Type 2 High fat low carb diet

[Wendyjoy]

I’m type . Have managed to lose weight with a high fat low carb diet. Now my cholesterol has gone from .[emoji6] to [emoji6].[emoji6] and I’ve been told I now have a fatty liver. I have red meat once a week on average and use single cream instead of milk in my coffee. I probably eat too much cheese but I avoid bread pasta potatoes rice cereal & tropical fruit. I’m really fed up!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I’m type . Have managed to lose weight with a high fat low carb diet. Now my cholesterol has gone from .[emoji6] to [emoji6].[emoji6] and I’ve been told I now have a fatty liver. I have red meat once a week on average and use single cream instead of milk in my coffee. I probably eat too much cheese but I avoid bread pasta potatoes rice cereal & tropical fruit. I’m really fed up!

Hi @Wendyjoy ,

I think you're posting through the app, which has a glitch, so part of your post is illegible. But I do know this: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is something we mainly get because our blood sugars are high. It's part of Metabolic Syndrome, an umbrella term for a cluster of most, if not all, of the following conditions: High cholesterol, high blood pressure, (morbid) obesity, T2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The bulk of T2's have NAFLD, just don't know it unless someone bothers with a liver function test or an ultrasound, or they're so far gone they start displaying symptoms, like pain or jaundice. Basically, the excess glucose gets stored in the fat cells in and on the liver. Keep your blood glucose down, the stores are eventually emptied and while it takes some time, low carbing could mean your liver function returns to normal. Mine did, and my liver was killing me 9 years ago. Still here now though. So NAFLD isn't something you get because you're eating too many fats, it's likely because your blood sugars were elevated for a long period of time before diagnosis. Also, if you're on the LCHF diet, you're likely to be actively losing weight. That makes your cholesterol go up for a bit, as that is how fats that are burned off, are transported out of the body through the bloodstream. So it's quite likely temporary, and they're doing a job worth doing, is my guess?

Keep the cheese.
Jo

 

[zand]

I was diagnosed T2 13 years ago. I have (mostly) followed LCHF for all that time. My blood tests have shown that I had fatty liver at least 7 years before diagnosis.

My recent blood tests taken 2 weeks ago, where the ALT liver test should be less than 35 showed (drum roll) that my reading is now 29! At one point it was 175.

 

[KennyA]

Dietary fats are digested to fatty acids (mainly). Dietary carbohydrate is digested to glucose and surplus glucose is stored as glycogen in skeletal muscle and the liver, and as body fat (or can't be stored or used, and remains in the bloodstream). You will see temporary rises in blood lipids after eating fats, which is why you should be fasted before a test to obtain an accurate cholesterol figure.

As the app glitch has removed the figures from your post it's hard to know exactly what the issue is. So here's some really general stuff.

Around 80% of the body's cholesterol is produced in-house by our livers. Statins interfere with this process and will reduce the amount of cholesterol your liver is trying to make. Dietary cholesterol has at best a minimal impact on the "total cholesterol" figure usually quoted, and in any case statins don't affect dietary cholesterol.

My cholesterol has gone from being "good" to "average" to "too high" in the last 30 years although the figure itself hasn't shifted at all.

Recent research - I'm attaching a couple of papers - one is a summary paper by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which has historically been anti-saturated fat and a supporter of the cholesterol hypothesis - throws considerable doubt on the "reduce your cholesterol" advice.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...tm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-arrow-188

Journal of the American College of Cardiology:
•Several foods relatively rich in SFAs, such as whole-fat dairy, dark chocolate, and unprocessed meat, are not associated with increased CVD or diabetes risk.
•There is no robust evidence that current population-wide arbitrary upper limits on saturated fat consumption in the United States will prevent CVD or reduce mortality.

Total cholesterol and all-cause mortality by sex and age: a prospective cohort study among 12.8 million adults - Scientific Reports

U-curve associations between TC levels and mortality were found in both men and women. The TC range associated with the lowest mortality was 210–249 mg/dL (5.4- 6.4mmol/l). When age was further considered, U-curve associations were observed regardless of sex or age, and the optimal TC range for survival was 210–249 mg/dL (5.4- 6.4mmol/l) for each age-sex group, except for men at 18–34 years (180–219 mg/dL or 4.6-5.6 mmol/l ) and for women at 18–34 years (160–199 mg/dL or 4.1-5.1 mmol/l) and at 35–44 years (180–219 mg/dL or 4.6-5.6 mmol/l)


Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: analysis of recovered data from Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968-73)

Conclusion: Available evidence from randomized controlled trials shows that replacement of saturated fat in the diet with linoleic acid effectively lowers serum cholesterol but does not support the hypothesis that this translates to a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease or all causes. Findings from the Minnesota Coronary Experiment add to growing evidence that incomplete publication has contributed to overestimation of the benefits of replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils rich in linoleic acid.

Is the use of cholesterol in mortality risk algorithms in clinical guidelines valid? Ten years prospective data from the Norwegian HUNT 2 study

Conclusion: ".....If our findings are generalizable, clinical and public health recommendations regarding the ‘dangers’ of cholesterol should be revised. This is especially true for women, for whom moderately elevated cholesterol (by current standards) may prove to be not only harmless but even beneficial."