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Thanks for the info. and another related question...
What types of food should he stay away from? He doesn't eat a lot of meat and I don't eat any, does meat raise your cholesterol? We eat quite a bit of shell fish, is that bad?
Animal products are the only things with dietary cholesterol, so they will add to it. They also tend to have fair amounts of fats (saturated). I believe shell fish has a fair bit of cholesterol:
You will also have to be concerned about dairy, because it has a lot of fat (well that's what it is basically). You should consider low/no fat substitutes.
Things like nuts and olive oil, etc... are the unsaturated "good" fats.
I used to have mid 200 cholesterol and had circulation problems previously, but now the circulation seems fine and cholesterol is a bit below 200 after removing those foods.
My cholesterol is hereditary as most of one side of the family has high levels.
I think that eating foods with cholesterol will not necessarily raise your cholesterol level, or even be necessarily harmful in any way...Of more concern should be saturated animal fat and transfats...people with the lowest cholesterol levels tend to die younger than the general population. The body manufactures cholesterol, and half the people who die of heart attacks have perfectly normal cholesterol...I'm not suggesting an all meat diet, but every body is different .
Re: Red yeast rice- I've been taking it for years at the advice of my doctor. While it is a natural statin, supposedly it has far less of the side effects of statin drugs because it hasn't been synthesized and has many other components to it.
I think that eating foods with cholesterol will not necessarily raise your cholesterol level, or even be necessarily harmful in any way...Of more concern should be saturated animal fat and transfats...people with the lowest cholesterol levels tend to die younger than the general population. The body manufactures cholesterol, and half the people who die of heart attacks have perfectly normal cholesterol...I'm not suggesting an all meat diet, but every body is different .
Yes this is true, the actual levels are not the only indicator (although Dr. Roberts, editor in chief of the American Journal of Cardiology recommends removing cholesterol and saturated fats from the diet, "We get atherosclerosis by eating too much cholesterol and saturated fat."). My relatives with high cholesterol have been told by the doctors that it is okay because the blood pressure is normal. However, in my case I lost feeling in my arm, so that's really bad and even with normal blood pressure I knew that was a bad thing.
Mine tends to be really high unless I am on Statins. The dose can be very low and still work. I think a lot of doctors tend to prescribe a high dose if the level is very high thinking it will work better. As for being hereditary, I agree that its very common. My mom's levels have been in the 400s off of meds. Mine the first time it was checked was 287. I joined a gym and over the course of a year have lost 30 pounds. When I was put on 10 mg. of Crestor every other day it dropped to 167 in six weeks. I lost 30 pounds which dropped it even further, but when my doctor took me off the medicine it shot right back up, even while continuing to work out five days a week and not gaining any of that weight back. I have not noticed any side effects at all with the medicine.
just found out today that my cholesterol is 304! I am 30 and in good health. I don't eat fried anything, never touch fast food, no egg yolks, butter, dairy. Just veggies, fruit (no juice) healthy grains such as oatmeal and ezekiel bread, lean poultry and fish. Such a shocker. My dad has very high cholesterol and had a heart attack at age 50. Now I am left with the decision to take Lipitor or not. I am sure it is hereditary, but I hate taking drugs. So confused!
Yes, it can be hereditary. Are you taking anything like fish oil that's supposed to lower cholesterol? I understand your hesitance to start Lipitor and if you're determined to try something else first you could try that, along with aerobic exercise if you aren't exercising now. If that doesn't help, go with the Lipitor. If it makes you feel any better, I got great improvement with Lipitor when nothing else worked, and I've been on it for a few years with no side effects.
Actually if you want to be heart disease free all your life, your Total Cholesterol should be less than 150 and LDL less than 80.
Follow what's written below and it will guaranteed lower your cholesterol levels:
Here are the rules in their simplest form:
• You may NOT eat anything with a mother or a face (no meat, poultry, or fish).
• You cannot eat dairy products.
• You must not consume oil of any kind—not a drop of oil. (Yes, you devotees of the Mediterranean Diet, that includes olive oil, not even a drop of even extra virgin or olive oil).
• Generally, you cannot eat nuts or avocados.
. No salt
You can eat a wonderful variety of delicious, nutrient-dense foods:
• All vegetables except avocado. Leafy green vegetables, root vegetables, veggies that are red, green, purple, orange, and yellow and everything in between
• All legumes—beans, peas, and lentils of all varieties.
• All whole grains and products, such as bread and pasta, that are made from WHOLE GRAINS—as long as they do not contain added fats.
• All fruits (but avoid fruit juices as having too many fruit juices can increase your Triglycerides level) .
Dr Caldwell B Esselstyn is the only Doctor in the world to have achieved near 100% success rate in treating patients with heart disease and patients with high cholesterol.
May I suggest you read his book 'How to prevent and reverse heart disease.
After ten years of high cholesterol levels, following his instructions, my total cholesterol plummeted from 220 to 160 within weeks. Trust me, his recommendations really work.
