Not pleased by my total cholesterol
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saintor1
Posts: 376 Member
If your position is that total cholesterol doesn't matter or is fine under 200, don't bother reading any further!
In my previous blood test, my total cholesterol was around 160mg/dl. Two years later, I expected 140 by eating less and weight less, but I am at 180. Three times a week, I have breakfast with 2 eggs and bacon (2 strips) with bread and butter (all weighted, mind you), but I leave the yolk. At home, I limit my meat intake to 2 times a week (3-5oz x2), but the reality is also that I eat out for business and it is probably a total of 4-5x a week.
I imagine that if I limit my breakfasts with eggs& bacon to once a week and my meat intake to a total of 3x, it will go down, right?
In my previous blood test, my total cholesterol was around 160mg/dl. Two years later, I expected 140 by eating less and weight less, but I am at 180. Three times a week, I have breakfast with 2 eggs and bacon (2 strips) with bread and butter (all weighted, mind you), but I leave the yolk. At home, I limit my meat intake to 2 times a week (3-5oz x2), but the reality is also that I eat out for business and it is probably a total of 4-5x a week.
I imagine that if I limit my breakfasts with eggs& bacon to once a week and my meat intake to a total of 3x, it will go down, right?
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Replies
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Maybe. My total cholesterol was around 260 this past year. My doctor recommended limiting saturated fat (which would be mostly in red meat, dairy, and eggs). I've been giving it a try and we'll see what my next blood tests say. But I would say that, given you're already under 200, dietary changes may not do much. But I'm no cardioligist.0
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Total isn’t s important as the LDL/HDL split4
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We've know for decades, really decades, that dietary cholesterol doesn't effect increases in serum cholesterol very much or at all and even the USDA has removed cholesterol as a nutrient of concern since 2015, in other words you can consume it without the restriction.
You could just circumvent 40 years of dogma and ask your Dr. to prescribe a coronary calcium scan that will show definitely if you actually have heart disease. And if you cant be bothered with that I suggest you concentrate on your triglycerides. C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma viscosity (PV) are blood markers for elevated inflammation which is very problematic and elevated triglycerides is a major contributor. Elevated LDL cholesterol has a risk ratio of around 1.30 or around about a 30% risk and relative risk at that, in increased heart disease. Elevated triglycerides is around 1.80 or an 80% increase.
Also if a ketogenic or low carb diet increased heart disease then you wouldn't have the American Heart Association (AHA) including them as a possible therapy and you would be seeing people on low carb and ketogenic diets dying of heart disease and dropping like flies, where it's actually a front line therapy for reversing the many non communicable diseases like diabetes, fatty liver, nash, heart disease and hypertension just to name the popular ones. I suggest you do a more thorough investigation into cholesterol because a lot has changed in 50 year, I mean the science has actually gone beyond that basic understanding, which was zilch.5 -
I'd say that breakfast isn't the problem here... it's the eating out 4-5× a week. What are you ordering at restaurants?3
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MamaBear5445 wrote: »I'd say that breakfast isn't the problem here... it's the eating out 4-5× a week. What are you ordering at restaurants?
It is not eating out 4-5x a week, I meant a total of 4-5x meals with meat as the main course. We typically land at steakhouses or chicken places... my options are limited, but I can also improve this.
For the others, I warned you; *not interested*.
I want to get under 150, a zone that there is really near 0 cardiac risk. My call. 20-30% of the cardiac attacks happen in people having a total cholesterol between 150-200, IIRC what I read a few years ago.
I side with these guys.
https://meschinohealth.com/article/helping-patients-achieve-a-cholesterol-level-below-150-mgdl/0 -
Well ok, not someone I would normally follow for scientific data but each to their own. Dr. Meschino is a chiropractor with a certificate in Orthomolecular medicine which basically tries to maintain optimal health through alternative medicine and nutritional supplementation who also has a supplement company and who also sells cookware, a busy guy. Interesting for sure and I hope it all turns out well for you.5
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To speak to your point whether your values would be better eating a slightly different diet, I reduced my total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol quite a bit after becoming vegan again from being merely vegetarian. When my ldl was above 100, I was eating some cheese and eggs, the values dropped 2 months after I changed my diet. Obviously some of this is genetic. I’m a stroke survivor, so I like to keep my values in the optimal range. My total cholesterol was 155 two months into changing my diet, down from 188.
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What are your HDL and LDL? If you're focused on blood cholesterol, surely that matters? Also, where are triglycerides?
