Diet for lowering cholesterol?

Have you had a lipid panel done in the past, and it's now higher? Or was this your first one?

I have very low cholesterol overall, and the good kind, HDL, is higher than the harmful kind, LDL. I'm not sure how much of that I can attribute to my diet though. I believe a lot of it is genetic.

As far as what I eat that I think likely helped the most:
Soluble Fiber. Oatmeal, beans, and/or apples on pretty much a daily basis.
Lowish carb and sugar.

I also eat avocados or nuts on most days.

I eat dairy every day. Sometimes I'll eat red meat a few times a week, and other times I'll go a few weeks without it. I don't purposely abstain from it, just happens.

I eat a ton of eggs and always with the yoke.

I highly recommend the high carb, low fat vegan diet!! It is virtually near impossible to suffer from high cholesterol when you are eating whole grain, plant based foods. Your energy levels are through the roof, your digestion improves, skin clears, all the while enjoying a lifestyle of abundance and nourishment for your body. I noticed you were eating low carb, which tends to increase a reliance on highly fatty foods which helps your body feel more satiated on less foods. If you are willing to make serious changes to improve your overall health, I cannot recommend the hclf vegan diet enough! If you are interested, even just to try it for a while or have any questions, I would love to answer them.

If you are want to keep a low carb diet, you can replace SFA with USFA (more fish/nuts/etcc) to see if that helps. Also, increases to fiber (fruits/veggies) may help reduce cholesterol. Some people also don't respond well to high fat diets and it has the adverse effect. So it's possible you will see improvements by adding more whole grains and less fats.

I had to lower my cholesterol for a blood test to receive the lowest price for life insurance. I went vegan for two weeks and it dropped like a rock. Got my price

I was told no saturated fat if I could help it, take fish oil, and exercise. Worked like a charm.

Fiber + Exercise. Whole grain carbs (farro, barley, steel-cut oats, whole wheat pasta/bread), berries, cruciferous veggies (Brussels sprouts, broccoli), potatoes with skin, etc. can help increase your daily fiber intake.

As mentioned before, some high cholesterol is genetic - check with your family to see if they have issues as well. Increasing "good" fats may help in some cases too - think fish, nuts, seeds, olives, avocado.

I successfully fixed my cholesterol issues and took my LDL from 165 to 93 (as of my last test) and my HDL from a paltry 25 to 62.

I am not 100% vegetarian, but I eat a substantially plant based diet. I usually eat vegetarian 3 days per week, sometimes 4...this means that I eat a higher carb diet than what you typically would see here I guess. I do still eat meat, usually 3-4 days per week...most often salmon or cod and we usually have chicken about once per week. I eat red meat occasionally and enjoy a couple slices of bacon on Sunday morning.

But really, my diet consists largely of whole grains, legumes, lentils, potatoes and sweet potatoes, corn, pasta varieties, brown rice, copious amounts of vegetables, a couple servings of fruit daily, etc.

I also exercise regularly and dropped about 40 Lbs four years ago which I'm sure helped a lot.

I definitely have hereditary issues where my cholesterol is concerned so I have to be pretty vigilant in my diet and exercise.

Fiber and exercise!

If your cholesterol levels were normal before your low carb diet, that is most likely the culprit.

I have always had higher than normal cholesterol until now. It is hereditary. Still, my diet had always been high in saturated fats. Specifically, the foods I had been eating included fried foods, regular grades of beef, bacon, sausages, hotdogs, and high fat dairy like cheese and butter. Since starting MFP I have closely monitored and avoided most of these foods as well as others that are high in saturated fats. I eat more fish, turkey, and chicken and prepare or order my foods grilled or blackened. I check labels, including seasonings and boxed dinners, to make sure they don't contain partially or fully hydrogenated oils, which are known to raise cholesterol levels. My cholesterol levels are all now within the healthy range. I know it wasn't the amount of protein that was causing me to have high cholesterol but it was the amount of saturated fats. I now strive to eat less than 20% fat each day, although I may go as high as 30% if they are poly or monounsaturated fats. For protein I strive for at least 20%.

Oatmeal or cheerios with low-fat milk are great ideas for breakfast. Perhaps some low-fat cottage cheese with fruit. Someone mentioned avocados but I only enjoy a sliced avocado with my salad on special occasions. They may be healthy but are high in saturated fat. If you enjoy eggs and shellfish you should eat a fairly high fiber diet to keep the cholesterol from absorbing into your system. I only eat eggs in recipes and grilled shrimp as a treat because I cannot tolerate too much fiber.

Veganism was a great suggestion but it is not sustainable for me.

Eat sources of protein without cholesterol....like beans, grains, ect.

My doctor told me to avoid saturated fats but my numbers improved when I started eating less low fat dairy... so who knows?

But nuts, veggies and oatmeal is what I know.

kadybug97 wrote: »

Recently just found out from my doctor that my cholesterol is slightly high. She told me to fix this I need to do more aerobic exercise and eat more fruits and veggies and look into diets to help lower cholesterol. I've lost 30lbs this year from mostly low carb, so after a little research, I'm thinking my high cholesterol is due to me eating more protein and fats than carbs, meals aning I've been having a little too much dairy and red meat and it's showing. ( My exercise is not the problem, as I exercise 5-6 days per week, so I need to fix my diet unfortunately )Has anyone had success getting a healthier cholesterol doing a high carb and low fat diet? Any foods you stay away from? To those who have a healthy cholesterol, what do your eating habits look like?

Total cholesterol? Did you get a lipid panel back? Cholesterol breaks down into different sections - HDL (good), LDL (can be bad), and Triglycerides (bad!). If your Triglycerides are lowering, that's a good sign. High HDL is a good thing and can boost your total cholesterol count which is why the total is sometimes ignored.

LDL is a different matter. LDL can be small, dangerous particles (bad) or large, fluffy particles (protective, good).

So, which is high?

http://www.docsopinion.com/health-and-nutrition/lipids/ldl-p/
https://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-why-everyone-should-know-their-ldl-particle-number/
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/Good-vs-Bad-Cholesterol_UCM_305561_Article.jsp

As far as your last question goes, avocados and olive oil are both healthy fats that can boost your HDL and lower your LDL. Exercise will help too.