Macro nutrients and low cholesterol

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caketchu
caketchu Posts: 7
edited February 2015 in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,
I usually have a decent handle on macro nutrients, but was informed I need to pay more attention to my cholesterol. Since that's new for me, does anyone have any recommendations for my goal macro breakdown?
Thanks!! :)

Replies

  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    What was the recommendation of the health practitioner who informed you that you need to pay more attention?

    There's a lot of anecdata and non-evidence-based woo as to what works for improving cholesterol. The consensus seems to be that dietary consumption of cholesterol probably does not affect serum cholesterol. Beyond that, the advice is all over the place. The overlap seems to be plenty of fiber from natural plant foods, limited or no added sugar, and more monounsaturated fatty acids (olive oil and avocado are good sources). But none of those things are macros.

    Do your research, pick something that you think you can stick to, stick to it for 6-8 weeks, then check your levels again. If it worked, keep on keeping on. If not, consider adjusting.
  • caketchu
    caketchu Posts: 7
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    Thanks Allyphoe! I got a lot of that already when I did check it out. My pcp gave my my numbers and recommended goal numbers (not anything too out of hand). I think the piece I'm missing is what should I aim for as for my percentage of fat daily? Or how many grams? I've done and continue to research, just more curious if anyone on here has lowered theirs and has a suggestion for the breakdown.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    I'm eating an avocado a day, because of that study that came out a month ago, but too soon to know if it's working. My blood pressure dropped by 16 points systolic / 12 points diastolic after 3 weeks, though. (I'm unaware of any actual evidence that avocado is good for blood pressure at all, so I'm baffled by that result.)

    22g monounsaturated was the target in the study. But both low-fat and moderate-fat-no-avocado saw similar improvement to each other, so there was speculation that moderate-fat-yes-avocado (which had twice the improvement) has something else going on.

    Moderate fat including an avocado is really quite low fat if you're on a calorie restricted diet. So most days I'm at about 40% fat / 30% carb / 30% protein. Lots of fiber, lots of potassium, minimal added sugar (but I don't avoid artificial sweeteners). Too soon to know though, and I've heard anecdotes from people who have seen improvement (or lack of improvement) from both low fat and high fat.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,914 Member
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    Avoid highly refined carbohydrates and refine sugar and your cholesterol will do a 180. Add exercise and weight loss to the mix and you get the bonus package that includes better health as well as improved cholesterol markers.
  • caketchu
    caketchu Posts: 7
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    Allyphoe, I totally read that study as well! Interesting results on your blood pressure. Maybe eating delicious avocados is just making you happy and relaxed :smile: Thank you for sharing your experiences and reminding me of that information!!

    Neanderthin, thanks for the info! I generally eat well (home cooked whole foods rather than much processed anything), but totally have a weak spot for carbs in general! I've been doing the exercise and losing weight thing (37 lbs and going strong!), so my doctor is pretty sure that as I continue this, my cholesterol will drop too.

    I'm hopeful with reframing how I look at fats (and maybe now my beloved carbs), I'll make that much more progress!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,914 Member
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    caketchu wrote: »
    Allyphoe, I totally read that study as well! Interesting results on your blood pressure. Maybe eating delicious avocados is just making you happy and relaxed :smile: Thank you for sharing your experiences and reminding me of that information!!

    Neanderthin, thanks for the info! I generally eat well (home cooked whole foods rather than much processed anything), but totally have a weak spot for carbs in general! I've been doing the exercise and losing weight thing (37 lbs and going strong!), so my doctor is pretty sure that as I continue this, my cholesterol will drop too.

    I'm hopeful with reframing how I look at fats (and maybe now my beloved carbs), I'll make that much more progress!
    Just keep in mind that the average GP knows very little about cholesterol in general and is just doing the knee jerk advice that is very well established, which is lower your numbers or I'll have to add you to my mortgage reduction program to my 36' Morgan.
  • caketchu
    caketchu Posts: 7
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    Ha! Good perspective!
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,244 Member
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    Continue to loose weight and exercise. To be totally blunt, those are the 2 things that will make the most difference. Much more so then any macro nutrient set up.

    But to also answer your question, when I break down my F/P/C to 35%/35%/30% I do my best.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,966 Member
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    allyphoe wrote: »
    I'm eating an avocado a day, because of that study that came out a month ago, but too soon to know if it's working. My blood pressure dropped by 16 points systolic / 12 points diastolic after 3 weeks, though. (I'm unaware of any actual evidence that avocado is good for blood pressure at all, so I'm baffled by that result.)
    You're getting a lot of potassium from a whole avocado a day, so that it could be helping with your blood pressure (which is affected by your potassium:sodium ratio). Assuming that you've eliminated something from your diet to make room for 300 or so kcal of avocado every day, it's possible the elimination of the other food might have an additional effect if, for example, it was a high sodium food.

  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    Yeah, potassium / sodium balance is my best guess, too. The avocado mostly replaced full-fat dairy (cheese=salt!), olive oil, fruit, and miscellaneous carbs. My blood pressure has not historically been improved by diet / exercise / weight loss, so it's nice to have found something that did improve it. I personally do not like avocados particularly, alas!
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    Lot of misinformation out there re: cholesterol, especially most of what is commonly regarded as gospel for the longest time, ie high overall cholesterol/ high ldl is bad. I would suggest doing your own homework, I did and was glad I did.

    If you have about 60 mins, I found this video very good (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuj6nxCDBZ0), if not slightly technical and a bit long. Video's about 107 mins long, but all the cholesterol stuff is in the first 60. The final 47 mins focus in on low carb diets, the authors preferred way to manage all the stuff he raises in the first 60 mins, but you can ignore all that if you simply want the lowdown on cholesterol :smile:
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    I know they say dietary cholesterol plays no role in an increase in blood cholesterol, but before I transitioned to a vegan diet my cholesterol was +240. Just a few months ago I had my blood work done again and it dropped to 142 total with an increase in my hdl. This was with virtually no weight change or change in my exercise habits, so it can't be attributed to that. Maybe the increase in fiber? Who knows? I'm happy.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    I know they say dietary cholesterol plays no role in an increase in blood cholesterol, but before I transitioned to a vegan diet my cholesterol was +240. Just a few months ago I had my blood work done again and it dropped to 142 total with an increase in my hdl. This was with virtually no weight change or change in my exercise habits, so it can't be attributed to that. Maybe the increase in fiber? Who knows? I'm happy.

    I think the overall diet plays a factor. I eat a lot of veggies, beans, and whole grains, some fruit too. I think other veg*ns eat similarily, but what do I know?
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
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    Dietary cholesterol has little if any effect on blood levels. Your liver will make as much cholesterol as your body thinks it needs. The problem is usually that your body is out of balance do to other things in your diet and being overweight and out of shape also play a big role in cholesterol levels.
    When I increased my fat intake and that included a lot more cholesterol, my blood numbers actually went down. Losing a fair amount of weight already and working out no doubt were also factors, but my blood work steadily improved over a year even though I eat 4-6 eggs, probably half a stick of butter, and at least 100 grams of additional fat a day (mostly saturated). I have the lowest cholesterol and triglycerides that I've had in the last 20 years back when my diet was mostly high carb and low fat. Low fat diets really don't work in the long run.

    If you want to improve your cholesterol numbers, work on your lifestyle changes and not trying to cut out dietary cholesterol and fat.
  • caketchu
    caketchu Posts: 7
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    A lot of great information and personal histories. Thank you all so much for sharing with me!!

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