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Looking for low carb and low or no (saturated) fat breakfast ideas?

Mrs T 123

Well-Known Member
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1,811
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Everyone! just had recent bloods done and everything good except cholestorol which is up at 6.8 Blimey!!! usually in the 4s, I know why it is because in the last 6 months I have upped my fats, cream, cream and more cream, full fat greek yoghurt and using butter for frying so the obvious thing is for me to stop these foods and get back to the 4s but was just wondering this morning what I can actually eat as I will now be limiting eggs, no greek yoghurt and cream, no streaky bacon so what is left? got my thinking cap on - anyone else encountered this and got any great ideas? all suggestions much appreciated
 
You've made a few assumptions there, that I suspect you might revise with some extra info, if you want to look into it.

Things like assuming that it is the saturated fat that has increased your cholesterol, and assuming that your new level of cholesterol is 'bad' in the first place. Also assuming that having cholesterol 'in the 4s' is an ideal place to be.

Personally, I want my total cholesterol in the 5s at least (as an aging woman). Although I question whether a total cholesterol figure is of any use to anyone under any circumstances (unless you are a doc who can't be bothered to look deeper, and have statin prescriptions on speed dial). And my cholesterol doesn't budge due to the sat fats I eat. The one higher reading I have had in recent years was due to a birthday celebration meal the day before, when my Trigs were temporarily double their usual number, due to having more carbs in the meal than I ever usually have. It certainly wasn't a problem caused by my long term keto way of eating, which gives me nicely average-plus-a-bit cholesterol readings and ideal ratios.

What was your cholesterol breakdown (trigs, HDL and LDL)? And what were the ratios?
 
A low carb and low fat breakfast sounds like a terrible combo.
Black coffee and nut butter (polyunsaturated).
As Brunneria says it is not as simple as LDL/raised cho = bad. In the context of better blood sugars as a result of la low carb/high fat diet then is most likely not a bad thing but a sign you are being fuelled by fat not sugar and fat is a much cleaner fuel.
 
Are you losing weight?

“If you're in the process of losing weight and your blood cholesterol levels have risen, in spite of your weight loss, don't panic. It's completely normal for blood cholesterollevels to go up temporarily as your body burns stored fat”
 
Don't have them at the moment - if and when I do receive them I will post for you to have a look - many thanks for your interest - much appreciated.
 
Totally agree with what @Brunneria & @NicoleC1971 have said - I'd look right into it before ditching all the foods you've been enjoying. Fat isn't the problem.
 
Tophat1900 said:
Totally agree with what @Brunneria & @NicoleC1971 have said - I'd look right into it before ditching all the foods you've been enjoying. Fat isn't the problem.
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Yes I have assumed this as I have had 3 years of cholestorol in the 4s, the only thing I have changed is I have upped my fats by eating foods I don't usually eat, gone slightly lower carb and now my cholestorol has upped too. I have lost 3 stone in 3 years and if didn't affect my cholestorol, in fact it went down a little with the weight loss - so really strange?
 
How much is 'slightly lower carb'?

While many here advocate low carb and high fat, I think the majority of us also appreciate that high carb and high fat is a terrible way of eating, and moderate carb, moderate fat is not a great way of eating - if you are a T2 with glucose issues.

Think of it like a seesaw. In order to eat high fat, you need to drop your carbs significantly, or the damage the carbs does makes the fat intake unhelpful.
The flip side of that is, of course, that some people find high carb and low fat to be helpful to them, although not necessarily helpful to their blood glucose

So where are you on the seesaw? If you are still too close to the middle, you may find it better to move further out to the end.
 
Interesting - may I ask with being female and ageing myself - what age group over what say? is it preferable to have cholesterol over five and why - not being nosey just interested as this cholesterol thingy is new to me as I have not had reason to look in to it before? many thanks
 
Ok - possibility - I don't count exact carbs - may be I am not low enough carb may be 30-40 a day may be sometimes a lot less a day but strange thing again sugars are absolutely fine, 35 was most recent test based on last 3 months of this lower carb higher fat food. I think I am going to have to put my thinking cap on. Thanks for your info.
 

If you have time, have a forum search for cholesterol threads, you will find a lot of information scattered through them, including discussions on sat fat and statins.

I found this study interesting (although you will need to translate the figs into the units used in the UK to understand the ranges discussed)
This converter table is from the Mayo Clinic
Total cholesterol(U.S. and some other countries) = Total cholesterol*(Canada and most of Europe)
Below 200 mg/dL = Below 5.2 mmol/L
200-239 mg/dL = 5.2-6.2 mmol/L
240 mg/dL and above = Above 6.2 mmol/L

(your reading in the 4s is approx 160-190 mg/dL which reflects a higher overall mortality than someone whose reading is over 200-240 mg/dL but I haven't checked those figs in detail)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38461-y



and this chart, while old, and only looking at men, kinda says it all:

 
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Mrs T 123 said:
all suggestions much appreciated
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@MrsT 123, I have a cholesterol problem similar to yours, but alas with a persistently higher A1c. My aim is to lower my triglycerides and improve my HDL-to-total cholesterol ratio. For the HDL, I plan to increase exercise, but for the moment health problems have rather scuppered that. For the trigs and LDL, I knew I could not reduce fat below a certain level, as I eat VLC, am under-weight, and have to eat something! I read that increasing fibre in the diet can reduce bad cholesterol. I see that the target for health has recently been increased to 30g fibre daily for women, so that is what I am aiming for. At first I thought that on 20-30g carbs daily this was impossible, but with the help of 2 servings daily of a sort of chia pudding plus 150+g low carb vegetables and a little 100% chocolate (surprisingly fibre rich) I am getting there most days. I am keeping a spreadsheet and ticking off my g fibre as I go through the day, which I find motivating. There are many versions of chia pudding. Mine goes: 100g Slim rice, 1flat dsp of the following: ground linseed, whey protein powder, chia seeds, erythritol, 1tsp psyllium powder, 2Tdouble cream plus enough water to make it really sloppy and sometimes 2T stewed rhubarb (the only "fruit" allowed by Dr Bernstein.) I won't know how successful this has been until my next test, probably in October.

As regards the research suggesting that higher LDL is healthier for older women, I suspect this is based on women taking drastically cholesterol lowering meds rather than on women lowering their cholesterol by diet alone.
 
Hi. I agree in general with all the posts. Focus on your lipids breakdown i.e. HDL, LDL etc and not the total. Don't forget it's your liver which largely decides what fats go into the blood stream and not your mouth which is why the 'avoid Sat fat' mantra is questionable.
 
Another question. Did you fast for this test? It is important to fast for 12 to 14 hours beforehand in order to get more reliable Trig numbers. They can really be screwed if you had just eaten, especially if the meal was a fatty one, or even just a coffee with a lot of cream. The Trigs will have been out and about in your blood stream dealing with the fat.

You definitely need the full breakdown. It may even be your HDL (good stuff) has increased, which would be excellent.
 
What about flaxseed porridge, nut and seed granola or coconut pancakes as some options for breakfast - lots of fibre but still low carb.
 
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