High cholesterol - help

darren307
darren307 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi,
I have just had a cholesterol test for the first time and my score is 7, I am trying to manage through diet.
Am getting confused of which of the nutritiants to keep low, can anybody help ?

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • leahraskie
    leahraskie Posts: 260 Member
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.
  • darren307
    darren307 Posts: 4 Member
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    LDL - 5.08
    HDL - 0.98
    TRIG - 2.65
  • leahraskie
    leahraskie Posts: 260 Member
    edited January 2018
    darren307 wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    LDL - 5.08
    HDL - 0.98
    TRIG - 2.65

    Honestly that isn't horrible, it's similar to mine and im of a normal weight. Do you have other risk factors? Our lab doesn't use mmol calc so I had to convert it.

  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    I don't know what a score of 7 means - usually you get a total cholesterol and an HDL score. Here's how I try to eat based on what I've learned from reading and from talking to doctors (including my cardiologist) over the years.

    Good fat choices to replace some of the saturated fat from meats in your diet include: olive oil, nuts, avocados, oats, beans, fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines). Trans fats are just bad, period (you'll find them mostly in supermarket baked goods, margarine, packaged snacks). In the old days they'd advise you to avoid major sources of dietary cholesterol like eggs, shrimp, crab but newer research suggests dietary cholesterol isn't the culprit. See:

    https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/02/why-you-should-no-longer-worry-about-cholesterol-in-food

    Exercise lowers triglycerides and raises good (HDL) cholesterol so doing exercise is good. At one point, they were recommending lowering sugar intake as an aid to lowering triglycerides, but I don't know if nutritionists/cardiologists are still making that recommendation.
  • darren307
    darren307 Posts: 4 Member

    leahraskie wrote: »
    darren307 wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    LDL - 5.08
    HDL - 0.98
    TRIG - 2.65

    Honestly that isn't horrible, it's similar to mine and im of a normal weight. Do you have other risk factors? Our lab doesn't use mmol calc so I had to convert it.

    Thanks I am 13st 7lb 5’8 and 42 I need to loose a bit... i noticed a white lump above my eye so went to the docs, that’s my biggest worry I don’t want this getting any worse or any more of them.

  • survivor1952
    survivor1952 Posts: 250 Member
    Just saw my cardiologist & my cholesterol blood work was excellent this year. Taking generic Crestor but dr said also was that I am exercising 5X a week. Going to the gym & doing treadmill, recumbent bike as well as some weight training. Diet, meds & exercise go hand in hand. I also don't know what the 7 score means.
  • leahraskie
    leahraskie Posts: 260 Member
    edited January 2018
    darren307 wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    darren307 wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    LDL - 5.08
    HDL - 0.98
    TRIG - 2.65

    Honestly that isn't horrible, it's similar to mine and im of a normal weight. Do you have other risk factors? Our lab doesn't use mmol calc so I had to convert it.

    Thanks I am 13st 7lb 5’8 and 42 I need to loose a bit... i noticed a white lump above my eye so went to the docs, that’s my biggest worry I don’t want this getting any worse or any more of them.

    Yeah I'm 9 stone, 25 years old and 5'0. If you have additional risk factors including family history of CAD or stroke and high blood pressure then I would worry a bit more. American standards on cholesterol might be different though since a majority of our population runs so high...
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    edited January 2018
    Weight loss and exercise will have the biggest impact on metabolic markers. Incorporating plenty of omega 3 fats and fibrous foods will help.

    If you are going to restrict anything, restrict fried foods and refined sugars..
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    Carbs dont increase cholesterol, tg or ldls. There is substantial evidence to show the benefits of fibrous foods to include fruits, veggies, oats and whole grains.
  • darren307
    darren307 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for all the comments and help, thank you all xx
  • leahraskie
    leahraskie Posts: 260 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    Carbs dont increase cholesterol, tg or ldls. There is substantial evidence to show the benefits of fibrous foods to include fruits, veggies, oats and whole grains.

    There's a reason you fast prior to having them taken.... they've already proven high cholesterol foods don't increased lipids. I guess I should have specified simple carbs and processed ones?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited January 2018
    This content has been removed.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    leahraskie wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    Carbs dont increase cholesterol, tg or ldls. There is substantial evidence to show the benefits of fibrous foods to include fruits, veggies, oats and whole grains.

    There's a reason you fast prior to having them taken.... they've already proven high cholesterol foods don't increased lipids. I guess I should have specified simple carbs and processed ones?

    You can't even say simple carbs as many fruits are simple carbs. You fast prior to panels to check your fasting blood glucose; if you aren't checking that, you don't even need to fast for a blood test.

    And I never said that high cholesterol foods cause high cholesterol. I said that carbs don't increase cholesterol. And even if you have a high sugar diet, if you lose weight, work out, or even have enough fiber, you will still see improvements in metabolic markers.