For my own self, HDL is high, ratio is excellent, I'm not going to worry about that. YMMV.
I agree that the current consensus is that dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol are not linked in the way that they were once believed to be. Read up on more current advice about lowering triglycerides, increasing HDL, reducing LDL: That would be my advice if you're focused on blood lipids.2 -
Something like 80% of our cholesterol doesn't come from our food, it is made by our bodies.
I have known people who were on high fat/low carb diets whose cholesterol went down.
And I've known people who were careful to eat egg white omelets and whole grains and avoid beef/bacon/fatty meats and avoiding butter and eating low fat this and that, only to struggle with cholesterol.
They keep discovering just how wrong guidelines on cholesterol have been... one thing recently brought to light is that half the people who suffer coronary events due to plaque in hospitals don't even have high cholesterol. UCLA found the number of heart patients with normal cholesterol to be as high as 75%.
Even the so-called 'bad' cholesterol (LDL) isn't just one type, and some LDL is heart-neutral or good for you while the small, dense LDL is bad for you-- so it's not even about how much LDL you have, but the type you have.
I mean, you can panic about the overall number if you want, and changing your diet may or may not help.
Or you can do some research and talk to your dr. about the various types of cholesterol as well as any other markers that can be tested for before so you can get more specific answers about your health risks, and you can figure out more specifically how to address them.
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If your position is that total cholesterol doesn't matter or is fine under 200, don't bother reading any further!
In my previous blood test, my total cholesterol was around 160mg/dl. Two years later, I expected 140 by eating less and weight less, but I am at 180. Three times a week, I have breakfast with 2 eggs and bacon (2 strips) with bread and butter (all weighted, mind you), but I leave the yolk. At home, I limit my meat intake to 2 times a week (3-5oz x2), but the reality is also that I eat out for business and it is probably a total of 4-5x a week.
I imagine that if I limit my breakfasts with eggs& bacon to once a week and my meat intake to a total of 3x, it will go down, right?
I've read (add it worked for a friend) it's not AVOIDING foods that is helpful, but ADDING foods:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/11-foods-that-lower-cholesterol
1. Oats. An easy first step to lowering your cholesterol is having a bowl of oatmeal or cold oat-based cereal like Cheerios for breakfast. It gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. Add a banana or some strawberries for another half-gram. Current nutrition guidelines recommend getting 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day, with at least 5 to 10 grams coming from soluble fiber. (The average American gets about half that amount.)
2. Barley and other whole grains. Like oats and oat bran, barley and other whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease, mainly via the soluble fiber they deliver.
3. Beans. Beans are especially rich in soluble fiber. They also take a while for the body to digest, meaning you feel full for longer after a meal. That's one reason beans are a useful food for folks trying to lose weight. With so many choices — from navy and kidney beans to lentils, garbanzos, black-eyed peas, and beyond — and so many ways to prepare them, beans are a very versatile food.
4. Eggplant and okra. These two low-calorie vegetables are good sources of soluble fiber.
5. Nuts. A bushel of studies shows that eating almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and other nuts is good for the heart. Eating 2 ounces of nuts a day can slightly lower LDL, on the order of 5%. Nuts have additional nutrients that protect the heart in other ways.
6. Vegetable oils. Using liquid vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, safflower, and others in place of butter, lard, or shortening when cooking or at the table helps lower LDL.
7. Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits. These fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fiber that lowers LDL.
8. Foods fortified with sterols and stanols. Sterols and stanols extracted from plants gum up the body's ability to absorb cholesterol from food. Companies are adding them to foods ranging from margarine and granola bars to orange juice and chocolate. They're also available as supplements. Getting 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols a day can lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%.
9. Soy. Eating soybeans and foods made from them, like tofu and soy milk, was once touted as a powerful way to lower cholesterol. Analyses show that the effect is more modest — consuming 25 grams of soy protein a day (10 ounces of tofu or 2 1/2 cups of soy milk) can lower LDL by 5% to 6%.
10. Fatty fish. Eating fish two or three times a week can lower LDL in two ways: by replacing meat, which has LDL-boosting saturated fats, and by delivering LDL-lowering omega-3 fats. Omega-3s reduce triglycerides in the bloodstream and also protect the heart by helping prevent the onset of abnormal heart rhythms.
11. Fiber supplements. Supplements offer the least appealing way to get soluble fiber. Two teaspoons a day of psyllium, which is found in Metamucil and other bulk-forming laxatives, provide about 4 grams of soluble fiber.
