Need help on blood work numbers

Canned foods typically have a lot of sodium. If you buy dry beans and cook them yourself, you can control the amount of sodium.

Limiting tuna is not the same as never eating tuna.

Nuts are high in fat, but mostly in the type of fats are typically associated with lowering cholesterol. This seems an odd recommendation for someone trying to lower cholesterol.

Eggs are tricky. For most people they will not have a significant impact on blood cholesterol levels, but since yours is not going down, it might be a good to limit them.

Why only salad? You could eat cooked vegetables as well. And you could sometimes eat other fish that are lower in mercury. Most smaller white fish are pretty low.

Do you eat any grains? Adding oats might help lower your cholesterol.

tomsarno wrote: »

Forgot to add that I am allergic to shellfish and have a hard time eating any fish other then Flounder and fish with a similar taste. Examples of grains I can find when out of the house during the day? I have a microwave and a debit card as my only nutritional tools.

Some people add oats to their smoothies, though I honestly don't know what that tastes like as I don't do smoothies. You could also look for packaged granola, though most of that tend to be high in sugar so you'd have to be selective in your choice. Oats can be cooked in the microwave.

I don't really know the mercury content of different fishes without looking it up, but a general rule is the larger or longer living the fish, the higher the mercury content.

Eggs are not bad for cholesterol. We've known this for over 30 years. Find a new doctor who is knowledgeable about diet. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7124663

I think eating more whole grains will help lower your cholesterol, especially LDL. I eat whole grains every day (oatmeal for breakfast and usually brown rice with lunch or dinner) and my cholesterol has never been better. I can't eat eggs because they make me sick so maybe that helps too, but I eat anything and everything else!

If you haven't met with a registered dietitian recently, you can ask your doctor for a referral. She'll look at what you're currently eating and make suggestions for changes to your food choices so you can reach your health goals. ~Lynn /Glucerna

It sounds like you are already on the right track... If I were you I'd be getting a second opinion as his recommendations seem shaky. Eggs are high in good cholesterol not bad you could definitely do with some more whole grains though for B vitamins etc. Oats in your smoothies could help this, I usually use about a quarter of a cup or 5grams, use a decent blender though to get it smooth. Beans are great, try getting the dry ones in a packet though if you're worried about sodium and just rehydrate them in water. I would limit the tuna to 3 small cans a week though (95g can) as they can contain mercury. Red meat is also fine as long as you don't go nuts with it (as with anything). Did he say which type of cholesterol was high? you have both good and bad cholesterol levels and it is important to know which was high as some doctors don't actually test for this.

What is your A1c and how many grams of carbs are you eating per day?

Cholesterol is a tricky one. For most people, you just have to maintain a healthy weight and exercise and you're good. For others, it's more complicated.

I'm one of the unfortunate souls who has crappy high cholesterol due to genetics. The first time I had it checked in my 20's it was terrible! I've never been overweight. I've always eaten very wholesome, low processed foods, lean meats, high fiber, etc. and I'm fairly athletic. I had no risk factors, other than an extremely stressful job.

A few years ago I decided to see if dropping a few pounds would make a difference. I already had a technically healthy BMI, and OK body fat %, but it was at the high end of healthy and I could stand to lose a few, aesthetically speaking.

I didn't see my cholesterol drop until I got my weight down to the low end of the healthy range for my height. I guess maybe my body wants me to be a little on the thin side? Around the same time I retired from my hell job so maybe that was a factor as well.

Even after getting my BMI just below 20, my cholesterol is still borderline high, but NOW my good to bad ratio is awesome, so it's all good and my doctor's happy.

Good luck figuring out what works for you, OP. You'll get there!

Be aware that cholesterol numbers can be heavily influenced by genetics. So even if you do all the right things your numbers can be high. I used to eat a low fat vegan diet and my total cholesterol was still 200! It's even higher now that I eat animal products again. I have to wonder my parents' numbers were, they put butter on everything in copious quantities, ate red meat all the time and tons of full fat dairy. They died of cancer but had no signs of heart disease.

- The number one thing to avoid is trans fat in any form.
- You should limit saturated fat. Dietary sources of saturated fat are animal products such as meat (including poultry), egg yolks, dairy, fish and tropical oils like palm oil and coconut oil.
- Eat plenty of fiber. You can even take a fiber supplement like metamucil three times a day and knock a few points off your cholesterol numbers that way. Whole grains have a lot of fiber.
- If you eat dairy go for low fat or nonfat versions. Soy milk is a good substitute for whole milk if you don't like skim milk. Soy milk has less fat and it's most polyunsaturated. It also has protein unlike almond or coconut milk.
- You can eat egg whites or egg substitutes like Egg Beaters.
- Beans are good for you. Minimize the sodium by rinsing canned beans before using. I have seen bags of cooked beans in the freezer section. Or make your own beans at home from dried beans. Once you've cooked them then you can freeze them in portions to use later. You can make them on the stove or in a crockpot. (Check out warnings about cooking kidney beans and red beans, they must be boiled for at least 10 minutes.)
- There are many soy foods out there besides soy milk. Breakfast patties, crumbles, burgers, tofu dogs, tempeh, tofu, edamame, soy protein shakes, etc... Find stuff you like and can substitute for animal products. Also you can get Nayonaise, which is soy based substitute for mayonnaise.
- On the subject of protein shakes you can get shakes made with soy, hemp, or pea protein. If you're lifting they are very useful to get that extra protein.
- Eat whole grains for the extra fiber.
- Chicken of the Sea makes skinless boneless salmon in cans, looks just like tuna fish cans and you don't have to worry about mercury. Sardines are another canned fish that are low in mercury, also mackerel. You can get sardines in tomato or mustard sauce too.
- Plant sterols can lower cholesterol. Smart Balance makes several products (margarine, peanut butter, others) which contain these. Or you can take them as supplements.
- Guggul is a supplement that is supposed to reduce cholesterol. (See the book The 8 Week Cholesterol Cure for a list of supplements).
- Obviously eat lots of veggies and some fruits.
- Nuts are okay in moderation because the fats are mostly monounsaturated. But they are caloric so weigh them or count them out. 10 almonds is a good serving size.
- Here are links to 2 government plans for reducing cholesterol thru diet.

• DASH diet - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf
• TLC diet - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/chol_tlc.pdf