Cholesterol

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arizonanewbedford
arizonanewbedford Posts: 23 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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!!
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Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Sometimes it goes down when you lose weight.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    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
    ziesergirl_66 Posts: 1,005 Member
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    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
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    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
    arizonanewbedford Posts: 23 Member
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    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
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    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
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    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
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    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
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    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
    veggiecanner Posts: 137 Member
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    The doctor put me on a low cholesteral diet. 200 mg of colesteral a day limit and 1500 mg of salt or less.

  • arizonanewbedford
    arizonanewbedford Posts: 23 Member
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    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
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
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    Amazingly, no one mentioned sugar yet in this thread:

    http://preventivecardiologyinc.com/cholesterol-myth/
  • arizonanewbedford
    arizonanewbedford Posts: 23 Member
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    vingogly wrote: »
    Amazingly, no one mentioned sugar yet in this thread:

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

    Very interesting article thank you!

  • mis1022
    mis1022 Posts: 109 Member
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    My brother in law who is average weight but still had high cholesterol was able to bring out down by eating oatmeal everyday.
  • niamibunni
    niamibunni Posts: 110 Member
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    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
    MrsMizart Posts: 1,275 Member
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    Bump for later reading :)
  • arizonanewbedford
    arizonanewbedford Posts: 23 Member
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    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
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    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
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
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    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
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    edited February 2016
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    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.

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