Cholesterol

arizonanewbedford · February 2016

Hey guys. I have a long complicated weight story as I'm sure most of us do. Also a long history of an eating disorder which I am in recovery from. I gained about 60lbs in the past year from various reasons. My LDL cholesterol is going up as well as my glucose and blood pressure!!! I am on BP meds which have helped but id rather make lifestyle changes to fix this. I quit smoking and alcohol over a year ago, and now I am back into exercising. I'm trying to stick to my fat and carb percentages on here. What else can I do to lower my issues? Thanks!!

RodaRose · February 2016

Sometimes it goes down when you lose weight.

MelaniaTrump · February 2016

Google: Foods to lower cholesterol
Also foods to lower LDL - I like lentils the best.
Also beans, barley, plain oatmeal, lots of fruits and vegetables.

Distance yourself from processed foods loaded with sodium and bad fats.
Cook your own food.

ziesergirl_66 · February 2016

I've had success in the past with eating more fiber : black & red beans, lentils, high fiber breads, ground flax seed, & oatmeal. My goal was 30-40 grams/fiber a day, which might not work for everyone.

cwolfman13 · February 2016

Simply losing weight is going to have the most profound impact. Eating a well balanced diet rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein sources as well as healthy fats will also help. Foods rich in soluble fiber are beneficial in lowering cholesterol...think oats, legumes, apples and other fruits high in pectin.

Keep in mind that some of these issues can also be hereditary...I'm pretty fit an healthy and lost about 40 Lbs but I'm still on hypertension meds...it just runs in my family. Cholesterol issues do as well, but thus far I've been able to manage those.

arizonanewbedford · February 2016

Thank you everyone for the information. I hadn't really thought of how everything might improve with losing weight (guess I'm slow lol) . I also read physllium husk can help so I'll start that daily.

nvmomketo · February 2016

Losing weight might help. Exercise can help too.

What worked for me was a low carb high fat diet. LCHF will usually lower BG within a couple of days. It usually improves cholesterol too.

Good luck.

LKArgh · February 2016

Lose weight, be physically active. Eliminate salt, avoid anything fried, aim for unsaturated fat over saturated fat, avoid trans fat and palm oil, eat fish, especially fatty fish, eat as much as fiber as possible (whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit) and of course watch calories

psuLemon · February 2016

Unsaturated fats have also been known to help lower cholesterol, increase HDL and lower LDL's (outside of weight loss and exercise like other suggested). But genetics play a bit part in this too.

lorib642 · February 2016

Do you have a genetic predisposition? My daughter gets it from both my husband and I. Her doc did talk to her about diet but told her the best thing to do was exercise. Her last 2 blood tests were better. She isn't overweight. (It seems like with diet people are told different things-she eats a lot less cheese and rarely has sweets, there is a lot more that I don't remember but she does)

veggiecanner · February 2016

The doctor put me on a low cholesteral diet. 200 mg of colesteral a day limit and 1500 mg of salt or less.

arizonanewbedford · February 2016

I do have genetic disposition but my parents onset was a bit later in life. I am determined to beat it though. This app is amazing I hadn't really paid attention to macros or nutrients in the proper way so I'm so glad to have it neatly laid out for me. I feel very hopeful

vingogly · February 2016

Amazingly, no one mentioned sugar yet in this thread:

http://preventivecardiologyinc.com/cholesterol-myth/

arizonanewbedford · February 2016

vingogly wrote: »

Amazingly, no one mentioned sugar yet in this thread:

http://preventivecardiologyinc.com/cholesterol-myth/

Very interesting article thank you!

mis1022 · February 2016

My brother in law who is average weight but still had high cholesterol was able to bring out down by eating oatmeal everyday.

niamibunni · February 2016

vingogly wrote: »

Amazingly, no one mentioned sugar yet in this thread:

http://preventivecardiologyinc.com/cholesterol-myth/

Yes!

The less processed and junk sugar packed your food is, the better your body will respond. Make sure the exercise you do is something you enjoy.

MrsMizart · February 2016

Bump for later reading

arizonanewbedford · February 2016

My plan is as follows : lots of water, physllium, exercise 5x week, low carb, 25grams of sugar a day, low cholesterol, high good fats and protein.

LKArgh · February 2016

arizonanewbedford wrote: »

My plan is as follows : lots of water, physllium, exercise 5x week, low carb, 25grams of sugar a day, low cholesterol, high good fats and protein.

