I am new and confused about cholesterol...

bishopkat
bishopkat Posts: 6 Member
edited November 10 in Food and Nutrition
I just started this program three days ago. First day I logged my normal food. Yesterday I worked on getting my numbers up some. Today I am working on getting my numbers, daily nutrition requirements, where they need to be. My recommended intake of cholesterol is 300mg a day. My two scrambled eggs were over 400mg this morning. I am so lost as to how to do and how important cholesterol balancing is. Can any one help me with this?

Replies

  • curvygirl512
    curvygirl512 Posts: 423 Member
    Check with your MD. Mine thinks a daily allotment of 300 mg/day of cholesterol is too high. She advised me to set mine at 200 mg per day. Each agg has about 230 mg of cholesterol, which is fine if you don't have to watch your cholesterol. I've switched to egg whites in a carton. There's no cholesterol, just pure protein at about 15 calories per serving. I actually like them better than regular eggs. If you don't like the whites, I'm sure that there are other egg substitute alternatives. Good luck.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,757 Member
    Don't be afraid of eggs. I've actually read that dietary cholesterol doesn't have much to do with your body's cholesterol. I've read many accounts of people whose cholesterol was high and they started eating the whole egg and their total numbers went down. Plus the yolk is just yummy.
  • Jay_3
    Jay_3 Posts: 9
    Read this

    http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/783/The_Truth_About_Heart_Disease_and_Cholesterol.aspx
  • EmilyTwist1
    EmilyTwist1 Posts: 206 Member
    Cholesterol isn't all bad. It's an important part of cell membranes and is used in the synthesis of hormones. Because of this, your body produces cholesterol on its own. The neat thing is that if you're getting a lot from your diet, your body will reduce its nature cholesterol production, and vice versa. Of course it's possible to get too much cholesterol in your diet, which can cause many healthy problems. This would be something to talk to your doctor about, to find out what your cholesterol levels are, what is healthy for your body, and what, if any, changes you should make to your diet.

    But I wouldn't worry much about the eggs. Yeah, the yolks have lots of cholesterol, but they're also a good source of protein, and you've been really active lately, so it shouldn't be much of an issue.
  • bwg5563
    bwg5563 Posts: 3
    It would be a good idea to check your cholesterol levels before starting a lifestyle change such as this. Normal values for cholesterol should be less than 200 mg. This can be broken down further into the "good" cholesterol vs. "bad" cholesterol. The good cholesterol (HDL) should be above 40 mg for men and 50 mg for women. The bad cholesterol (LDL) should be less than 100 mg. The good cholesterol prevents atherosclerosis which can lead to stroke, MI, etc. The bad cholesterol is the part that is oxidized and for lack of a better term becomes sticky to your arteries which can cause thrombosis or an embolism.

    Genetics can play a big role as hypercholesterolemia is one of the most common inherited diseases and can take on different forms depending on if both parents had it or just one.

    Egg whites contain no cholesterol so that is good if you need that egg fix. I would highly suggest getting your lab values checked first as you may need to go down from 300 mg to 200 mg as someone pointed out earlier. It'll all depend on your blood work as everyone here is unique.

    Good luck!
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    No worries about cholesterol.....................
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