    I believe in eating high fat foods, especially plant based ones such as avocados, nuts, and oils. They are all high in MUFA/PUFA which are beneficial to health. But It's also beneficial to health to incorporate foods like oats, fibrous fruits and veggies, legumes and high fiber whole grains. It's why I took my triglicerides from 220 down to 40, double my HDL's and improved my LDL's (although, these are at the higher end of the spectrum due to genetics); they haven't changes regardless if I was 220 or 175 like I am today.
  • ACanadian22
    ACanadian22 Posts: 377 Member
    Good score is 4 and under. 7 is pushing it up there and have to keep an eye on it. Anything over 10 is med time. This part of Canada, they tell is the same style of numbers. If it has been 7 for 5 years and not moving, you are good. If it is inching up, you might have to get meds. For a lot of people, it is genetic
  • leahraskie
    leahraskie Posts: 260 Member
    edited January 2018
    moosmum1972 wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    leahraskie wrote: »
    I'm confused by what score of 7 is. Did they not give actual LDL TG HDL and cholesterol total values?

    And carbs will increase cholesterol/TG/LDL, you can add omega 3 fatty acids to help your HDL.

    Carbs dont increase cholesterol, tg or ldls. There is substantial evidence to show the benefits of fibrous foods to include fruits, veggies, oats and whole grains.

    There's a reason you fast prior to having them taken.... they've already proven high cholesterol foods don't increased lipids. I guess I should have specified simple carbs and processed ones?

    You don't have to fast but possibly anything you eat could affect your results.

    :/ I actually do blood testing in a lab setting, it is preferred for a baseline. It does depend why you're testing though some acne meds or steroids require you to have lipids checked, doesn't matter if youre fasting for them in most cases.

    If you've ever seen someone's blood right after they eat come in or are noncompliant with their medicine you'd understand why they have you fast. Lipemic blood samples are nasty and all that floating fat is picked up by the machine. It causes your triglycerides to skyrocket. If you do simply a direct LDL you don't have to fast for it though. A traditional LDL is calculated from your other lipids which requires fasting.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    Benecol do a range of foods that claim to help lower cholesterol. https://www.benecol.co.uk/our-products My husband uses the spread, yoghurt and yoghurt drink.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    The most recent research indicates that dietary cholesterol plays only a small role in blood cholesterol levels. It’s still recommended to limit your intake of saturated fat and trans fat. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/panel-suggests-stop-warning-about-cholesterol-in-food-201502127713

    Your cholesterol levels will likely respond more to regular exercise , and to weight loss if you are overweight, than they will to dietary changes.

    I was diagnosed with high cholesterol in my early 20s and it didn’t respond to any dietary changes. I only saw improvement after I began exercising regularly and lost weight. Now I haven’t needed medication in over two years.
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    edited January 2018
    When I went in for a physical, my levels were high enough that the doctor was considering putting me on medication to lower. I got to work with diet and exercise, lost 30 pounds, and tried my best to eat healthy, and in 90 days we retested and they had dropped considerably...no medication required.

    My recommendation is to work on your diet and see if you can drop some of the excess weight, and try to make healthier food choices. I am not a veggie, salad type of guy, but I was still able to get it under control by eating extra lean beef, chicken breasts, turkey, salmon, etc., while cutting out all of the really bad stuff like fast food, too much chocolate, etc.

    Best of luck to you.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,168 Member
    I tried various changes in eating, to avoid starting a statin, but the results were tiny at best . . until I lost weight (50+ pounds in just under a year, at age 59-60).

    That worked like a charm, for me. My doctor is happy with the results. As a bonus, my blood pressure went from high (140/80 and up) to low normal (usually one-teens over 70 or less).

    Sure, my total cholesterol is still 208 (5.4 in Canada/UK terms) . . . but only because HDL (the good one) is a whopping 93 (2.4)!

    Here are the other numbers from my most recent blood test (late in 2nd year of maintaining a healthy weight) with the worst-ever pre-weight-loss numbers for each in parentheses for comparison, and the Canada/UK equivalent after the dash

    Total cholesterol: 208 (281) - 5.4 (7.3)
    Triglycerides: 61 (402) - 1.6 (10.4)
    HDL: 93 (36) - 2.4 (0.9)
    LDL: 103 (179) - 2.7 (4.6)
    VLDL: 12 (80) - 0.3 (2.1)
    Ratio: 2.2 (6.2)

    For me, this was pretty much just weight loss: I eat similar things, just less; my workout routine is the same (I was very active while obese). This doesn't happen for everyone, but it's not unusual.
  • mlinci
    mlinci Posts: 402 Member
    I wish the link between lowering cholesterol and lowering weight was always straightforward. I went from BMI of 30, 5,000 steps a day and total cholesterol at high end of normal (around 5) to BMI of 22.5, 12,000 steps a day, and cholesterol of over 7.

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