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Low carb diet and cholesterol

Debzz_

Debzz_

Well-Known Member
Messages
230
Location
Forest of Dean
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diabetes ha ha
Could some one please explain how a low carb diet , where I'm eating cream , cheese and eggs etc can help with my cholesterol levels ? I'm not having a good day today feel so confused with it all ☹️
 
Cholesterol is manufactured from carbs believe it or not.

Cholesterol in a food such as shrimp or eggs has very little impact on serum cholesterol.

Some of us do better keeping our saturated fats lower and eat more plant/ mono fats like avocado olive oil nuts mayo and fatty fish rather than cream, cheese, fatty meats, butter. This is individual. I personally keep my saturated fats low.
 
The thing is your liver produces most of the cholesterol that ends up in your blood, dietary cholesterol is transient in that you get rid of it when you go to the loo (Pooh) that's why it has little impact on your blood cholesterol, also when you increase dietary cholesterol you liver produces less as it doesn't need to top up what your not eating.
 
A lot of what is given out as gospel on the subject of fats in general is total hogwash - and as I am suffering from the effects of taking statins to reduce my numbers I can only say - love your cholesterol, keep all of it, as if you try to get rid of it you can end up sounding like a blithering idiot (I just made a phone call to my Tax Office and could hardly string two words together)
Your liver makes cholesterol as it is an essential part of your body and your hormone production, and digestion too.
 
Debzz_ said:
Could some one please explain how a low carb diet , where I'm eating cream , cheese and eggs etc can help with my cholesterol levels ? I'm not having a good day today feel so confused with it all ☹️
Click to expand...

The first question to ask should be
What proof is there that higher cholesterol causes heart disease and is bad for us?
The answer to that question appears to be no proof whatsoever.

The second question is will we die sooner if we have higher cholesterol
The answer appears to be no

The third question could be does eating fat raise my cholesterol?
The answer seems to be not particularly and depending on the answers to 1 and 2 above do I care?

Do you see a pattern emerging.. a bit like "all Type 2 diabetics should eat carbs at every meal"?
 
bulkbiker said:
Yes weird isn't it that so many engineers seem to be able to get to the bottom of health issues so much better than medical professionals. Maybe their minds are more open.
Click to expand...

I'll let you know, I have my car booked in with the hospital for an oil change and tune up.
I'm sure they know more about it than the garage.
Mind you the local plumber did a really bad job on the last heart transplant he did, so who knows.
 
douglas99 said:
I'll let you know, I have my car booked in with the hospital for an oil change and tune up.
I'm sure they know more about it than the garage.
Mind you the local plumber did a really bad job on the last heart transplant he did, so who knows.
Click to expand...

Best you start looking for a new car then if they treat yours like they did me. It will be sugar mixed in with the fuel because everyone needs 50-60g of carbs at every meal.
 
bulkbiker said:
Yes weird isn't it that so many engineers seem to be able to get to the bottom of health issues so much better than medical professionals. Maybe their minds are more open.
Click to expand...
NICE approach is
1. Patient presents symptoms
2. HCP treats symptoms.

Engineer approach is

1. If it is broken can it be mended if yes - mend it! if no
2. Is there a workaround?

The workaround in our case is remove the substance that causes the breakdown
 
bulkbiker said:
The first question to ask should be
What proof is there that higher cholesterol causes heart disease and is bad for us?
The answer to that question appears to be no proof whatsoever.

The second question is will we die sooner if we have higher cholesterol
The answer appears to be no

The third question could be does eating fat raise my cholesterol?
The answer seems to be not particularly and depending on the answers to 1 and 2 above do I care?

Do you see a pattern emerging.. a bit like "all Type 2 diabetics should eat carbs at every meal"?
Click to expand...

And just to add a bit more to the pattern "all Type 2 diabetics should take statins"
 
walnut_face said:
NICE approach is
1. Patient presents symptoms
2. HCP treats symptoms.

Engineer approach is

1. If it is broken can it be mended if yes - mend it! if no
2. Is there a workaround?

The workaround in our case is remove the substance that causes the breakdown
Click to expand...

That appears to be the difference in us then.
You seem content to have a 'workaround' of diabetes for life.
I reversed mine with a lot of help from the NHS, and now don't need any workarounds.
Sometimes the quick fix isn't the easiest, and the simple engineering view that every machine is the same, so there can only be one fix may not apply to somethings as diverse as people.
But we all choose what we believe, if you prefer to trust an IT engineer with 'workaround' for your health, that has to be your decision.
Possibly if we all ran Windows, you'd be ok, at least he could try turning you off and back on again.
 
But to answer the op, if I eat saturated fat, my cholesterol goes through the roof, so, I take a classical approach to cholesterol levels, and simply avoid foods that drive it upwards.
 
Debzz_ said:
I'm not having a good day today feel so confused with it all ☹️
Click to expand...

Hope your day gets better. It was one of the most surprising things when I went onto a low carb diet, initially I didn't increase fats and was pleased with my total cholesterol at 5.4 after giving up statins.

Also surprised that after being told I didn't eat enough and increasing things like cheese, yoghurt and cream, although I gained 11 kgs (not so good) my total cholesterol dropped to 4 (good says my GP). Still don't understand my GP's idea that eating more, having lower cholesterol but 11kgs heavier is good.
 
walnut_face said:
NICE approach is
1. Patient presents symptoms
2. HCP treats symptoms.

Engineer approach is

1. If it is broken can it be mended if yes - mend it! if no
2. Is there a workaround?

The workaround in our case is remove the substance that causes the breakdown
Click to expand...


Oh I love this. Mr Hotpepper is a Engineer and this explains his approach to life so well.
 
Hotpepper20000 said:
Oh I love this. Mr Hotpepper is a Engineer and this explains his approach to life so well.
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, so am I.
But, the human body is unique to the human.
So there isn't a standard fix.
But, to an engineer, (not an IT consultant, where nothing ever varies) you look at as a process control issue , which I did, you look at the outcome you want overall, then adjust the inputs to achieve that. The outcome being everything you measure, not just one variable, (eg BG), and disregarding all the others, (ie cholesterol for one)
A Taguchi method if you really want an engineer's viewpoint.

And the NHS supports all my testing throughout.
 
douglas99 said:
Oddly enough, so am I.
But, the human body is unique to the human.
So there isn't a standard fix.
But, to an engineer, (not an IT consultant, where nothing ever varies) you look at as a process control issue , which I did, you look at the outcome you want overall, then adjust the inputs to achieve that. The outcome being everything you measure, not just one variable, (eg BG), and disregarding all the others, (ie cholesterol for one)
A Taguchi method if you really want an engineer's viewpoint.

And the NHS supports all my testing throughout.
Click to expand...



I agree there isn't a standard fix. That is why we each must set a goal for we want as a outcome. It is different for each of us.
There isn't a history of heart disease in my family so cholesterol is not something I'm aiming to lower. But weight, BG, energy and mental clarity is something I want. So when I notice these things are not improving I look at what I'm doing with my eating and exercise and change it. I'm not a engineer but living with one has taught me to be more logical and methodical when approaching problems.
My doctor supports what I do because the numbers support it.
 
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