Ideas for a Low Carb NO Fat diet

[Wurst]

I've been on a low carb diet for almost 3 years , blood sugars are fantastic I can't praise it enough. For me however I have a hereditary cholesterol problem i.e LDL is consistently too high and I now have to drop fat from my diet altogether which doesn't leave much to eat

For last 3 months I've been eating roughly the same every day :-
Breakfast :- Sardines / Mackeral with celery
Lunch - Raw cabbage or sauerkraut with some chicken.
Dinner - Steamed cabbage with chicken (occasionally roast celeriac root and turkey breast)
Evening snack - Fiber crackers with margarine fortified with Sterols/Stanols.


I've tried upping my protein but this lead to dangerously high UREA levels and I was concerned about my kidney function. So I guess I'm on a low carb , NO fat , low protein diet. Any suggestions for additions to my menu would be appreciated.

 

[jack412]

just my opinion..sorry, it's an impossible diet long term, you may need to go back to carbs and take the necessary meds, if you don't want to do LC and fats with normal protein.
most people say their bloods are better on LC and fats, so I assume this in on Dr's advice.

 

[Wurst]

It's based on my LDL cholesterol results, I simply cannot eat the amount of fat that constitutes a low carb high fat diet and have to look for alternatives. At the same time I want to keep my tight blood sugar control (last HBA1C was 4.9 %) and avoid going too carby!

 

[sanguine]

Is it worth seeing if you can get tested for LDL particle number and size? If it's mostly the bigger fluffy ones you might be OK. Dietary fat is usually only a small proportion of total cholesterol source - what is your lipid breakdown?

 

[Enclave]

Are you just doing the "high" fat bit a little to high ? I just swapped my low fat foods for the full fat ones. My cholestrol levels have reduced so far with higher numbers .. But it's the good ones I have increased on .. My Heart nurse has cut down my statins with the aim of stopping them now !
Your body needs fat to repair itself .. If you do have enough fat in your low carb foods you will have ( in my view only) a problem with the bad type of cholestrol.
Looking at your food list for the last 3 months .. I would say you are way to low on fats ..I am a veggie, but sure your diet for me would push my blood fats up with all the bad type.. Where's your vegetables ? Cuecumber.. Colliflower .. Mushrooms .. Eggs ... ( the reasent view on eggs with heart problems has changed ! I was told avoid all dairy and eggs .. Now it's good to eat them according to the BHF )
As with the sugar controll advice given out by Drs and DNS the heart care advice we are given is also outdated !
Look around for the most upto date research on cholestral and food .. You will see it very diffrent from what we are being told by our so called health pros !
But at the end of the day it's your body and you must do what you feel is right for you

 

[phoenix]

.Even the lowest fat diets are not no fat . There are some fats that your body needs and can't make Many vegetable sources have small amounts of fat and they can add up even on a totally plant based diet. (there is indeed a veggie version of Atkins 'eco atkins' )

Personally, I wonder if you really cover all your nutritional needs on your present diet. Have you tried putting it into the US Supertracker to see if you have any big gaps? (better for this purpose than sites like my fitness pal but maddeningly uses ounces and cups)
It would obviously show a dearth of carbohydrates but look at the vitamins and minerals also.
Looking at what is missing might give some clues for widening your diet.
Eating more fibre from seeds, nuts, grains can certainly help reduce cholesterol by a small amount so they may be foods to look at.
There are people with familial hypercholesterolemia that absolutely need medication to reduce cholesterol. Your doctor would be the one to discsss with you whether this is the case. You obviously aren't someone from one of those families with hugely high levels from child hood as this would have had to be dealt with much earlier in life You may be like my OH who has a family history of young onset heart disease. Statins are I think a no brainer in his case .
If you really want to try a very low fat diet then it would probably be a good idea to look at the diets like those Drs Ornish and Essetlyn. Both of these doctors have some research evidence that their diets work well for CVD. They are both very low in fat.
I think that Ornish allows some animal products, Essetlyn doesn't allow either animal products or oil.
http://ornishspectrum.com/proven-program/nutrition/
http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/faq/
I have no experience of either of these diets . (I don't think either would work very well in a country like France ,your social life would be very limited)