I would suggest you talk to your dr. Low carb is not the most common diet for cholesterol and blood pressure issues. You will see a lot of success stories online, but still it is not the most usually recommended choice. Depending on what is causing your issues, and what exactly will be in your diet, it might or might not be a good idea. Take a look here, for example:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/low-carbohydrate-diets/

"A 20-year prospective study of 82,802 women looked at the relationship between lower carbohydrate diets and heart disease; a subsequent study looked at lower carbohydrate diets and risk of diabetes. Women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in vegetable sources of fat or protein had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease (4) and about a 20 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, (34) compared to women who ate high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets. But women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not see any such benefits. (4,34)"

and here:
"For adults who would benefit from lowering their LDL cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends:
Reducing saturated fat to no more than 5 to 6 percent of total calories. For someone eating 2,000 calories a day that’s about 11 to 13 grams of saturated fat. Reducing the percent of calories from trans fat."

dewd2 · February 2016

Exercise and better diet for overall health, yes. Doing this only to lower cholesterol seems like you are treating a symptom and addressing the real issue. Not everyone agrees that lowering cholesterol is even a good idea.

http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/

psuLemon · February 2016

arizonanewbedford wrote: »

My plan is as follows : lots of water, physllium, exercise 5x week, low carb, 25grams of sugar a day, low cholesterol, high good fats and protein.

If you do low carb, work to get a lot of foods from unsaturated fats. Also, physllium won't directly lower your cholesterol. But it's fibrous and a diet high in fiber has been shown to have positive impacts. So lots of veggies, some fruits, losing weight, and exercise (cardio and weight training) would be a good course.

Another good choice of diet would be Mediterranean.

nvmomketo · February 2016

When going low carb there is usually no need to worry about fibre. Fibre seems to help some with moving carbs on through but most low carbers that I have talked to find that increased fats do a better job than fibre does. MCTs like coconut oil will keep things moving.

arizonanewbedford · February 2016

I will try to talk to my doctor but unfortunately she is incredibly uninterested with doing anything except printing off a list of low cholesterol foods. I am happy with all of these suggestions and the opportunity to learn more about this subject.

LKArgh · February 2016

nvmomketo wrote: »

When going low carb there is usually no need to worry about fibre. Fibre seems to help some with moving carbs on through but most low carbers that I have talked to find that increased fats do a better job than fibre does. MCTs like coconut oil will keep things moving.

Fiber lowers cholesterol, because it lowers the absorbtion of cholesterol, and decreases the risk of heart disease. Why would she avoid it? Its role is not to serve as a laxative!
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/HealthyDietGoals/Whole-Grains-and-Fiber_UCM_303249_Article.jsp#.VsoEtvmLQdU
As for coconut oil, despite all the hype, drs still do not consider it a particularly healthy choice and some are simply calling it a fad:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-healthy-diet/art-20047702
https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/ask-the-expert/coconut-oil
http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/news-blogs-stories/press-releases/coconut-oil-and-the-heart

psuLemon · February 2016

aggelikik wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

When going low carb there is usually no need to worry about fibre. Fibre seems to help some with moving carbs on through but most low carbers that I have talked to find that increased fats do a better job than fibre does. MCTs like coconut oil will keep things moving.

Fiber lowers cholesterol, because it lowers the absorbtion of cholesterol, and decreases the risk of heart disease. Why would she avoid it? Its role is not to serve as a laxative!
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/HealthyDietGoals/Whole-Grains-and-Fiber_UCM_303249_Article.jsp#.VsoEtvmLQdU
As for coconut oil, despite all the hype, drs still do not consider it a particularly healthy choice and some are simply calling it a fad:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-healthy-diet/art-20047702
https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/ask-the-expert/coconut-oil
http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/news-blogs-stories/press-releases/coconut-oil-and-the-heart

I would agree. Why would anyone ever suggest lowering fiber. Fiber is key to GI health and provides much more benefits than saturated fat ever will (even MCT). Besides, where else would one get vitamins and minerals?

arizonanewbedford · February 2016

psulemon wrote: »

aggelikik wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

When going low carb there is usually no need to worry about fibre. Fibre seems to help some with moving carbs on through but most low carbers that I have talked to find that increased fats do a better job than fibre does. MCTs like coconut oil will keep things moving.

Fiber lowers cholesterol, because it lowers the absorbtion of cholesterol, and decreases the risk of heart disease. Why would she avoid it? Its role is not to serve as a laxative!
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/HealthyDietGoals/Whole-Grains-and-Fiber_UCM_303249_Article.jsp#.VsoEtvmLQdU
As for coconut oil, despite all the hype, drs still do not consider it a particularly healthy choice and some are simply calling it a fad:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-healthy-diet/art-20047702
https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/ask-the-expert/coconut-oil
http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/news-blogs-stories/press-releases/coconut-oil-and-the-heart

I would agree. Why would anyone ever suggest lowering fiber. Fiber is key to GI health and provides much more benefits than saturated fat ever will (even MCT). Besides, where else would one get vitamins and minerals?

I agree fiber is a huge part of my diet and always will be. It has multiple benefits for me especially since having my gallbladder removed. I also agree about coconut oil I won't even use it on my face anymore because it's proven to be clogging. Definitely bit of a fad

Rocknut53 · February 2016

vingogly wrote: »

Amazingly, no one mentioned sugar yet in this thread:

http://preventivecardiologyinc.com/cholesterol-myth/

Thank you for this article! Very informative.

Cholesterol

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