How can I lower my Cholesterol?

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saggynaggy65
saggynaggy65 Posts: 68 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My doctor told me that my cholesterol is a bit high. No need for medications atm but I am wondering what I can do to bring it back down?

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  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,592 Member
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    Take this for what it's worth but this is my ne1 story:

    My cholesterol was a bit high and I had read that someone actually added dietary cholesterol to their diet and their numbers got better.

    So.....I used to eat egg whites only but changed it up to a complete egg and some egg whites every night. The only thing that changed was the calories in either some type of chocolate or bready food I was replacing with the egg yolk.

    My weight and exercise stayed the same during this time and I lost 7 points between my triglycerides and LDL.

    But lose weight if you're overweight because, unless you have the inherited type of high cholesterol (I will NEVER remember the name of it), losing weight will help.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    saggynaggy65 wrote: »
    My doctor told me that my cholesterol is a bit high. No need for medications atm but I am wondering what I can do to bring it back down?

    If your high cholesterol isn't genetic, my understanding is losing weight and increasing activity level are the most effective things you can do.

    There are lots of little dietary changes that might make some minor difference, but before you do the first two that might be majoring in the minors.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    What is actually high? Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL? What does your fasting glucose and CRP look like?
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 630 Member
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    Try eating whole foods, a variety of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Increasing your fiber intake may help depending on the exact cause of the higher cholesterol.

    Bile is made by your liver and is secreted into the duodenum (intestine area immediately following the stomach). It is used to emulsify fats so they are easier to digest. It is then stored in the gall bladder. However, fibrous foods can drag bile away forcing the body to make more.

    A main component of bile is cholesterol which is readily available in the blood.

    This is why some foods like cheerios say they help lower cholesterol. Any fibrous foods will work. Cardboard probably would work... but I suggest healthy foods like broccoli and whole grains.

    TL;DR: Increase your fiber some. It won't be a magic pill but can help.
  • jen_fitnhappy
    jen_fitnhappy Posts: 102 Member
    edited August 2020
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    Following.
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    edited August 2020
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    saggynaggy65 wrote: »
    My doctor told me that my cholesterol is a bit high. No need for medications atm but I am wondering what I can do to bring it back down?

    In the same boat as you and started my journey ~16 months ago (I've been on MFP for the physical fitness part for 9 months).

    In agreement with @psuLemon Also, I'm surprised your doctor didn't give you suggestions before leaving the appointment. I'm guessing you're American?

    Mine (I'm Canadian) took a few minutes to go over my exercise history, preferences and motivations then said: walk before you run.

    Literally... Just lots of walking at first with the goal of reducing weight to see whether that would impact my numbers. She didn't want me to go back to running right away 🤷🏿‍♀️ My achy knees were okay with her plan.

    My first two check ins showed some improvement in the bloodwork, and I've been followed - monthly - with a nutritionist from the same clinic. But it wasn't quite enough...

    She wanted to see how much more I could shift her chart ranking/algorithm thingy if I had a few more months. My (hopefully) last check in on this topic is scheduled for 3 weeks from now.

    My nutritionist has said that nutrition and physical activity help, as does abstaining from smoking. Those are Top 3 for everyone.

    Yet, if it's in your genetic cards it may be best controlled with a prescribed treatment plan which may include pharmaceutical products.
  • ChrissyChickie
    ChrissyChickie Posts: 182 Member
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    Hi. I've been doing low carb (not quite keto) along with IF now for the past 4 months. I've been exercising at the gym or at home every day. I don't have a lot of stamina so, I use light weights and on the treadmill I'm good at 2.5mph, but I can do this for 45 min to an hour. I'm wondering if I should not be trying to incorporate all the fat in my diet because of my cholesterol results. My cholesterol was high prior to ketoish and is still high. I don't want to go on cholesterol medicine because I've heard so many negative things about this. My test results are as follows:
    Cholesterol 252
    HDL 46
    LDL 147
    Chol/HDL Ratio 5.5
    LDL/HDL Ration 3.2
    Triglycerides 293

    Should I try to limit my fat intake because of this? I'm 52 and overweight and working hard to try to lose weight. Thanks.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
    edited August 2020
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    ChrissyChickie wrote: »
    Hi. I've been doing low carb (not quite keto) along with IF now for the past 4 months. I've been exercising at the gym or at home every day. I don't have a lot of stamina so, I use light weights and on the treadmill I'm good at 2.5mph, but I can do this for 45 min to an hour. I'm wondering if I should not be trying to incorporate all the fat in my diet because of my cholesterol results. My cholesterol was high prior to ketoish and is still high. I don't want to go on cholesterol medicine because I've heard so many negative things about this. My test results are as follows:
    Cholesterol 252
    HDL 46
    LDL 147
    Chol/HDL Ratio 5.5
    LDL/HDL Ration 3.2
    Triglycerides 293

    Should I try to limit my fat intake because of this? I'm 52 and overweight and working hard to try to lose weight. Thanks.

    The big thing that you should focus on is losing weight. Your exercise is not to bad. You may want to get a little more resistance training, but that is another topic.

    If you are low carb, consuming more fish and leaner proteins can helps. I would focus on getting fats from things like avocados, olive or avocado oils, and nuts/seeds. Also, consuming adequate fiber and reducing processed foods are good ways to improve things.

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