Wow, what's this......the death camp diet??? Many other ways to get healthy besides following extreme diets such as this. Impractical for most.
Wow, what's this......the death camp diet??? Many other ways to get healthy besides following extreme diets such as this. Impractical for most.
Anyway, I think this is outdated, as nuts and avocados contain fats that improve cholesterol levels, as does fatty fish, and non-fatty fish should not be a problem. Why NO dairy, rather than allowing non-fat dairy?
They are starting to get away from condemning saturated fat as much, although I still try to minimize them myself. The trans-fats in baked goods and other items is the biggest no-no. No donuts!
My family is prone to hypercholesterolemia as well. Interestingly enough, the normally recommended dietary changes did not help my father at all. Once he developed tyep 2 diabetes and got serious with his no sugar, low-carbohydrate diet, his cholesterol decreased significantly and he no longer takes the statin drug.
That's because sugar and especially fructose is one of the main causes of bad cholesterol in the blood. low-carb, no-sugar diets, when followed well, almost always lower bad cholesterol. There are some exceptions in some people based on genetics, but it doesn't mean that a high carb diet of refined manmade garbage foods is the answer. Glad to hear about your Dad's success.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhavnani
Actually if you want to be heart disease free all your life, your Total Cholesterol should be less than 150 and LDL less than 80.
Follow what's written below and it will guaranteed lower your cholesterol levels:
Here are the rules in their simplest form:
• You may NOT eat anything with a mother or a face (no meat, poultry, or fish).
• You cannot eat dairy products.
• You must not consume oil of any kind—not a drop of oil. (Yes, you devotees of the Mediterranean Diet, that includes olive oil, not even a drop of even extra virgin or olive oil).
• Generally, you cannot eat nuts or avocados.
. No salt
You can eat a wonderful variety of delicious, nutrient-dense foods:
• All vegetables except avocado. Leafy green vegetables, root vegetables, veggies that are red, green, purple, orange, and yellow and everything in between
• All legumes—beans, peas, and lentils of all varieties.
• All whole grains and products, such as bread and pasta, that are made from WHOLE GRAINS—as long as they do not contain added fats.
• All fruits (but avoid fruit juices as having too many fruit juices can increase your Triglycerides level) .
Dr Caldwell B Esselstyn is the only Doctor in the world to have achieved near 100% success rate in treating patients with heart disease and patients with high cholesterol.
May I suggest you read his book 'How to prevent and reverse heart disease.
After ten years of high cholesterol levels, following his instructions, my total cholesterol plummeted from 220 to 160 within weeks. Trust me, his recommendations really work.
^^^ seriously some of the worst advice i've ever seen in my life. trying to lower your cholesterol below 150 is dangerous, and will increase your chance of a heart attack incident. wanna develop all kinds of health issues? follow what this person says. He/she is probably terribly unhealthy at 160 cholesterol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gingerbelle
just found out today that my cholesterol is 304! I am 30 and in good health. I don't eat fried anything, never touch fast food, no egg yolks, butter, dairy. Just veggies, fruit (no juice) healthy grains such as oatmeal and ezekiel bread, lean poultry and fish. Such a shocker. My dad has very high cholesterol and had a heart attack at age 50. Now I am left with the decision to take Lipitor or not. I am sure it is hereditary, but I hate taking drugs. So confused!
Gingerbelle - I highly recommend NOT taking Lipitor. If your situation confounds you, that's ok. it's not your fault. But please take your thoughts a bit further and figure that maybe there's a reason that it seems all backwards to you. That's because it is! For most people, egg yolks, butter, and coconut oil raise good cholesterol. A high carb diet will put your cholesterol through the roof, especially if many of the carbs are from fructose and/or grains like the things you mention that you eat. By the way.. it's probaby good that you don't eat fried anything, because most people/places fry things in vegetable oil, a very bad idea. 'cholesterol free' vegetable oil doesn't mean jack squat. eating foods with 'cholesterol' doesn't affect your blood lipids like people think they do. your body makes 95% of the cholesterol that's floating around in your blood. interesting, isn't it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by subject2change
Anyway, I think this is outdated, as nuts and avocados contain fats that improve cholesterol levels, as does fatty fish, and non-fatty fish should not be a problem. Why NO dairy, rather than allowing non-fat dairy?
They are starting to get away from condemning saturated fat as much, although I still try to minimize them myself. The trans-fats in baked goods and other items is the biggest no-no. No donuts!
You're correct S2C, except for the part about non-fat dairy, which is basically a total waste of time. Most of the goods in dairy are in the fats! Removing it causes problems. But if you're gonna do dairy, just be sure to keep sugar levels, and especially fructose low. Spiking blood sugar and eating saturated fats at the same time can lead to problems. Eating saturated fats from whole, pure foods does not cause heart disease and never did. it's the metabolic conditions associated with leptin issues and inflammation that cause heart disease.
Last edited by Jack Kronk; 07-12-2011 at 03:13 PM..
Reason: spelling
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