/232040-what-happens-if-you-lose-weight-too-fast/
At the most basic level, this.
I used to ride my bike everywhere. I ate very little. I lost a lot of weight. It caught up to me. I gained back more weight than I started with.
Sustainability brosef.0 -
Nonsensical statement.
Considering that diet-related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes are far and away the top killers of Americans, I think not. It literally is a matter of life and death. I was faced with this reality myself when I started experiencing severe chest pains, and that prompted me to change my lifestyle. Perhaps you just haven't been there yet.Some of your arguments certainly have merit, but the lame rhetoric & exaggeration undermines your credibility. You focus on animal products and ignore the effect of drugs, alcohol, sugar and the lack of exercise.
How can this be an exaggeration when we are talking about the top killers in the nation? Think of how much money we spend on care for these preventable diseases, too. Also, it is possible to eat un-healthfully on any diet, including a plant-based one. As a point of further refinement, let's consider a whole-foods plant-based diet, with a focus on foods like whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.
There are many healthy lifestyles out there, but I believe that this diet is very worthy of consideration for those who are suffering from or at risk of heart disease.Statistics show the greatest influence on cholesterol & early mortality is genetics influenced by obesity, diet & environment.( ie sedentary lifestyle, stress, fatigue)
First of all, you should really provide a source for a statement like that. Even so, you're not really saying anything here, we all know that obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors for early mortality. A plant-based diet, carefully planned to include foods that are healthful and exclude those that are not, is an excellent tool to combat obesity and promote heart health.0 -
Nonsensical statement.
Considering that diet-related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes are far and away the top killers of Americans, I think not. It literally is a matter of life and death. I was faced with this reality myself when I started experiencing severe chest pains, and that prompted me to change my lifestyle. Perhaps you just haven't been there yet.Some of your arguments certainly have merit, but the lame rhetoric & exaggeration undermines your credibility. You focus on animal products and ignore the effect of drugs, alcohol, sugar and the lack of exercise.
How can this be an exaggeration when we are talking about the top killers in the nation? Think of how much money we spend on care for these preventable diseases, too. Also, it is possible to eat un-healthfully on any diet, including a plant-based one. As a point of further refinement, let's consider a whole-foods plant-based diet, with a focus on foods like whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.
There are many healthy lifestyles out there, but I believe that this diet is very worthy of consideration for those who are suffering from or at risk of heart disease.Statistics show the greatest influence on cholesterol & early mortality is genetics influenced by obesity, diet & environment.( ie sedentary lifestyle, stress, fatigue)
First of all, you should really provide a source for a statement like that. Even so, you're not really saying anything here, we all know that obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors for early mortality. A plant-based diet, carefully planned to include foods that are healthful and exclude those that are not, is an excellent tool to combat obesity and promote heart health.
Yawn. Go join a clean eating group or something.0 -
I didn't read or watch anything you posted because I've seen the corollary studies and do not fall buy it as science.
If you (a, do not post any supporting evidence of your own and (b do not consider any of my supporting evidence, we are not having a discussion. I am not here to argue matters of opinion.0 -
Hi,
A few years ago I had some blood results showing high triglycerides and cholesterol. My doctor said she wanted to put me on statins but as I am already on a few lifelong meds so asked for an alternative. I went to a nutritionist who put me on a 1200 cal a day diet, told to increase fruit and veg, limit sweets/chocolate/alcohol. It worked 3 months later everything was bang in the middle of the healthy range, had lost a bit of weight and felt amazing. I'm doing it again now as I stopped doing what I was supposed to partly because I tore my right ACL and went back to my bad habits.
I'm going for a blood test soon so will know shortly if it has worked.0 -
I didn't read or watch anything you posted because I've seen the corollary studies and do not fall buy it as science.
If you (a, do not post any supporting evidence of your own and (b do not consider any of my supporting evidence, we are not having a discussion. I am not here to argue matters of opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6H2edyPLU8
Your "evidence" is not evidence. It is speculation.0 -
Also you're losing way too much weight way too quickly dude.
Why? I am in the best shape of my life and I am pursuing sports in a way that I have never been able to before. If I was really doing this in an unhealthful way, I doubt my body would be able to withstand the 50 mile bike ride I did a few weeks back, or the 110 or so miles a week that I am currently riding.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/232040-what-happens-if-you-lose-weight-too-fast/
At the most basic level, this.