Their are certainly people who say they work well for diabetes and some research evidence for vegan diets and diabetes. Barnard has done some research and there are a few recent ones using a macrobiotic diet; the ma pi 2 diet with good short term results
(As you probably realise you won't meet many people using such diets on forums like this one .They tend to gather in places that affirm rather than dismiss their dietary choice)

 

[Enclave]

Hi Phoenix,
The OP is not veggie .. Sorry if I confused things ! In my own life I have reduced my cholestral by eating more fat in my diet .. While I was following BHF diet advice my cholestral levels were rising and my angina returned ! Now I eat more fat my angina has stopped and my cholestral levels have reduced

 

[Ian DP]

My understanding is, a high fat diet increases your HDL (good) levels of cholesterol. It has certainly done that for me. My diabetic dietician was amazed at my fantastically improved levels of HDL, against all her training and NHS advise she said, but exactly the same as another patient who is on the same diet (LCHF) as me.

I am on a 80% fat diet (5% carb, 15% protein). Too much protein can cause other problems, but it would seem that a very high fat diet is now considered healthy. Indeed Dr Trudi Deakin, who writes the NHS diet guidelines, has herself said the she is now on an 82% fat diet, and written a book on it.

 

[AndBreathe]

It's based on my LDL cholesterol results, I simply cannot eat the amount of fat that constitutes a low carb high fat diet and have to look for alternatives. At the same time I want to keep my tight blood sugar control (last HBA1C was 4.9 %) and avoid going too carby!

Wurst - Have you watched any of the Sikaris videos on YouTube? OK, so I'm a Sikaris groupie, but it just makes sense of my own lipids.

I've just noticed there's a new video, from a week ago, entitled "Does LCHF improve your blood tests?" I haven't watched it yet, but will do if I can achieve a stable internet connection any time this side of the new millenium!

 

[phoenix]

Hi Phoenix,
The OP is not veggie .. Sorry if I confused things ! In my own life I have reduced my cholestral by eating more fat in my diet .. While I was following BHF diet advice my cholestral levels were rising and my angina returned ! Now I eat more fat my angina has stopped and my cholestral levels have reduced

No I actually realised that but the only way to get the very low fat diet that he wants (as I said no fat is impossible and not healthy in any way) is to look at either those that restrict animal products to small amounts, or to go the whole hog (not a good word choice) and cut out all animal products and oil.
I'm just giving possible alternatives that most people on here won't mention.

 

[Wurst]

Thanks for all the replies ,perhaps I wasn't clear by eating a fat based diet I have increased my LDL to way above normal (potentially dangerous levels). My triglycerides are good and my HDL is off the scales high (which is also good). I strenuously exercise every day so having high LDL is abnormal.

The increase in (good) fat consumption may not have a positive impact on cholesterol in some people , unfortunately i am in that category (and with hereditary cholesterol problems thrown in I have no chance).

 

[Tweetypie]

Personally I don't believe fat increases bad cholesterol, especially if you focus on monosaturated fats (e.g avocados, olive oil etc). But, if you want to experiment with the following:

Alternatives for breakfast could include lean cold meats with peppers/mushrooms cooked in microwave (you can buy them frozen and ready
chopped). Or you could have your cold meats with a nice grilled mushroom and tomato. You also could have a green smoothy made with some green veggies, your celery, some berries and low carb milk that is also low in fat. Try popping whatever low fat thimg you fancy in.

For lunch, homemade chicken and veg soup, salad with cold lean meats. Or a sandwich made with low carb bread filled with lean meat/fish, loads of salad and some mustard/horseradish.

For dinner, steamed veggies- try all kinds, with fish or different types of lean meats. Or a stirfry with similar ingredients (get a stainless steel wok, they use less oil for stirfrying). How about a lean piece of fillet steak grilled with veggies etc?

Sorry, my brain is a bit frazzled to think of any snacks as all my snacks are higher in fat (I don't really snack generally though). Sugar free jellies?

You can buy low fat versions of dairy that are also low carb, but you have to look around.

Remember, omega 3 is an important fat, you can get that from oily fish for example. Flaxseed is also good. Foods that contain soluble fibre also lower bad cholesterol.

