But I love meat!!!

I'm sorry to hear about your health problems. My dad's family has heart issues (his father had a heart attack at 50) and hereditary high cholesterol. My dad doesn't eat eggs, red meat... But he does eat chicken and turkey in moderation.

Hereditary heart / cholesterol problems are scary

They are scary...but they are not caused by eating red meat or eggs.

I started all of this diet and fitness stuff about 18 months ago with highly elevated LDL cholesterol levels, low HDL levels, off the chart triglycerides, and borderline diabetic blood sugar levels. Even though much of this is hereditary...my dad had type II diabetes, stage III kidney failure, and heart disease and recently passed away at the ripe old age of 61...I've been able to completely reverse it all through diet and exercise...and I eat all of the animals (and fish), eggs every day, tons of vegetables and fruit and whole grains and legumes.

Any recent study is going to show that there's really no direct correlation to eating meat and high cholesterol levels and the idea that dietary cholesterol causes high blood serum levels was debunked years ago. These health issues are a culmination of hereditary factors along with overall diet and fitness (or lack thereof), not really one specific thing like red meat.

This is what my cardiologist did for me.. He made an appointment for me to see a nutritionist and she never said no red meat. She told me no more than twice a week for red meat otherwise she said other meats were fine and NEVER organ meats like liver. No problem there because I would not ever eat that. See a nutritionist because that is their profession and possibly open up new ideas for you.. Good luck

Well, first off I was referred to the cardiologist for tricuspid regurgitation. She said was not concerned about anything but she said I am extremely over weight & need to lose weight. She said I should follow her diet plan & exercise.

"her" diet plan meaning the one she does or the one she sells?

#importantdetail

Good luck its hard to give up meat. I have zero advice cause I have yet to do it but good luck!

I also have tricuspid valve problems, which is unusual. I had severe regurgitation which was discovered 3 years ago. At that time I was 234 lbs. with type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. Interestingly enough, my cardiologist never suggested that I lose weight or change my diet drastically. I had an EKG, MRI, and cardiac catheterization (where they also checked for coronary artery blockages which weren't there). For me, diet and exercise would have done nothing for the problem because it was a bad valve from birth - congenital - Ebsteins Anomoly. I had valve repair done but am again dealing with severe regurgitation and will need valve replacement surgery eventually.

A year later - Sept. 1, 2012 - I started working with a registered dietitian and a balanced 1200-1400 diet and have since lost 94 lbs. and weigh 140. I'm still type 2 diabetic (but under control) and have high cholesterol (which actually borderline high now) even with a much better diet with very little processed food. I still eat meat but definitely do fish 3-5 times a week, and also eat a very limited amount of cheese.

When I saw my cardiologist in January, he was really happy with the lost weight and said it will make my heart not have to work so hard. But losing the weight didn't fix the tricuspid valve - it's worse than it was.

Lots of luck with your heart issues. And I hope you are able to get a handle on how to eat for your heart health. If you can find a good registered dietitian it would be quite helpful. That really helped me.

My cardiologist says if it does not swim or grow from the ground I CANNOT eat it. The nerve of her :noway: but I've decided to take her advice (after months of defiance) & today is my first day as a pescatarian. This is my May Challenge & I gladly accept !

I'd definitely get a second opinion. There are so many lean varieties of meat, I find it hard to believe that a cardiologist worth her salt would advise you to give up a valuable source of protein.

High cholesterol levels in itself are not bad

I think you would have serious trouble supporting this assertion.

Okay, I'll bite.

So are LDL particles which have not been oxidised dangerous?

I said you would have serious trouble supporting the assertion that high cholesterol is not bad.

Chuck a cow in a lake... it's swimming!! Eat it!!

Hm... or would it just sink? I feel like i've read somewhere of cows dying when it floods because they can't swim?

OP came back and said the suggestion was only made because she was overweight and has nothing to do with cholesterol or most anything else debated in this thread.

In for more responses.

OP - eat at a moderate caloric deficit, and eat the foods that keep you satiated to meet your calorie goals. Focus on whole foods and incorporate the foods you enjoy eating. It won't be sustainable if you cut out foods that you love (especially with no reason except the diet works for someone else).

Okay, so you are you saying higher levels of cholesterol are bad if you are on a diet which is healthy and low in foods which are inflammatory and oxidation?

And are high levels of unoxidised LDL particles bad?

I'm saying that high serum cholesterol is a risk factor for disease and is indeed bad.

I have said nothing about unoxidised LDL particles, nor will I say anything on the topic in this thread.

Just what I thought.

Cool.

So, I was serious. Do you have any quality literature that is convincing establishing that high total cholesterol is definitely not a problem?

This entire conversation started because you said high cholesterol wasn't itself a problem. I'm interested if you have any data to support that. If you do, please share it.

I do like it when you add words and twist statements jonny (its kinase the measure of you).

I think if you read the whole post I wrote and take one line out of context (and also add words to it) then my view should be clear.

I would be interested if you have any studies showing that a high cholesterol level on a healthy diet (low in inflammatory and oxidation prop foods) is bad .

Still I doubt that will happen either. Lol

Here is your statement:

"High cholesterol levels in itself are not bad"

Here is my question:

"Do you have any quality literature that is convincing establishing that high total cholesterol is definitely not a problem?"

I'm honestly not sure what words I've added. Feel free to modify the question as you see fit.

I would like to see some scientific literature or data establishing the truth of your quoted statement. I'm not trying to trick you. I'm trying to learn.