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The HDL/LDL proportion is much more important and informative. High HDL, low LDL, you're great. Low HDL, high LDL, you're seeing the start of a bad trend. If you check those and you're worried, cut saturated fat and eat some fish.1
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kshama2001 wrote: »If your position is that total cholesterol doesn't matter or is fine under 200, don't bother reading any further!
In my previous blood test, my total cholesterol was around 160mg/dl. Two years later, I expected 140 by eating less and weight less, but I am at 180. Three times a week, I have breakfast with 2 eggs and bacon (2 strips) with bread and butter (all weighted, mind you), but I leave the yolk. At home, I limit my meat intake to 2 times a week (3-5oz x2), but the reality is also that I eat out for business and it is probably a total of 4-5x a week.
I imagine that if I limit my breakfasts with eggs& bacon to once a week and my meat intake to a total of 3x, it will go down, right?
I've read (add it worked for a friend) it's not AVOIDING foods that is helpful, but ADDING foods:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/11-foods-that-lower-cholesterol
1. Oats. An easy first step to lowering your cholesterol is having a bowl of oatmeal or cold oat-based cereal like Cheerios for breakfast. It gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. Add a banana or some strawberries for another half-gram. Current nutrition guidelines recommend getting 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day, with at least 5 to 10 grams coming from soluble fiber. (The average American gets about half that amount.)
2. Barley and other whole grains. Like oats and oat bran, barley and other whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease, mainly via the soluble fiber they deliver.
3. Beans. Beans are especially rich in soluble fiber. They also take a while for the body to digest, meaning you feel full for longer after a meal. That's one reason beans are a useful food for folks trying to lose weight. With so many choices — from navy and kidney beans to lentils, garbanzos, black-eyed peas, and beyond — and so many ways to prepare them, beans are a very versatile food.
4. Eggplant and okra. These two low-calorie vegetables are good sources of soluble fiber.
5. Nuts. A bushel of studies shows that eating almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and other nuts is good for the heart. Eating 2 ounces of nuts a day can slightly lower LDL, on the order of 5%. Nuts have additional nutrients that protect the heart in other ways.
6. Vegetable oils. Using liquid vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, safflower, and others in place of butter, lard, or shortening when cooking or at the table helps lower LDL.
7. Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits. These fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fiber that lowers LDL.
8. Foods fortified with sterols and stanols. Sterols and stanols extracted from plants gum up the body's ability to absorb cholesterol from food. Companies are adding them to foods ranging from margarine and granola bars to orange juice and chocolate. They're also available as supplements. Getting 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols a day can lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%.
9. Soy. Eating soybeans and foods made from them, like tofu and soy milk, was once touted as a powerful way to lower cholesterol. Analyses show that the effect is more modest — consuming 25 grams of soy protein a day (10 ounces of tofu or 2 1/2 cups of soy milk) can lower LDL by 5% to 6%.
10. Fatty fish. Eating fish two or three times a week can lower LDL in two ways: by replacing meat, which has LDL-boosting saturated fats, and by delivering LDL-lowering omega-3 fats. Omega-3s reduce triglycerides in the bloodstream and also protect the heart by helping prevent the onset of abnormal heart rhythms.
11. Fiber supplements. Supplements offer the least appealing way to get soluble fiber. Two teaspoons a day of psyllium, which is found in Metamucil and other bulk-forming laxatives, provide about 4 grams of soluble fiber.
How about BOTH. Reducing food that are detrimental and adding the ones that contribute positively.
For the record, I was going to replace 1-2 of my weekly bacon/eggs/butter breakfast with oatmeal (which I already eat and like, especially with blueberries & a bit of brown sugar). I also eat a large can of kidney beans (split in 2 lunches), pistachios, hummus/tofu 4x times a week. Among my supplements, I have been taking vitamins D3, omega 6, mini-aspirin for years. This year, I also added K2, Metamucil, creatine, taurine, maca, magnesium citrate, ashwaganda, digestive enzymes, collagen, and for my skin retinol & grapeseeds oil.0 -
The HDL/LDL proportion is much more important and informative. High HDL, low LDL, you're great. Low HDL, high LDL, you're seeing the start of a bad trend. If you check those and you're worried, cut saturated fat and eat some fish.
What I mostly see in the literature is the ratio total cholesterol/HDL.... Mine is 3.06, can't complain, according to this.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321484#ideal-rangesThe total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio is way to calculate cardiovascular risk. A high total cholesterol to HDL ratio indicates a higher risk for heart disease. It can be measured by dividing the total cholesterol by the HDL level.
