HDL and LDL Cholesterol options in MFP Diary?

I can't imagine where you would find a breakdown of food cholesterol into HDL and LDL. I'm pretty sure that's only for when you have your blood lipids tested. If you're working on your cholesterol levels, the cholesterol in food isn't the problem, it's bad fats like high sat fat and trans fats. Maybe talk to a nutritionist/dietician for more info?

Or are you talking about wanting to track your cholesterol levels somewhere on MFP? I think you can do that under Check'In by adding a custom measurement.

Dietary cholesterol is neither HDL or LDL it's just cholesterol and why there is no options. Unfortunately this is where the confusion started many moons ago.

Oh wow. Please explain. And why can't foods display HDL and LDL cholesterol?
It would be nice to scan an item and say "Wow, that has LDL cholesterol, I should stay away from that"

Cholesterol is cholesterol. HDL and LDL are made up by your body.

So is it safe to assume MOST LDL cholesterol is from saturated and trans fats?

No. LDL's are how the body delivers cholesterol to the body, this is normal, LDL's are a normal and necessary function of the body. Within the LDL family you'll find different sizes described and the ones that are the most atherogenic are the very small dense ones and the dietary influences that promote those are highly refined carbs and sugar and not saturated fat. Trans fats are not actually saturated fat but highly processed polyunsaturated fats, mostly from omega 3's and 6's to a lesser degree.

Kind of scary knowing how little control I have over my HDL and LDL within my body.
Since you seem educated in this, mind giving me some dietary tips too get it lower without medication?
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You have control over your diet and your exercise and body mass levels. You do not have control over your genetics. Focus on the 3 things you have control over, and unless you have an immediate family history of cholesterol causing cardiac problems that are not brought on by obesity, then you very likely will be able to eliminate most if not all of your concerns about high cholesterol. If you get your BMI into a normal range and exercise regularly, you should have no doubt whatsoever that these factors will fall into the normal range. Only then can a doctor determine that you have a condition that can be assisted by medication. However, I encourage you to get to the happy place without them if possible. I know it can be done as I have done it personally. Each person is different of course, but I encourage you to stay the course as those blood lipid indicators will improve as you do the necessary. Good luck.

So is it safe to assume MOST LDL cholesterol is from saturated and trans fats?

No. LDL's are how the body delivers cholesterol to the body, this is normal, LDL's are a normal and necessary function of the body. Within the LDL family you'll find different sizes described and the ones that are the most atherogenic are the very small dense ones and the dietary influences that promote those are highly refined carbs and sugar and not saturated fat. Trans fats are not actually saturated fat but highly processed polyunsaturated fats, mostly from omega 3's and 6's to a lesser degree.

Kind of scary knowing how little control I have over my HDL and LDL within my body.
Since you seem educated in this, mind giving me some dietary tips too get it lower without medication?

Triglycerides are the third cholesterol metric used in blood panels. HDL stands for High Density Lipoproteins (the good stuff) and LDL stands for the Low Density Lipoproteins (one of the bad cholesterols in body). The higher you can get your HDL, the better. This can be increased by exercising regularly. Regularly means 30-60 minutes or more a day, and not 3 hours once or twice a week which will help, but the consistency is how to affect that number. Triglycerides can be brought down by lowering carb and simple sugar intake in your diet (breads, pastas, rice, and refined sugars, etc.). Trigs will be increased by fruit sugars, but of course, the effect isn't the same in these numbers in the long run (again, just a factor of how the body digests and works to break down the foods). LDL can be decreased in diet only by consuming less saturated fats, and increasing your consumption of the unsaturated (to a reasonable degree). Too much unsaturated fats will still be turned into LDL eventually so too much will adversely affect LDL number as well.

Higher HDL numbers (above 60) is cardio protective so you get to take off one risk factor when it comes to heart disease. Optimally, LDL should be around 100, Trigs around 150, and HDL as high as you can get it but minimum of 40. Total cholesterol is supposed to be around 200.

Edited: Oh, supposedly diet and exercise can only change your numbers by up to 10%-20%. Genetics will be the remaining percentage.

So is it safe to assume MOST LDL cholesterol is from saturated and trans fats?

