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High cholesterol

Posted , 5 users are following.

cat14494
cat14494

I've just been told my cholesterol level is 10.5. I do however follow a healthy diet and lifestyle.  What foods should I avoid and eat more of?

1 like, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • sandy67
    sandy67 cat14494

    Posted

    No suggestion of statins? I was put on them, mine was 15.9! I was told not many eggs, no bought sauces, avoid as many fats and sugars as possible. Lean meat and fish with lots of veg or salad. I had porridge forbreakfast and a banana, wholemeal bread sandwich with tomatoes, fat free or low fat yoghurts, including natural yoghurt with a little honey or fruit, dinner - stir fry chicken with loads of veg and rice, chicken curry with no fat, just onions, spices, tinned toms, peppers and rice, casseroles, again no fat, tuna pasta with sweetcorn, cucumber and peppers, low fat mayo. Lots of fruit for snacks, or I used to have carrot sticks, celery, toms, peppers with a home made low fat mint and coriander dip whenever i fancied. I got mine down to below 5 with help of meds though too. It will depend on whether it is genetic, if it is you may need meds to help, mine is so diet alone did not do a lot. Good luck x
    • cat14494
      cat14494 sandy67

      Posted

      Thanks Sandy. I have been given statins to take.  My diet is fairly healthy although I will eat fewer eggs and loads more fruit.
  • sonya10
    sonya10 cat14494

    Posted

    Sorry have to disagree with what you've been advised to eat and what foods to avoid.

    eggs are perfectly fine as is all full fat foods.

    Cat you say you've been following a healthy diet? can I assume you mean low fat? As that's the normal ( although wrong) advice given to patients.

    could I ask that both you and Sandy check the amount of sugar in your low fat products, I guarantee there is higher sugar content than in standard products, ie Mayo.

    lowering cholesterol through diet doesn't usually yield good results that's because only approx 20% of our cholesterol comes from our food, the remaining 80% is produced in our liver and the food we eat has absolutely no relevance on our diet.

    high cholesterol is not a disease or a danger to our health, although Triglcerides need to be low as this is actual fat within blood stream, the lower this is the better.

    to achieve lower Triglceride simply eat a low carb diet, it's good to avoid sugar but to many people don't know that carbs are basically sugars so cutting carbs is a must.

    if you do decide to take statins then please be aware of possible side effects, read enclosed leaflet carefully and inform your doctor as soon as you notice any changes.

     

    • cat14494
      cat14494 sonya10

      Posted

      Thanks for this but now I'm mixed up about what I should and shouldn't eat!!!!!  I'll continue with the statins as the doctor is monitoring the side effects. I don't eat a lot of sugar as I don't have a sweet tooth and convenience foods do not have a place in our diet ; all meals are home made. 
    • sandy67
      sandy67 cat14494

      Posted

      I am only going on what I was told by my consultant at the lipid clinic. I totally agree that sugars are bad, but fruit contains natural sugar, its the refined sugars you need to watch out for hidden in low fat foods. That is why is make all my own sauces and use natural yoghurt as much as possible. I agree that my consultant has not been updated probably since he graduated! I love eggs and have not cut them down, but did follow a lot of advice and felt wonderful as a result. However, my triglycerides were extremely high too! Doctors tend to assume that you are a heavy drinker when this happens, but I rarely drink alcohol and actually drink lots of water. I don't like diet soda drinks either as they tend to use aspartame which is really bad! I found it easy to follow and definitely felt the benefits! I do agree that carbs are not good, especially bread and I am now avoiding it! It always makes me feel very bloated, so if I do have it (rarely) i have fresh tomatoes which I love. If I have a protein meal, eg omelette with ham, chicken, cheese etc, I so not have any carbs with it at all, as I think protein works better for the body on its own. Therre is a lot of conflicting advice out there but our bodies all cope differently so some people get away with eating lots of carbs, mine doesn't. If I have a salad I will have no complex carbs with it. It is all a bit confusing and I can only say what works for me. My cholesterol was 15.9 and triglycerides 28! Now they are 4.5 and 2.8 respectively so I am a lot happier, even though I was told I should stay on statins and fenofibrate for life now! I agree totally that it is not always the answer as, yes, it is definitely a huge revenue for manufacturers and this is why they are pushed, but it has worked for me and i was quite scared by my stats! X
  • sonya10
    sonya10 cat14494

    Posted

    Sorry Cat didn't mean to confuse you.

    Currently there are two opinions regarding cholesterol, one is the usual publicised theory that high levels are dangerous and lead to heart disease and stroke.

    The other ( which I believe) is that its all lies based on faulty data and studies.

    i would advise you to research a little and make up your own mind. 

    As far as food and diet it has recently been shown that saturated fat is not bad for us, if you're from the UK you may have noticed news paper and new articles on tv showing this. The only fats that are bad for us are trans fats and processed oils, like vegetable and corn oil etc, all animal fats like saturated, goose fat and lard are perfectly fine.

    low fat products, like all sauces etc contain high amounts of sugar, so while people may think it's healthy it is actually bad for us.

    full fat diary is also fine, full fat milk, cheese and butter not margarine is again healthy.

    obviously all vegetables are good and limited fruit as this contains sugar.

    i cannot stress enough that low carb is the best route to a healthy diet.

    id like to point you in the direction of Dr Malcom Kendrick, if you google his name you'll find some interesting studies and points he raises on cholesterol. 

    i can imagine how difficult it must be to understand what I'm saying to have any truth as it goes against everything we've been told by the powers that be, but please do some research on cholesterol myth and then you can make an informed decision about your health.

    good luck 

    sonya

  • LindenS
    LindenS cat14494

    Posted

    I just want to agree with what Sonia10 said. I appreciate it's confusing, but do your research. The main thing you need to find out is whether you have a history of heart disease/people dying from heart attacks in your family. If this is the case, you do need statins, no getting away from it. If there's no real family history of early deaths from these causes, look into the case for statins - for and against. I did this, and came to the conclusion that statins are a product that makes Big Pharma very big bucks, and this is the main reason for their widespread prescribing by GPs, who are mostly following the advice of drug company reps. Everything Sonia10 said about diet is true - eat organic grass-fed meat, free range eggs, lots of fats and avoid convenience foods (which you already do, which is great).

    As Sonia10 says, do your research, keep an open mind, don't believe what your GP tells you just because he/she is your GP, and make a balanced decision. There's lots and lots of evidence out there (subject to no familyissues I mentioned above) to say your cholesterol is just fine, it's just yours and nothing to worry about provided you follow the dietary suggestions made by Sonia10 and widely recommended elsewhere. Look at the Triglycerides, they are important though.  All the best.

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