cholesterol

bridgetla

Newbie
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1
How do I get my cholesterol and triglycerides down? I am 42 yrs old and my heart doctors nurse called me the other day to tell me to start taking a daily fish oil capsule and he would re check my lipid profile in 3 months. It all sounds kinda vague to me. I do not have a clue how to read the fat/polyunsaturated/cholesterol part of a food label. I would appreciate suggestions. I am not stupid, but never had to think about this kind of stuff before.
 

cugila

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Here is a link to a site with answers to all your questions about High Cholesterol. Have a read.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/fac ... olemia.htm

This is an extract:
How is high cholesterol treated ?
Cholesterol-lowering medicine is needed if your total cholesterol level remains higher than 5mmol/l and you already have cardiovascular disease.

Medication may also be needed when changes to diet and lifestyle fail to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Did you know?
There are now national guidelines to help your doctor estimate the cardiovascular risk for your cholesterol and blood pressure readings.
Your doctor can calculate your 'cardiovascular risk' based on key numbers such as blood pressure, weight and medical history.

UK guidelines are that medication should be started when an individual's risk of coronary disease is greater than 30 per cent over 10 years.

Statins (eg simvastatin, atorvastatin, rosuvastatin) are the most effective medicines for lowering cholesterol. These reduce the production of 'bad' LDL cholesterol by the liver, which decreases LDL cholesterol blood levels by up to 50 per cent.

Although statins are normally very effective, non-statin treatments such as Ezetrol (ezetimibe) are available if there are any problems with side-effects such as muscle pains. These can also be used in conjunction with statins if cholesterol levels remain high, or if a high level of statin causes side effects. Older treatments also exist such as fibrates which can be very effective when used in conjunction with more modern treatments.

As for the Fish Oli Capsules....I presume you are getting them on prescription ? Omacor is the usual choice.

Ken.
 

hanadr

Expert
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Hi Brigetia
Blood cholesterol doesn't just get there from eating it about 80% of your blood cholesterol comes from carbs and is formed in your liver.
Cutting down on eggs won't help. Cutting back on starchy foods will.
 

farmerfudge

Well-Known Member
Messages
80
Had cholesterol results back tha other day as part of my annual review. Gone from 3.8 to 4.8 in last six months. Change in my diet during that period was from snacking on crisps & other carbs in the evening to generally just eating olives. :roll:
 

oldgreymare

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Hi farmerfudge,

Do you know what your HDL/LDL split is? Also just got back my cholesterol and triglyceride levels - total chol is 5.3 - high against current guidelines.

But this turns out to be due to very high "good" HDL cholesterol levels, my 'bad' LDL and trigs levels now really low = excellent HDL/LDL ratio. Doc was very impressed as I'm not on chol meds. So worth asking for breakdown of your number before worrying?

To BridgetLa,

To I achieve this I am cutting back on carbs - added in more whole milk/yoghurt (both less sugar than lowfat versions) , some butter & eggs, cheese (prob too much!), nuts, lots of oily fish to diet instead. Generally vindicates what hanadr says above. Only occasional meat eater, then mostly chicken. Love olives!

More exercise can also help.

Best wishes

Nora
 

farmerfudge

Well-Known Member
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80
Update: Watched that 'Best Diet in the World' programme last night. Low carb diet was obviously best for achieving massive weight loss but pushes cholesterol up apparently .This is something you dont see mentioned on this forum much :!: I've been lowering my carbs since the start of the year and as I say my cholesterol has gone up. This is an obvious explanation.
 

IanD

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Reduced carb took my chol down from 5.4 to 4.3.
 

Patch

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Reduced Carb may well push your Cholesterol up. What they don't tell you is that the increase is likely in the HDL (High Density Lipids = GOOD Cholesterol).

When you get your cholesterol results back (lets say it's 5.4), you can get a lipid profile done on the results. This will tell you the ratio of HDL to LDL. If your HDL is higher than your LDL, you are in pretty good shape...

High Triglycerides (the bane of my life... :cry: ) can make it difficult to obtain a lipid Profile - so it's harder to say if the ratio of HDL to LDL is favourable or not.
 

farmerfudge

Well-Known Member
Messages
80
We could consider HDL against LDL ratios but the target figure for safe cholesterol levels overall remains 4.0 for the healthy and unhealthy alike.

Also, the programme mentioned that reducing carbs increases the likeliness of suffering from the D word - depression. All interesting points none-the-less
 

fergus

Well-Known Member
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1,439
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I think your cholesterol numbers sound spot on farmerfudge!
A target level of 4 is pure lunacy in my view.
The Conference on Low Blood Cholesterol and Mortality (1992) showed an increased risk of all-cause mortality as levels fall below 5mmol/l, and that levels around 5 were associated with the lowest risk.
Mind you, it would be even better if you were a girl because the risk of death keeps falling as cholesterol levels rise!

All the best,

fergus