If you find that high fat definitely makes your BAD/LDL cholesterol worse, then there are ways around it. Being someone that has to eat low carb but also cook for someone who insists they cannot tolerate higher fat foods, trust me, it can be done! I have had to find ways of incorporating the two sometimes (although he is coming round slowly!).

Good luck and happy eating

 

[Enclave]

Thanks for all the replies ,perhaps I wasn't clear by eating a fat based diet I have increased my LDL to way above normal (potentially dangerous levels). My triglycerides are good and my HDL is off the scales high (which is also good). I strenuously exercise every day so having high LDL is abnormal.

The increase in (good) fat consumption may not have a positive impact on cholesterol in some people , unfortunately i am in that category (and with hereditary cholesterol problems thrown in I have no chance).

Sorry I did miss understand your orignal posting .. I was lucky with my hereditary cholestral.. It came down once I got the fat balance right .. To the point of now stopping my statins .. I take it you are on the full level of statins ?

 

[Kat100]

What about a compromise...with lower or medium carb and low but good small amounts of fat ...
I am thinking of myself out loud it is what i do ....I am veggie with other health problems , so this combination works for me ...

Hope you find what works for you ...kat

 

[Wurst]

Sorry I did miss understand your orignal posting .. I was lucky with my hereditary cholestral.. It came down once I got the fat balance right .. To the point of now stopping my statins .. I take it you are on the full level of statins ?

Yep only started statins (simvastatin) 2 weeks ago. From what I've read I can't rely solely on statins and have to reduce all fat intake. After my next checkup ~ 2 months from now I might be able add more fats. Being told that you are at high risk for a heart attack really provides the necessary motivation

 

[Bluetit1802]

If your triglycerides are low, your LDL will be mostly the good large fluffy kind rather than the bad hard kind. It might be a good idea to ask if you can have the test to determine this. These tests are available but not carried out as a matter of routine. No harm in asking though.

 

[Enclave]

Yep only started statins (simvastatin) 2 weeks ago. From what I've read I can't rely solely on statins and have to reduce all fat intake. After my next checkup ~ 2 months from now I might be able add more fats. Being told that you are at high risk for a heart attack really provides the necessary motivation

I know that feeling .. I have had 3 heart attacks in the past and a by pass op 23 years ago next week !

Edit to add .. when I first took statins my cholesterol shot through the roof .. it took about a year to get them in the acceptable numbers .. then about 3 months of LCHF to get them in the normal bracket !
But I was offered palliative care for my heart problems .. just before I found I was diabetic .. so had nothing to loose with the new diet that goes against everything I have been told to eat my the medics !!!!

 

[AndBreathe]

Thanks for all the replies ,perhaps I wasn't clear by eating a fat based diet I have increased my LDL to way above normal (potentially dangerous levels). My triglycerides are good and my HDL is off the scales high (which is also good). I strenuously exercise every day so having high LDL is abnormal.

The increase in (good) fat consumption may not have a positive impact on cholesterol in some people , unfortunately i am in that category (and with hereditary cholesterol problems thrown in I have no chance).

Have you watched that video I posted yet Wurst? He explains what happens when we low carb; including the impact on the composition of LDL.

 

[phoenix]

I've just watched @AndBreathe's second video mentioned on this thread . "Does LCHF improve your blood tests?" It is worth watching.
I think that this presentation does show what I've read and quoted from Dr Dayspring (another LCHF advocate) several times before. There are some people who see very large rises of total cholesterol when they eat a high fat,low carb diet and it isn't necessarily all benign and fluffy. This may very well be genetic and demonstrates how our metabolisms are not identical and are unique to us. However very high levels need to be taken notice of . At the moment no-one can predict the consequences of these high levels (Prof. Sikaris notes of one person whose levels rose to the height that is known to cause heart attacks in children with FH)

 

[Kat100]

Yep only started statins (simvastatin) 2 weeks ago. From what I've read I can't rely solely on statins and have to reduce all fat intake. After my next checkup ~ 2 months from now I might be able add more fats. Being told that you are at high risk for a heart attack really provides the necessary motivation

....I can only do a certain amount of fats on statins ...and other ptoblrms ...
But I use olive oil etc ....you will find out what works for you , your health is important to you ...