LCHF Diet and Cholesterol

[Old Aussie]

Sorry I always seem to be asking questions. I do some research on the net but I get so many conflicting reports that just confuse me more. So once again I am asking the people who live it daily.

I'm on one Atorvastatin 40mg a day for cholesterol. My diet is 20g of carbs a day or less. I am sick of chicken and fish at the moment, so I am having one meal of red meat of an evening. Should I cut off the fat or not?

For lunch I usually have a salad with carbs measuring from 5 to 6.6g. The meat for dinner pretty much has zero carbs, so to bring my carbs up to around 20g I eat nuts.

For a snack during the day I will have a slice of cheese. I'm not eating cream or yoghurt or any other type of dairy.

Do you think my cholesterol will go up a lot by eating fats from meat and some cheese?

Thanks!
Kerry

 

[Goonergal]

Hi @Old Aussie

Personally I don’t cut the fat off meat - it’s more flavourful and satiating that way.

Cholesterol and statins are much debated, here and elsewhere. This thread will tell you everything you need to know: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/

 

[Old Aussie]

Hi @Old Aussie

Personally I don’t cut the fat off meat - it’s more flavourful and satiating that way.

Cholesterol and statins are much debated, here and elsewhere. This thread will tell you everything you need to know: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/

Thanks Goonergal for the link. I do love eating the fat, I just thought it might be really bad for me.

 

[bulkbiker]

I'm on one Atorvastatin 40mg a day for cholesterol.

What was your "cholesterol" (ideally the full breakdown of lipids) that led to you being prescribed statins if you know?

 

[bulkbiker]

Thanks Goonergal for the link. I do love eating the fat, I just thought it might be really bad for me.

Dietary fat doesn't really contribute much to "cholesterol" numbers as the body regulates its own cholesterol production (partly down to it being essential for life).

 

[Robbity]

My cholesterol levels didn't change much when i started eating a bit more fat - nor when I eventually refused to take statins any longer but stopping them definitely helped reduce my glucose levels - they are known to be implicated in diabetes/raise glucose levels.

You need to eat more fats on a low carb diet to replace the energy you no longer get from carbs.

 

[Bluetit1802]

My personal opinion? You aren't eating enough fat.

 

[hankjam]

The Doc column in the current "The Oldie" is about statins.
His conclusion: it's a mess and there are very few people who need them, those that have had and survived heart attacks.

 

[Mike d]

Thanks Goonergal for the link. I do love eating the fat, I just thought it might be really bad for me.

It certainly is not @Old Aussie

 

[Old Aussie]

What was your "cholesterol" (ideally the full breakdown of lipids) that led to you being prescribed statins if you know?

I don't know, my doctor didn't tell me. I'm now over the initial shock of diabetes and am trying to find out things I should have asked when I was diagnosed and put on medication.

 

[Mike d]

Many have made that mistake

 

[Old Aussie]

What was your "cholesterol" (ideally the full breakdown of lipids) that led to you being prescribed statins if you know?

I don't know. Until I was diagnosed in March I wasn't taking any kind of medication at all. After being diagnosed I was put on Metformin and Atorvastatin, these are the first drugs I've been prescribed in my life. Now I am off Metformin, next step is to try and make sure I don't put my cholesterol up. I don't see my doctor again until after my next blood test in 2 months.

 

[ziggy_w]

Hi @Old Aussie,

My personal experience -- after switching to a low carb diet, my total cholesterol didn't change at all. It was approx. 5.5 mmol and has stayed there. What has changed is my HDL (often considered the good cholesterol), which has doubled, and my triglycerides, which have dropped by two-thirds (the HDL-trig ratio has often been interpreted to reflect insulin resistance -- the fundamental problem in most T2s.) The fact that overall total cholesterol hasn't changed has lead me to believe that genetic differences are an important determinant in overall cholesterol levels.

This link might be helpful in calculating your ratios: https://www.hughcalc.org/chol-si.php

You might also want to consider the fact that significant weight loss (rather than eating more fat), which many of us have experienced when switching to low carb, might initially lead to higher overall cholesterol. However, your cholesterol levels should return to normal once you stop losing weight.

 

[Cocosilk]

Sorry I always seem to be asking questions. I do some research on the net but I get so many conflicting reports that just confuse me more. So once again I am asking the people who live it daily.

I'm on one Atorvastatin 40mg a day for cholesterol. My diet is 20g of carbs a day or less. I am sick of chicken and fish at the moment, so I am having one meal of red meat of an evening. Should I cut off the fat or not?

For lunch I usually have a salad with carbs measuring from 5 to 6.6g. The meat for dinner pretty much has zero carbs, so to bring my carbs up to around 20g I eat nuts.

For a snack during the day I will have a slice of cheese. I'm not eating cream or yoghurt or any other type of dairy.

Do you think my cholesterol will go up a lot by eating fats from meat and some cheese?

Thanks!
Kerry

What if this fella was your doctor?

 

[Bluetit1802]

I don't know. Until I was diagnosed in March I wasn't taking any kind of medication at all. After being diagnosed I was put on Metformin and Atorvastatin, these are the first drugs I've been prescribed in my life. Now I am off Metformin, next step is to try and make sure I don't put my cholesterol up. I don't see my doctor again until after my next blood test in 2 months.

You don't have to wait until you next see your doctor. You can make a telephone call to your surgery and ask for the blood test results for cholesterol, lipids, and HbA1c. I am not sure of the protocols in Australia, but in England we can see our blood test results on-line if we register for this service, and are also entitled to print outs of blood tests. You REALLY need to know what your cholesterol and the full break down is (HDL, LDL and triglycerides). In England, doctors prescribe statins for all diabetics simply because they are diabetic. They are handed out like candy. What exactly did your doctor say when he prescribed the statins?

 

[stuffedolive]

Hi @Old Aussie,

My personal experience -- after switching to a low carb diet, my total cholesterol didn't change at all. It was approx. 5.5 mmol and has stayed there. What has changed is my HDL (often considered the good cholesterol), which has doubled, and my triglycerides, which have dropped by two-thirds .

Absolutely my experience too. I eat loads of fats and my HDL and TriG are great. . If I let my carbs creep up then the chol & triglyceride numbers start to worsen. Carbs are definitely the problem not the fats.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Do you think my cholesterol will go up a lot by eating fats from meat and some cheese?

Initially I never went LCHF just LC because my stomach would do somersaults if I ate more fat than my previous low fat diet. Just going low carb dropped my total cholesterol so much that I threw away the statins and my TC settled to a not too shabby 4. However, when my GP said I wasn't eating enough I did increase my red meat, cheese and full cream in my coffee. Not only did my weight increase but my TC went up as well. So, personally more fat doesn't work well for me. It's important to emphasis that it's me personally because my metabolism is ******** anyway. I can't eat more than 1500 cals a day anyway, not unless I want to gain weight.

I've just bought a meter for measuring my cholesterol as well as my BG so I'll be doing some experiments to see how quickly I can get my TC to alter.

 

[Member496333]

Should I cut off the fat or not?

Yes. Cut the fat from someone else's meat and add it to your plate. First rule of cooking

 

[Alexandra100]

I've just bought a meter for measuring my cholesterol

@DavidGrahamJones which meter did you buy?

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

which meter did you buy?

Apologies for delay, been watching too many people whinging on Youtube. Must stop that and return to the cuddly animal, travel and sailing videos, much more interesting.

I purchased the Benecheck Multi Monitoring System. It measures BG, Total cholesterol and Uric acid.