Anyone got advice on cholesterol please?.

[loubylou]

Hi all.

Was diagnosed in November with Diabetes and confirmed as Type 1 just before Christmas. I have been told my cholesterol is 8.3 but as I also have a grossly underactive thyroid ( TSH 114 now 77 as described by consultant) :crazy: told this could cause the cholesterol to be so high.

Cant get my head round it. No idea now what I should be eating. Very confused by all the diets at the moment.

Have read all the diet info but a little confused when i comes to planning meals ops

Any advice would be great, thanks for reading

 

[dusky]

I'm also just diagnosed with Type2. I have been on Thyroxine for years and now told my cholesterol is too high.
Now half the time I don't know what to eat. I find it all really confusing.

 

[Fallenstar]

Hi
I have the same as you, have they put you on statins?

 

[noblehead]

As you are asking for dietary advice the following from The British Heart Foundation gives a good explanation of cholesterol and how to reduce it:

http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/cond ... terol.aspx

 

[Fallenstar]

I have FH , it makes me laugh when I read the old heart foundation stuff...I found (without meds) the lowest my cholesterol has ever been was following Atkins...lots of meat, fat and veg...but with meds you can eat what you want if you take enough of them.
I' m beyond help....save yourselves :lol:
Carbs raise my cholesterol more than ANY other food source. Fat has not

Thyroid problems do cause high Cholesterol, mine has been a lot better with a low carb Diet and Thyroid treatment..infact I have a third of the Cholesterol medication I needed as when slow release carbs made up a good proportion of my diet. And I now have a Cholesterol level on the low side.Last test 1.8 ,from 13.4 on a carb majority diet.

Hope you can find the best way for you without too many meds at high doses, as Statins do have nasty side effects...but then again better than Angina or a heart attack...risk versus benefit

 

[dusky]

I was put on syvastatin and it made me feel really unwell. So, at the moment, not having anything to lower my cholesterol.

 

[noblehead]

but with meds you can eat what you want if you take enough of them.

I know it's difficult for you having Familial Hypercholesterolaemia and have no choice but to take high doses of statins to lower your cholesterol, personally speaking from someone who doesn't suffer from this condition I would rather follow the expert advice given by the BHF and control my cholesterol levels without the need to take statins............for now!

Best wishes!

 

[viviennem]

Like Fallenstar, the best cholesterol readings I have ever had were when I was doing Atkins the first time - and that was right across my lipid profile, not just total cholesterol. Carbohydrate raises my cholesterol far more than natural, unprocessed fats. (I don't call cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil "processed" )

I had a bad experience on Simvastatin, and now don't take any statins. However, I am on Metformin, 3 x 500mg per day; this drug gives some protection against coronary heart disease and stroke. As a Type 1, I don't kow whether they would offer you this at present.

8.3 is too high, as you know, Loubylou. I hope getting your thyroid treated helps, but if it doesn't, you may have to give statins a go. Some people have no problems with them at all; others, like me, do. Read around and get all the info you can about them, so that you take them (or not) from a position of knowledge.

Re diet: I'm Type 2, not Type 1, so I can't advise you from a position of personal knowledge. But I would suggest reducing your daily carbohydrate intake, maybe to about 100g to 150g per day. I hope a Type 1 who knows more about controlling carbs for this type can help a bit more.

Viv 8)

 

[Fallenstar]

Sorry Noblehead, I was being facetious when I said you can throw the meds down and eat what you want...not aimed at you ..but aimed at my experiences with the advice given by my HCP and The BHF.
As I said above and as a number of others like Viv have found ,it is the opposite of what the The BHF advises, and by cutting carbs right back and really caring about what I eat on a long term basis, ie along a Low carb approach, cutting out grains and processed carbs and getting my carbs from fruit and veg alone is what has dramatically reduced my Cholesterol with the least meds possible.
OFF the meds and on this diet alone, with a lot of exercise, I completely brought down my Total Cholesterol by half...and doubled my "good cholesterol" which was VERY low on a carb dominated diet.
Years ago when my Endo wanted to know why I had such amazing Cholesterol numbers (for me) on NO meds,(and a great HbA1C) as they were giving me some nasty side effects. I told him about the Atkins diet/ lifestyle I had adopted and he said he was not supposed to recommend this diet for me or anyone with Diabetes or Endo problems...but was doing on the QT to Type 2 's at the time with amazing results..and he himself a Type 2 was going to try it...all said in a very hushed voice looking towards the door :roll: :lol:
To me diet and exercise is THE BEST way to try and treat a lot of my conditions ,and this approach has done me more good than any meds have...though meds do have a place obviously as I have Endo problems that diet alone will not cure.

It's just I can't see why a Low carb approach is so dismissed/ feared even, with HCP when it has such obvious benefits :silent:

Louby I am Type 1 and low carb^^^( never) :lol: . If you do fancy giving it a go feel free to PM me if you need any pointers.

I hope they have got your Thyroid covered, I hope to come off the statins totally in time..as my Tyhroid is getting there now and I'm sure with my diet and exercise and Thyroid now in check I will be able to do this.

 

[noblehead]

Sorry Noblehead, I was being facetious when I said you can throw the meds down and eat what you want...not aimed at you ..but aimed at my experiences with the advice given by my HCP and The BHF.

Yes I thought you were being facetious when you said you could eat what you want provided you take enough statins!

That said for those that don't take statins like myself watching the foods we eat and sticking to a low-fat diet is paramount to avoid high cholesterol and possible heart disease in the future. I eat moderate amounts of carbs 130g-150g (sometimes more on a weekend :wink: ) but stick to the advice given by the NHS/BHF and the advice given on coronary care wards throughout the UK, it's worked thus far and my total cholesterol ranges from 3.8 - 4.1 with all my lipid values within target. Using your experience and my own does reinforce what we say on the forum time and time again.....that is ''we are all different''!


