High Cholesterol
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herrold72
Posts: 4 Member
I am not sure how to adjust my food intake goals to help lower my cholesterol. I was going to see a dietitian but insurance doesn't cover it and it would be over $700.00 so I am going to try to figure it out myself with a little help I hope.
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Replies
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Eating less saturated fat and more soluable fiber can help. Also, consider supplementing with red yeast rice. But the most effective things you can do are losing body fat and getting vigorous exercise.10
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Btw, do a search on this. There was a recent thread with lots of good info.0
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Diet has very little impact on blood cholesterol, with the exception of certain types of high cholesterol that are genetic. Regular exercise and getting to a healthy weight have a larger benefit for cholesterol.6
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I run and workout every other day but didn't know if I should adjust what myfitnesspal is telling me to eat each day to lose the weight I want to lose. ( like carbs, sugar and fat) Thank you for your input and responding!!!0
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I run and workout every other day but didn't know if I should adjust what myfitnesspal is telling me to eat each day to lose the weight I want to lose. ( like carbs, sugar and fat) Thank you for your input and responding!!!
Macros aren’t directly relevant for weight loss. Calories are what matters.
Some people find that certain macros help them feel full, with protein, fat, and/or fiber being most common. Which one works for you is a matter of personal preference.
Macros are also important for health and other goals. You need enough protein and fat, and depending on your goals and preferences, you may choose to eat more of these things. You don’t need to worry about carbs unless you have a medical reason to restrict them. Your macro proportions don’t directly matter for weight loss.2 -
As general rule, parts of cholesterol can usually be affected by diet. A diet high in carbs, especially high in sugars, refined and highly processed carbs, will typically raise triglycerides and lower HDL. A diet high in fats is often helpful as long as carbs are not high as well. Cutting carbs will usually raise HDL and lower triglycerides. Total cholesterol might go up when carbs are cut but that is often due to HDL rising. LDL usually stays about the sane although particle size tends to improve.
Exercise, weight loss, better sleep and reduced stress also tend to help cholesterol levels. So do statins.
I recommend reading up on cholesterol to see if it actually needs improving. For instance, if total cholesterol is high, it may not matter if triglycerides are low and have a good ratio to HDL, or you gave a CAC score if zero with low hs-crp. The books Cholesterol Clarity, Cholesterol Con, and the Great Cholesterol Myth are all very good. So is Big Fat Surprise.
Good luck.12 -
Diet has very little impact on blood cholesterol, with the exception of certain types of high cholesterol that are genetic. Regular exercise and getting to a healthy weight have a larger benefit for cholesterol.
This hasn’t been my experience. I’m also aware of significant drops in cholesterol reported by thise who go vegan or Dr. McDougall’s approach to eating (starch based.)
Is what you say based on your personal experience and/or research? Really curious.
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Maybe this is useful:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dietary-cholesterol-does-not-matter#section62 -
pierinifitness wrote: »Diet has very little impact on blood cholesterol, with the exception of certain types of high cholesterol that are genetic. Regular exercise and getting to a healthy weight have a larger benefit for cholesterol.
This hasn’t been my experience. I’m also aware of significant drops in cholesterol reported by thise who go vegan or Dr. McDougall’s approach to eating (starch based.)
Is what you say based on your personal experience and/or research? Really curious.
The link @Sloth2016 posted has citations of studies. From that page:
“When your dietary intake of cholesterol goes down, your body makes more. When you eat larger amounts of cholesterol, your body makes less (9, 10). Because of this, foods high in dietary cholesterol have very little impact on blood cholesterol levels in most people (11, 12).
However, in some people, high-cholesterol foods do cause a rise in blood cholesterol. These people make up about 25% of the population and are often referred to as "hyperresponders." This tendency is considered to be genetic (13, 14).”5 -
American Heart Association recommends DASH diet for both blood pressure and cholesterol. My sister had great results from DASH plus walking 30 minutes daily for both blood pressure and cholesterol after a little over one month and managed to avoid medication.2
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I read one of those studies and its conclusion was that dietary cholesterol resulted in higher blood cholesterol. I believe you can pick and choose a published research study to support both positions. It’s all about the research design and how it’s being funded.
Regardless, and I don’t care to debate, the cholesterol-lowering results of vegans and othet diets that reduce dietary cholesterol speak for themselves, ad does my own experience (I’m not a vegan) just a regular eater who had reduced his dietary cholesterol and who did not have high blood cholesterol to begin.3 -
Those studies say that a minority of people are responsive to dietary cholesterol, which is what everyone has said.
Diet probably matters beyond dietary cholesterol, though (sat fat and refined carbs, for example). My dad improved his cholesterol numbers by reducing sat fat. Other factors that often go along with the same changes often make a difference, like exercise and weight loss. Since my dad was a healthy weight and exerciser before, I think in his case it was the dietary change.1 -
Annual physical showed by cholesterol to be 277! Started a vegan, no dairy or processed oils diet (Forks Over Knives) and while it's pretty restrictive, I'm not hungry. Cholesterol is in all meat and fish. Trans fats are what you need to avoid entirely and they are most found in processed foods like oils and butter. Would like to get cholesterol below 200 and lose 20 lbs by April. Otherwise, I may have to go on meds.2
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Annual physical showed by cholesterol to be 277! Started a vegan, no dairy or processed oils diet (Forks Over Knives) and while it's pretty restrictive, I'm not hungry. Cholesterol is in all meat and fish. Trans fats are what you need to avoid entirely and they are most found in processed foods like oils and butter. Would like to get cholesterol below 200 and lose 20 lbs by April. Otherwise, I may have to go on meds.
While butter (like many animal products) does contain some trans fats, it's really not a source that professionals are concerned about. It's the partially hydrogenated oils, mostly found in commercial products, that we need to avoid. Butter and oils, as used in home cooking, are less of a concern than the trans fats that used to be more widely used in things like baked goods and fried foods (but now, for those of us in the US anyway, are much less common).2 -
Pretty much any diet that decreases weight and incorporates exercise will improve metabolic markers. In my experience there is little evidence showing impact of diets without calorie restriction. Diet has little impact. Even diets high in carbs/sugar still yield improvements if weight loss is improved.
Having since that, fibrous foods, limiting saturated fats and increasing MUFA/PUFA, will improve metabolic markers.2
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