A desirable ratioTrusted Source is 5:1, and an optimal ratio is 3.5:1. The lower this number is, the healthier a person’s cholesterol levels are.
As for triglycerides, I am at 1.22 mmol/LL or 110mg/dL...all fine.
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@saintor1
Question? Why omega 6? I'm familiar with the other supplements and how they may help, but I'm not familiar with the advantages of taking omega 6.
Thanks
Ps. Wish my numbers were 1/2 as good as yours. I'm trying. And trying to learn.0 -
If your position is that total cholesterol doesn't matter or is fine under 200, don't bother reading any further!
In my previous blood test, my total cholesterol was around 160mg/dl. Two years later, I expected 140 by eating less and weight less, but I am at 180. Three times a week, I have breakfast with 2 eggs and bacon (2 strips) with bread and butter (all weighted, mind you), but I leave the yolk. At home, I limit my meat intake to 2 times a week (3-5oz x2), but the reality is also that I eat out for business and it is probably a total of 4-5x a week.
I imagine that if I limit my breakfasts with eggs& bacon to once a week and my meat intake to a total of 3x, it will go down, right?
How is your fitness level? My health provider encourages me to increase my activity, and reduce my stress levels, as well as manage my food intake. We are the sum of our entire human experience. Best to you on your fitness journey.
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you don’t want Omega 6 you want Omega 3. 6=bad. 3=goodCorina1143 wrote: »@saintor1
Question? Why omega 6? I'm familiar with the other supplements and how they may help, but I'm not familiar with the advantages of taking omega 6.
Thanks
Ps. Wish my numbers were 1/2 as good as yours. I'm trying. And trying to learn.
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tomcustombuilder wrote: »
you don’t want Omega 6 you want Omega 3. 6=bad. 3=goodCorina1143 wrote: »@saintor1
Question? Why omega 6? I'm familiar with the other supplements and how they may help, but I'm not familiar with the advantages of taking omega 6.
Thanks
Ps. Wish my numbers were 1/2 as good as yours. I'm trying. And trying to learn.
Not that simple. Both Omega-3s and Omega-6s are essential fatty acids. The commonest eating patterns don't have the ideal balance, instead too much O-6 relative to O-3.2 -
Yeah, the two classes of omega's (n:6/n:3) are metabolically and functionally distinct and have for the most part opposing physiological functions. The balance between the two are important for general good health and normal development.
Humans have evolved on primarily a whole food diet where that balance was around a 1:1 ratio and the reason was basically polyunsaturated fats in whole foods and animal protein is rather small in the actual amounts found in these whole foods but as well quite balanced and rarely go beyond a 4:1 ratio. Modern agriculture and the industrial food complex that produce all of our processed foods have led to decreases in omega-3 fatty acids and increases in omega-6 fatty acids where the average American is consuming a diet that's about 75% processed and ultra processed and has created ratio's in the 15:1 and up, and for some people it can easily be in the 25:1 range. Basically this kind of imbalance has known to contribute to chronic inflammation which most of the non communicable diseases are a result of that fact.
While google will be proliferated with wonderful tales of better health with polyunsaturated fats in the diet, which is not an untruth, it's just doesn't really tell the whole story and this is where context and dosage lives and dies. These oils are very reactive to oxidation which the body has an incredible distain for and factors like oxygen, heat and light will create oxidation almost immediately on exposed omega's and why nature in her wisdom made sure when we ate these they were in their natural containers that offered protection from these elements. Best you get your omegas from natural whole foods if an optimal health journey is in your future, which by default reduces that ratio and you get to eat some more real food as well.
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Many diets are 6 heavy and that is not optimum.tomcustombuilder wrote: »
you don’t want Omega 6 you want Omega 3. 6=bad. 3=goodCorina1143 wrote: »@saintor1
Question? Why omega 6? I'm familiar with the other supplements and how they may help, but I'm not familiar with the advantages of taking omega 6.
Thanks
Ps. Wish my numbers were 1/2 as good as yours. I'm trying. And trying to learn.
Not that simple. Both Omega-3s and Omega-6s are essential fatty acids. The commonest eating patterns don't have the ideal balance, instead too much O-6 relative to O-3.
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Corina1143 wrote: »@saintor1
Question? Why omega 6? I'm familiar with the other supplements and how they may help, but I'm not familiar with the advantages of taking omega 6.
Thanks
Ps. Wish my numbers were 1/2 as good as yours. I'm trying. And trying to learn.
Good catch... I meant omega 3.. lol. sorry for the confusion.
1
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