reducing colesterol

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floridapanthergirl
floridapanthergirl Posts: 87 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I got my blood work back this week and it looks great! Much improved, except for my "bad" cholesterol. It is 240. The nurse practictioner tried to give me the low fat speech which I promptly rejected. I am doing low carb and though I may need to reduce saturated fat, low fat is not for me. So, I have reduced the amount of cheese I eat, stopped putting cream in my coffee and am watching saturated fats How much saturated fat is okay on 1500 cals?. I am also taking garlic and fish oil daily. Anything else you know about, what about red yeast rice, and oat bran? What about Herbs? I am determined to give this mother my best effort. I still have 35 pounds to lose, but that probably won't do the trick altogether. I appreciate your input. Thanks

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  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
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    bump to hear the experts advice on this
  • claudiakendall98
    claudiakendall98 Posts: 242 Member
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    I was put on very high fish oil supplement regiment by my Doc, and believe it or not but my cholesterol instead of going down went way up. I am currently on crestor and was hoping to loose these pills due to exercise and about 24 pound loss .It has not happened for me My cholesterol on medication is still iffy and I have to go for blood test soon to see if meds are working .Be careful with red rice yeast and other supplements as they do the same as medicine and you could potentially hurt your liver. Do eat oatmeal as it is supposed to lower cholesterol.
  • RM10003
    RM10003 Posts: 316 Member
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    Can you up your fiber intake at all? That worked well for me, although it could be difficult on a low carb diet.
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    If you've been eating low carb, you might want to consider adding some fiberous fruits and vegetables back to your diet-as the bible of low carb diets actual suggests...
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
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    My advice is to listen to your health care professional. If they say low fat then go low fat. As an alternative see if you can talk to a nutritionist and take your results with you. I am not trying to be ugly so please do not take it that way but I just got done getting my father out of the hospital for a double bypass surgery bc of clogged arteries and a failed stint. He also ignored the doctors advice on diet changes because of his high cholesterol. It is not a pretty picture to watch your loved one in a stretcher barely being able to function mentally as the result of a heart attack, or having to see where they cracked open his rib cage or sitting in the ICU watching him wake up and freak out bc he has tubes coming from his chest to help drain fluid from the surgery.

    Don't screw around now that you've learned your bad cholesterol levels are high. Having a scar down your chest from surgery and/or being on blood thinners for the rest of your life is no joke, 35 pounds heavier or not.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Aerobic exercise
    eat a good variety of fruits and vegetables
    less land animal fats and more vegetable/fish fats (salmon, tuna, sardines, nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, etc.).
    Avoid any product that contains partially hydrogenated oils (check the ingredients even if it says 'no trans fat')
    If you smoke, stop!
    No more than moderate alcohol consumption.
    Lose weight.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    First, don't take medical advice from strangers on the internet.

    I'll tell you what worked for me, but if your doctor disagrees with any of it, I'd defer to him/her.

    First, I set up a 1000 (later 500) calorie deficit to lose weight. I ate oatmeal everyday, and took fish oil. I started walking every day, then did the C25k program, then ran 5k, 3 days a week. I ate mostly lean proteins at first and minimized my dietary cholesterol, as instructed by my doctor. After several months, however, I abandoned that somewhat and went back to the foods I loved.

    With this approach, I dropped my cholesterol from 240 to 140. I was last tested 6 months ago, so I am going to get another one soon to make sure it's still headed in the right direction.
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
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    LDL has very little correlation with risk of heart disease, especially in women before menopause. HDL (higher is better) and triglycerides (lower is better) are much more accurate indicators. The composition of the LDL also makes a difference; "large and fluffy" is better than "small and dense". If you've been eating low-carb for a while, your LDL is probably of the better sort.
  • mrmagee3
    mrmagee3 Posts: 518 Member
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    Couple questions:

    1. How long have you been eating low carb?
    2. Did you have a standard cholesterol test? A VAP test measures LDL particle size and would provide you more information than a standard test.
    3. Any other risk factors? Smoker?
  • floridapanthergirl
    floridapanthergirl Posts: 87 Member
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    Thanks folks! More Please! No other risk factors, not a smoker, past menopause (but still rowdy). Physically active, been doing low carb at least 2 years now. To the point that it is a life style anyway (thank you MFP). I ask for input, but am able to make my own decisions, thank you, in reference to health practioners, or nutritionists. they are not always well informed. Oatmeal sounds good. Particle size information sounds good, more exercise sounds good. Careful about red-yeast-rice sounds good. 240 to 140 is terrific! and inspiring. Thanks. Anything else? Oh, and fiber has not been hard for me with low carb. I sometimes supplement with psyllium in a protein shake. Have never had a problem with fiber since starting low carb, but could add more. Good tip.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    Physically active
    Good. Exercise can help with controlling cholesterol.
  • DKrisAn
    DKrisAn Posts: 43 Member
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    I also have high cholesterol. My last cholesterol was 233 but at least the LDL has come down. If you can tolerate spicy food, you can add green chilies to some of your food and I also add higher amounts of garlic as well to dishes and even boil garlic and ginger in some water.

    My doctor suggested the South Beach Diet but limiting carbs to that extent will not work for me. I have switched to a mostly vegetarian diet except for fish and some chicken on the weekends.
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    Fiber.

    Fiber takes some of your bile along with it on the way out. In order to make more bile, your body uses cholesterol. So more fiber may be a way to lower cholesterol if you are concerned.

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