Sort of food/cholestrol query

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Sharron1

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hope this is ok to post in General.M? Spoke with nurse today re my annual review. It went ok until we discussed my eating of avocados, (1-2 medium sized daily) nuts (almonds in the main) and seeds. She told me that avocados were high in saturated fats. I am a little confused I thought avocados consisted of ok fats but were very calorific. She agreed with that but repeated the sats comment. I googled avocados and sats but couldn't find anything. She also told me that the almonds were calorific and also contained some sats. I am careful about how many I eat. Anyone able to shed some light on this?
 
Avocados have only a trace amount of saturated fat. Most of the fat in avocados is monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). MUFAs are thought to lower your total cholesterol and your “bad” cholesterol (LDL), and increase your “good” cholesterol (HDL).

I found the above statement online, sounds like a pretty healthy option so me… shame I can’t stand them
 
I eat A LOT of saturated fats (cream, cheese, fatty meat) and my cholesterol levels are still reducing and the best they have ever been, so I am a firm believer that the NHS advice about saturated fats is the same as their low fat advice. It is not helpful to me on a low carb diet and my stats prove that what I eat works for me.

I have no real interest in whether avocados contain sat fats or not, they are a whole (unprocessed) food and they contain quite a bit of fibre I believe, which is also very important for reducing cholesterol. If you need to lose weight and you are still managing to do so, eating 1-2 avocados a day, then you are doing well and I would take your nurse's advice with a pinch of salt. I still feel bad about ignoring my nurse's dietary advice (typical NHS advice) but I am fitter and healthier and slimmer and happier and my cholesterol is lower, doing almost exactly the opposite of what they recommend, so I have very little time for their advice. Plenty of fibre is important though. I could probably give my nurse a heart attack just telling her how much saturated fat I eat 🙄 My consultant just says..... "Whatever you are doing....Keep doing it!" So I do....:D
 
rebrascora said:
I eat A LOT of saturated fats (cream, cheese, fatty meat) and my cholesterol levels are still reducing and the best they have ever been, so I am a firm believer that the NHS advice about saturated fats is the same as their low fat advice. It is not helpful to me on a low carb diet and my stats prove that what I eat works for me.

I have no real interest in whether avocados contain sat fats or not, they are a whole (unprocessed) food and they contain quite a bit of fibre I believe, which is also very important for reducing cholesterol. If you need to lose weight and you are still managing to do so, eating 1-2 avocados a day, then you are doing well and I would take your nurse's advice with a pinch of salt. I still feel bad about ignoring my nurse's dietary advice (typical NHS advice) but I am fitter and healthier and slimmer and happier and my cholesterol is lower, doing almost exactly the opposite of what they recommend, so I have very little time for their advice. Plenty of fibre is important though. I could probably give my nurse a heart attack just telling her how much saturated fat I eat 🙄 My consultant just says..... "Whatever you are doing....Keep doing it!" So I do....:D
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I am fortunate and don't need to lose weight I absolutely agree with you about taking her comments with a pinch of salt It was simply odd to me and the more I read, the odder it became.
 
EmmaL76 said:
Avocados have only a trace amount of saturated fat. Most of the fat in avocados is monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). MUFAs are thought to lower your total cholesterol and your “bad” cholesterol (LDL), and increase your “good” cholesterol (HDL).

I found the above statement online, sounds like a pretty healthy option so me… shame I can’t stand them
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I adore them So I think I will carry on. I found her comments confusing.
 
Sharron1 said:
I adore them So I think I will carry on. I found her comments confusing.
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I think the problem is that she is ill informed. Many nurses (and doctors) sadly are, particularly in respect of dietary controlled diabetes.
 
I adore almonds, and now eat vast amounts of them! Because they are very high in protein, very low in carbohydrates (lower per 100g than any other nut I know), and high calorie-- perfect for a recently diagnosed T1 who needs to gain weight and also exercises quite a bit and is a 'mature woman' (research shows that, over 50, people need a lot more protein than was previously realised).

So, grabbing the big tub of almonds I have within easy reach and checking the label: 3.8g saturated fat per 100g. Which doesn't sound like a lot to me!

Very heartened by Rebrascora's experience. Ok, our bodies are all different; but I'm not giving up my almond habit (or not to mention my cheese habit ...) until and unless my lipid tests indicate I have to.
 
rebrascora said:
I think the problem is that she is ill informed. Many nurses (and doctors) sadly are, particularly in respect of dietary controlled diabetes.
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I agree with you. I decided to mumble ok rather than continuing with that particular conversation. It was easier.
 
Sharron1 said:
Hope this is ok to post in General.M? Spoke with nurse today re my annual review. It went ok until we discussed my eating of avocados, (1-2 medium sized daily) nuts (almonds in the main) and seeds. She told me that avocados were high in saturated fats. I am a little confused I thought avocados consisted of ok fats but were very calorific. She agreed with that but repeated the sats comment. I googled avocados and sats but couldn't find anything. She also told me that the almonds were calorific and also contained some sats. I am careful about how many I eat. Anyone able to shed some light on this?
Click to expand...
She's right to this extent: avocados have quite a lot of saturated fat, about 3g per avocado, or about the same as eg 175g of sirloin. I eat a really low level of satfats - usually 10g - 12g per day = less than 5% of calories, so a daily avocado represents a big chunk of that.

But avocados, unlike eg steak, also have a whole lot of healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which help to *reduce* LDL cholesterol, say around 18g per avocado. And also unlike steak, they have a whole lot of fibre which also helps to reduce LDL.

So as part of an overall diet, avocados are triffic, so long as you watch the calories.
 
I have heard so much utter rubbish from HCPs over the decades, so I am not at all surprised at anything they say these days.
We do need saturated fats for some very essential components and substances in our bodies.
 
Drummer said:
I have heard so much utter rubbish from HCPs over the decades, so I am not at all surprised at anything they say these days.
We do need saturated fats for some very essential components and substances in our bodies.
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High cholesterol isn't essential.
(But it sells books to some people who believe that nonsense)
 
Drummer said:
We do need saturated fats for some very essential components and substances in our bodies.
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Nope. Do need small amounts of essential fatty acids = omega-3 and omega-6, but they are polyunsaturated. This is completely uncontroversial.
 
Eddy Edson said:
She's right to this extent: avocados have quite a lot of saturated fat, about 3g per avocado, or about the same as eg 175g of sirloin. I eat a really low level of satfats - usually 10g - 12g per day = less than 5% of calories, so a daily avocado represents a big chunk of that.

But avocados, unlike eg steak, also have a whole lot of healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which help to *reduce* LDL cholesterol, say around 18g per avocado. And also unlike steak, they have a whole lot of fibre which also helps to reduce LDL.

So as part of an overall diet, avocados are triffic, so long as you watch the calories.
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Thanks. It is a minefield. I suspect I will move to the grey area snd simply reduce the number of avocados.
 
travellor said:
What are your blood tests like?
If the trends are good, you're fine.
If the trends are bad, no amount of people on here saying you are good will change that.
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Blood tests all in normal green range lthough total cholestrol could be lower. She wants me to see if i can lower the TC (6.4 ) b4 Statins s are introduced.It seems fair to me. As the TC for diabetics is somewhere at 4 I suspect I won't meet that. But I appreciate her method to try.
 
Must admit don't really limit fats nor do I deliberately seek them out, just eat as I want.

As long as cholesterol testing began always had good levels, all with range. Think exercising regular helps also, something some people forget.
 
Hi , I don't know but I would have thought that any food eaten in quantity is not good for you.
 
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