Experience with lowering Cholesterol?

Sunny

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Hi, I have just got some blood tests back and see my cholesterol is high. Does anyone have experience with high cholesterol and successfully lowering it to within a healthy range? I didn't think I ate lots of unhealthy fats but clearly it is coming from somewhere right? Any knowledgeable advice most welcome- thank you :)
 
I know I say this way too often but first I think you should do is keep a food diary in CronOmeter.

I can say from experience that it can be surprising how much fat we can get into our diets when we are not paying attention.

So first start off with what you are actually getting - and not what you think you are doing.

But it's always a good idea to cut down on oils. Oil-free cooking is not as hard as you might think.
if your fiber intake isn't already maxed out - then work on that area.
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils not only will boost your fiber but should lower the cholesterol.

Look for foods that contain sterols and stanols. Its confusing.


Maybe this will help
 
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I know I say this way too often but first I think you should do is keep a food diary in CronOmeter.

I can say from experience that it can be surprising how much fat we can get into our diets when we are not paying attention.

So first start off with what you are actually getting - and not what you think you are doing.

But it's always a good idea to cut down on oils. Oil-free cooking is not as hard as you might think.
if your fiber intake isn't already maxed out - then work on that area.
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils not only will boost your fiber but should lower the cholesterol.

Look for foods that contain sterols and stanols. Its confusing.


Maybe this will help
Thank you- I didn't realise that fiber can lower cholesterol. Cholesterol It is not something I ever really knew/thought much about before. I normally do use Cronometer but I have lapsed as of late. I will go back to using it properly for awhile...
 
Thank you- I didn't realise that fiber can lower cholesterol. Cholesterol It is not something I ever really knew/thought much about before. I normally do use Cronometer but I have lapsed as of late. I will go back to using it properly for awhile...

Check out How Not to Die, and How Not to Diet for far more than you thought you wanted to know! :)
 
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Now, I'm too lazy to use your conversion calculator. Did you try it? How bad is she?
The calculator does it for you:
Total cholesterol: 5.9 mmol/L = 228.15 mg/dL
Their values seem close to my last test

Years back, when I ate mostly whole foods, I had lowered mine to 160, with low ldl too. I've got to get myself back on track before I HAVE to!
 
How is your blood pressure?
Borderline BP says the GP so not truly high but "pre" elevated. She did something called the Q risk and found me to be low so I am guessing I am not in serious trouble just yet but will need to work it. I'm back to Cronometer and keeping a close eye on things.
 
I don't have issues with high blood pressure or cholesterol. But like everyone I know does. So I get "lessons" when we go out and stuff.

On one hand, these things are what they call indicators of risk. not bad all by themselves but something to keep an eye on. Also I've gleaned that the absolute number needs to be evaluated in context. Genetics play a big part. So the thing to be concerned with is trends. Trending upwards is a warning. However even that may not be a big concern. I think people tend to trend upwards with age. Although maybe just getting older is maybe not a good reason to ignore it.

Except for medication, anything you do to keep your numbers low, is a good idea anyway - health wise. So even if its not really a concern, it's not like those things are not worth doing anyway.

What is that old joke? Headline from 2050: Breaking news! Diet and exercise good for health. Oh but lets not forget sleep and stress.

How you doing with CronOmeter? I've just started using it again.
 
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Hi, I have just got some blood tests back and see my cholesterol is high. Does anyone have experience with high cholesterol and successfully lowering it to within a healthy range? I didn't think I ate lots of unhealthy fats but clearly it is coming from somewhere right? Any knowledgeable advice most welcome- thank you :)

I never had a cholesterol problem. I went vegetarian at 14, then vegan in my late 20s.

My understanding is that some people due to their genetics will have high cholesterol no matter what they do.

There are saturated and bad fats in vegan diets that will drive cholesterol up, so will eating a lot of refined carbohydrates/sugars.

If you are not, try to make your diet healthy, not just vegan.

Whole food, plant based. Whole grains and GBOMBS: Greens, Beans, Onions ( garlic, shallots etc too ), Mushrooms, Berries, Seeds ( and nuts ). Avoid using oils where you can.

If all of that doesn't work by your next checkup get Caldwell Esselstyn's book "Preventing And Reversing Heart Disease". It is a no oil, very low fat diet that has been proven to work.

Good Luck
 
Thank you all for your advice. I do eat a reasonably healthy diet (hardly any processed foods) but could def. do better with the wholegrains and greens. Thinking about it the past couple days, I realise that I have been choosing more quick/easy options this past year or so.
 

This site says that the 'optimal' total:hdl is 3.5, and that anything 5 or under is 'desirable'. So my guess would be that @Sunny's 4 is probably actually pretty good . . .
 
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