I used to ride my bike everywhere. I ate very little. I lost a lot of weight. It caught up to me. I gained back more weight than I started with.
Sustainability brosef.
Ridiculous. I am not following some fad diet, I am eating around 1800 calories per day (just shy of the 1910 target MFP gives me) of plant-based foods and exercising. I eat when I am hungry, until I am full. I had a lot of weight to lose when I started, and I have a lot less now. What is healthy weight loss for one person may or may not be for someone else, because we all start at different places. Again, if I was truly depriving my body, I would not be able to perform athletically. I feel great, look better every day and am gaining a lot of leg muscle from the cycling in addition to the weight I have lost.0 -
Yawn. Go join a clean eating group or something.
I've wasted enough time on you. I will not respond again.0 -
Also you're losing way too much weight way too quickly dude.
Why? I am in the best shape of my life and I am pursuing sports in a way that I have never been able to before. If I was really doing this in an unhealthful way, I doubt my body would be able to withstand the 50 mile bike ride I did a few weeks back, or the 110 or so miles a week that I am currently riding.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/232040-what-happens-if-you-lose-weight-too-fast/
At the most basic level, this.
I used to ride my bike everywhere. I ate very little. I lost a lot of weight. It caught up to me. I gained back more weight than I started with.
Sustainability brosef.
Ridiculous. I am not following some fad diet, I am eating around 1800 calories per day (just shy of the 1910 target MFP gives me) of plant-based foods and exercising. I eat when I am hungry, until I am full. I had a lot of weight to lose when I started, and I have a lot less now. What is healthy weight loss for one person may or may not be for someone else, because we all start at different places. Again, if I was truly depriving my body, I would not be able to perform athletically. I feel great, look better every day and am gaining a lot of leg muscle from the cycling in addition to the weight I have lost.
You're not gaining muscle if you're eating at a deficit. Go back to science class.0 -
Yawn. Go join a clean eating group or something.
I've wasted enough time on you. I will not respond again.
OMG finally. I told you to leave like 15 posts ago.0 -
My understanding from the research I've read is that you need to focus on increasing your HDL and decreasing your LDL and also lowering your tryg levels. Those things are more of a risk factor for a heart disease than the overall cholesterol number.0
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Well thought out and coherent. I think the big thing, however, is still fiber (and I will find out in 3 months if it works for me). Anytime you eat a plant based diet you are taking in large amounts of fiber. Your "meat and potatoes" family does not eat a lot of fiber, and they have high cholesterol. I would suggest that you could add significant quantities of meat into your diet (if cholesterol is your only concern - clearly only hypothetical in this situation) while maintaining a high fiber intake and still have well controlled cholesterol.
The fiber thing is true, although I will say that in my immediate family we had a higher-fiber diet, mostly because we weren't exactly rich. I can't say that we ever had totally meatless meals (Well, except for me), but for example a common main dish in our house was beans and/or lentils mixed with a bit of meat (served separately so that none of it made it onto my plate) to make the meat go farther to feed our family (We were a family of 9, so money was very, very tight and meat was more expensive than picking up huge bags of beans and lentils.) So, there was (and still is) plenty of fiber to go around. Even now, my mother has to log everything she eats to make her doctor happy, and she gets about as much fiber as I do on a vegan diet (Usually about 45-50g a day), although some of hers is from stuff like Metamucil and fiber supplements, while mine is all from actual food, which I think is better. Her cholesterol, last I spoke to her about 6 months ago, is still around 480, with a bad LDL/HDL ratio. And that's on statins. However, she has no sign whatsoever of heart disease, no high blood pressure, and the stress echocardiograms have come back showing no lack of oxygen being supplied to her heart muscle, so...yeah. In that sense, she's far better off than I am! *laugh*
As for me, I have no interest whatsoever in eating meat, as I've never eaten it and therefore never developed any kind of taste for it. And I have no interest in developing a taste for it, either. I think it's repulsive, honestly, and look at it the way most people look at Brussels sprouts, but I don't have that opinion for ethical reasons, merely for taste/texture ones. I'm very happy with a low-protein vegan diet...and so are my liver and kidneys. *laugh* As for you, I'd say increasing your fiber, if you don't eat enough, is a good step to take to lower cholesterol, if it's showing signs of damaging you. If it isn't...Well, like I said, my mother's is exorbitantly high, like she should be dead if you heed the cholesterol alarmists, but she's generally in good health, at a healthy weight, etc, in her late 70s, having had such high cholesterol as long as it's been measured.0
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