Review - Cholesterol, what do I need to change?

[Grogg1]

1st March my results were:

1. Hba1c 6% / 42
2. Cholesterol 4.5 (HDL 1.2 LDL 2.5 Trig 1.7 (I don't have my ratio))

Today my results were:

1. Hba1c 6.1% / 43
2. Cholesterol 5.7 (HDL 1.8 LDL 3.5 Trig 0.8.7 ratio 3.2)

So nurse told me I need to get my cholesterol down. She's happy with my hba1c being almost constant and doesn't want to see me for 6 months. So question is what changes do I need to make to reduce my cholesterol?

 

[Ditto]

Dunno. Mine's the same as yours and I have to get mine down too! My first thought would be porridge daily for breakfast but I'm trying to lose weight plus it spikes some people. 🙄

 

[pav]

Porridge is normally a no no for me, only time I would think of having it is as a change to normal and if my levels were lower than normal. There is a packet in the cupboard about to be slung as getting close to it's expiry date.

Are you on statins at all and how dook you cook meats like fried or grilled/

 

[DaveB]

For many those cholesterol levels are 'normal' as they are strongly genetically based and your body needs cholesterol. If you are worried you could start a minimum statin dose but don't go too low.

 

[Grogg1]

I'm not on statins nor was I offered them. From dr google my ratio is ok but my LDL needs to drop back to 2,5

I am not a big meat eater, mainly chicken and high meat content sausage. One thing I eat much less of since last review is eggs and cheese. Just gone off them. I cook my chicken in oven generally either marinated or just seasoned. Plus have in curries. Sausages also oven cooked. Never eat beef or lamb .

I eat a lot of soya /tofu products as daughter vegan. I have 3 cups of tea a day with skimmed milk.

I do love proper butter though and avoid dairy free spread.

I don't eat fish and dislike porridge. She told me to drink those cholesterol lowering drinks.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Your Trigs are low. That is brilliant. That is the main indicator to your heart health. My total cholesterol is higher than yours, in fact my LDL is higher than yours. GP wanted me on statins. DSN said no need as my Trigs are perfect. Ideally, you need to know what type of LDL it is. Not all LDL is bad. There is type A & type B. This requires an advanced lipoprotein blood test that most GP's don't do or understand.

 

[Bloden]

Try introducing healthy fats into your diet - there don't seem to be many! - avocado, olive oil, salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel...have a look at websites for info (I used the American Diabetes Association). Plus: oats, beans n pulses, nuts n seeds, lotsa veg (esp the green stuff) - I can't remember what else...oh, and cut down on the sat fats. This worked for me a few years ago...good luck!🙂

 

[Grogg1]

Try introducing healthy fats into your diet - there don't seem to be many! - avocado, olive oil, salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel...have a look at websites for info (I used the American Diabetes Association). Plus: oats, beans n pulses, nuts n seeds, lotsa veg (esp the green stuff) - I can't remember what else...oh, and cut down on the sat fats. This worked for me a few years ago...good luck!🙂

I do force myself to eat avocado - not a fan but know it's a good fat. I eat a lot of olive oil. Fish is a no no as I dislike everything about it! I limit my beans and pulses as they raise my BG, nuts are my go to snack and I have green veg every day as I low carb and I don't want unwanted side effects

 

[Bloden]

I do force myself to eat avocado - not a fan but know it's a good fat. I eat a lot of olive oil. Fish is a no no as I dislike everything about it! I limit my beans and pulses as they raise my BG, nuts are my go to snack and I have green veg every day as I low carb and I don't want unwanted side effects

Looks like your diet's really healthy, Grogg1.🙂

 

[RFS]

My cholesterol was 6.6 but the doctor at least asked me what I thought about statins and then in then end decided he was not going to prescribe anything until the next bloods were done (today in fact!).

His advice was the generic "no dairy, no cheese, no butter" but in truth with BG off the chart, high BP and high cholesterol in the end I just moved from high GI to medium and low GI foods, as it was just too overwhelming to fix one but not the other.

I focused on fixing my BG, and I will worry about the cholesterol levels when I get the bloods results in a week or so. I have no intention of being a walking rattle, so I do have a lot of avocado, eat fish, nibble almonds, so fingers crossed it is coming down as well!

 

[Mark Parrott]

It is believed these days that dietry cholesterol has very little effect on our bodies cholesterol, but most doctors still stick to the old adage of high fat foods raise cholesterol. Some still think eggs are bad for us & it has been proved that they are not. If dairy increases cholesterol, I would not have Trigs of 0.5.

 

[Grogg1]

Looks like your diet's really healthy, Grogg1.🙂

Oh I have the c**p too. I treat myself to a Welsh cake with butter if I've had a low carb meal and I need a little treat 🙂

It is believed these days that dietry cholesterol has very little effect on our bodies cholesterol, but most doctors still stick to the old adage of high fat foods raise cholesterol. Some still think eggs are bad for us & it has been proved that they are not. If dairy increases cholesterol, I would not have Trigs of 0.5.

The odd thing is since my previous blood test where my cholesterol was fine I have barely touched eggs and greatly reduced cheese consumption and my level has increased but my trig dropped.

 

[Maz2]

There is nothing wrong with eggs. They believe now that they don't raise cholesterol. I have two friends who have high cholesterol too and they have hardly any sat fat and cannot get it down. I think a lot of it is what your body makes and, in that case, is very difficult.

My friend Sue has problems with high cholesterol and she asked me if I could find anything out about what she could eat. I cannot see from what she said that she does anything wrong.