There's not much chance of my Endo endorsing a Atkins diet approach to diabetes, when we were on the DAFNE course during the QA session with the consultant he warned about the dangers of a high protein diet on health (mainly on the kidneys) and see's this approach in type 1's as totally unnecessary on a basal/bolus regime or using pump therapy......although I disagree here knowing that there are those who have severe insulin resistance and may have no other choice.

Best wishes!

 

[Sid Bonkers]

I have to say I am with Nigel on the fat/protein issue as regards heart and kidney problems, my wife works in a cardiology department and after my diagnosis I was given a 'special' heart MOT due to my SVT by one of the best cardiologists in the country (at the time, he now works in Australia) whom my wife worked with, and on speaking with him and other cardiologists at length I can say categorically that no one will convince me that a diet high in fat and protein is a good idea for a diabetic.

OK, never say never but it would take some pretty convincing proof backed by scientific controlled research, and agreed by the majority of cardiologists not the say so of a couple of cranks who sell diet books.

 

[pianoman]

[youtube]vRe9z32NZHY[/youtube]

Dr. Miller is professor of surgery, cardiothoracic division, Univ. Washington

 

[Fallenstar]

I can only write from my own personnel experience...no scientific studies, no controlled research but my own labs and general health.
I don't shovel down protein never have done. I do eat a good proportion of fat, a lot of good fats in my diet. Plenty of fruit and lots of different colored veg, and a couple of portions of meat a day and an egg on the protein side of things
I have followed the low carb higher fat approach for the last 8 years. I have fantastic kidney function...have halved my Cholesterol when NOT on Statins with the maintenance Atkins approach bearing in mind I have FH.
I really needed to do something as the low GI ,high fiber approach was literally killing me, my labs were terrible on the high fiber diet...Cholesterol 13.8 before statins treatment on a carb rich diet.

ON statins ,the highest dose, the best we could get was 8.6...I had really bad neuropathy in my lower legs and feet. And bad chest pains. I could hardly walk up the field without palpitations

I turned all this around with the Atkins approach AND have followed it for 8 years...No Kidney problems, no heart problems.I run 90 miles a week on it...and my skin,hair ,weight overall vitality is great...NO neuropathy...and arteries from ultra sounds are as clean as a whistle All this with eating more fat

I know and respect we are all different and are here with one objective to get the best control of our Diabetes we can...however we do it all power to all of us. But you can see why I am so enamored with this approach...for me... but not for everyone, horses for courses

But I love it

 

[ladyfingers]

[youtube]vRe9z32NZHY[/youtube]

Dr. Miller is professor of surgery, cardiothoracic division, Univ. Washington

That was really interesting, thanks for posting pianoman.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Sorry Pianoman but that guy was so boring I couldn't get passed 9 minutes as I was at risk of nodding off, but as I said it will take more than a few odd voices in the wilderness to change my mind on eating a diet high in sat fat or any other fat for that matter, I dont avoid fat but I certainly dont want to eat more than I am already.

Now perhaps you can find a video of someone saying that a high protein diet is fine for diabetics and does no damage to the kidneys, good luck with that one :wink:

 

[pianoman]

Sorry Pianoman but that guy was so boring I couldn't get passed 9 minutes as I was at risk of nodding off, but as I said it will take more than a few odd voices in the wilderness to change my mind on eating a diet high in sat fat or any other fat for that matter, I dont avoid fat but I certainly dont want to eat more than I am already.

Now perhaps you can find a video of someone saying that a high protein diet is fine for diabetics and does no damage to the kidneys, good luck with that one :wink:

I did not post the video with any expectation of changing your mind Sid... just to let others know that there are established health care professionals -- even in the field of cardiology -- who do not agree with the consensus. You should maybe add "and exciting" to your impossible list of terms above :wink:

As I have suggested before: Galileo was seen as an odd-man-out in his day... that didn't make him any less right.

Is anyone promoting an high protein diet? I'm not... mostly because I think it would be a waste of money. As for it damaging the kidneys: I have yet to see evidence that matches your own exacting standards to prove any such thing... meantime I am convinced that long-term high BGs are very likely to cause kidney damage.

 

[loubylou]

Thanks for all the replies.

To Fallenstar, have seen GP today and decided to increase my Thyroxine for a few weeks to see if that improves cholesterol reading without statins, he seems to think it is caused by my underactive thyroid. Thank you for all the info, some of which made me giggle :lol: . Hope your keeping well.

To Dusky, Maybe it could be same with you that thyroid is affecting your cholesterol?. Only going on what my GP said I am by no means an expert :crazy: I hope you are sorting your diet out too, it can be very confusing. Its such a lot to take in. There has been loads of info posted above which will be useful to us both. Take care

 

[Sid Bonkers]

I did not post the video with any expectation of changing your mind Sid... just to let others know that there are established health care professionals -- even in the field of cardiology -- who do not agree with the consensus.

I'm just bored with your drip drip drip of pro low carb high fat diet propaganda pianoman. Believe me it is possible to cut carbs and not have to increase either fat or protein I think they call it a balanced diet, everything in moderation

 

[pianoman]

'm just bored with your drip drip drip of pro low carb high fat diet propaganda pianoman. Believe me it is possible to cut carbs and not have to increase either fat or protein I think they call it a balanced diet, everything in moderation

My propaganda?!? As opposed to what you are doing Sid?

My diet is perfectly balanced and moderate for me thanks

 

[Fallenstar]

lou, phew :lol: well you are not too bad really ,so hopefully the Thyroxine hyke and a few diet exercise changes will be all you need.
Good luck

Piano man, I agree with all you are saying...but you are flogging the proverbial dead horse let him get on with it.