No. LDL's are how the body delivers cholesterol to the body, this is normal, LDL's are a normal and necessary function of the body. Within the LDL family you'll find different sizes described and the ones that are the most atherogenic are the very small dense ones and the dietary influences that promote those are highly refined carbs and sugar and not saturated fat. Trans fats are not actually saturated fat but highly processed polyunsaturated fats, mostly from omega 3's and 6's to a lesser degree.

Kind of scary knowing how little control I have over my HDL and LDL within my body.
Since you seem educated in this, mind giving me some dietary tips too get it lower without medication?

As tennisdude said, limit the foods that cause inflammation. The specifics of this will depend in part on your personal tolerances, but some general ones include:

Sources of large amounts of Omega-6 fats (seed oils, primarily), without being counterbalanced by Omega-3 fats (fish and flax seed). The two are competitive for uptake in our bodies, so you want roughly even amounts to get the beneficial effects of either.

Oxidized polyunsaturated fats. Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats are some of the polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), and like all PUFAs, they're delicate fats that shouldn't be exposed to heat. If they're heated, they form free radicals, which are damaging to the body. Nut and seed oils should be cold pressed and used cold, such as on salads.

Refined carbohydrates. Triglyceride level is pretty strongly correlated with carbohydrate intake, particularly from refined sources and high levels of fructose (again, particularly refined). This is in large part due to the fact that simple sugars that aren't glucose have to be sent to the liver to be converted to a fuel we can use. For the most part, that's fat.

Concentrated sources of sugar and/or starch. This one will take some trial and error, but I've found through my own experience, that concentrated sources of sugar or starch tend to be an inflammation trigger for me. I get inflammation-based headaches and migraines, and one of my triggers, for example, is potatoes of any form.

Gluten grains/wheat. Some people are poorly affected by gluten. There's some debate on whether people who aren't Celiac have this issue, but Celiac itself is often missed, as well. It's not a terrible idea to do some research and talk with your doctor about ensuring how your body handles gluten (this is especially the case if you have any kind of autoimmune condition, many of which have been linked back to gluten or wheat intolerance).

Artificial trans fats. These are typically found in the form of hydrogenated oils, particularly partially hydrogenated oils. Personally, with all the other choices for natural fats, I just avoid the whole lot of them, but if you want to pick and choose, at least avoid the partially hydrogenated oils, which are the worst offenders.

Dairy. Like some with gluten issues, some people have issues with dairy and it may be too subtle to realize at first. It might be a good idea to cut it out for a few weeks, then reintroduce it back (one item at a time) to see how you feel. Keep in mind, too, that not all dairy is created equal. Different products have different levels of fat, lactose, and protein. If you have adverse effects to just one part, items low in that part may still work for you.

Tree nuts, eggs, nightshades, and other common food allergens. If you think you have a good handle on the usual inflammation culprits, but your cholesterol levels are still poor, then you might want to talk to your doctor about an allergen test. You might be experiencing mild allergic reactions to certain foods. An allergy test can help rule out the worst offenders.

Aside from that? Stick with whole and minimally processed foods. This includes natural fats like egg yolk, fatty cuts of meat, butter, and coconut oil. Yes, these are sources of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet, but that's okay. The only one of those items that is entirely saturated fat is the coconut oil, and it actually has one of the best effects on cholesterol of the whole lot -- it raises HDL and improves the form of LDL to make it more benign. The eggs, when obtained from a high quality source, are a great source of Omega-3 (and the cholesterol and other fats it contains help protect the Omega-3 fats from oxidizing when you cook them). Butter and animal fats are 40% monounsaturated (the same fat found in olive oil), and contain compounds like conjugated linoleic acid and butyric acid, which have various beneficial effects on the body, and contain Vitamins A, D, E, and K2, which require fat to be absorbed properly, and all of which have massive health benefits. Get plenty of fruits and vegetables, as they contain antioxidants to help deal with free radicals.

tl;dr version -- as Michael Pollan once put it, "eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Good overall advice but a little conventional. I would research why saturated fat increases LDL particles, it's very interesting and of course why it also increases HDL.

I you. Just wanted to let you know.

:drinker: