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Low cholesterol diet for physically active type 1

A

astridi

Newbie
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Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Insulin
HI all,

I am very new to this so sorry if asking a basic, common question! My partner is type 1 since many years, but recently he has been diagnosed with high cholesterol as well. Obviously we want to make his diet as good as possible for this, but the added complication is that he has a very physically demanding job, so need to look out for hypos (he had a serious one earlier this year, for the first time in his life). So basically a diet which gives enough carbs for the job, but not too high in cholesterol either ( he has drugs for the cholesterol but I figured diet needs looking at too). So basic questions I have now is stuff like: full-fat yogurt or not, real butter or not? Because I am getting very confused about what low fat products do to you even though they would appear the logical step. Other than that, we try to keep it fresh and simple with chicken, greens, baby potatoes, fresh lamb, basmati rice, cheese sandwiches, soup, fruit, porridge in the morning, that sort of thing. I am assuming red meat ok a couple of times a week as for anyone. If anyone else has worked out a diet or recepies that they feel good on in this situation, I would be really grateful for your thoughts! Many thanks
 
Hiya, welcome, some more specific advice will be along in a tic. I'm reducing carbs and upping good fat for energy. I have statins for high cholesterol but I think they may be doing more harm to my blood glucose levels than the fat (but have no proof).
So looking at your husband's diet, I would leave out spuds, rice, bread (sandwiches), fruit except berries, standard porridge (I can manage whole-grain oats). Meat & fish are great. Full-fat yoghurt, butter & milk are fine. Double cream on the berries -- yum!
I'm afraid I'm one of the retired layabouts so the idea of a demanding job makes me feel a bit faint :confused: However I walk a lot and cycle in season (about 10 minutes in the summer)
 
I just read "Grain Brain", a book written by a neurologist. I don't know if it's actually true, but he says that a low cholesterol diet will cause your cells to produce excess cholesterol as they recognize that your body is being starved of dietary cholesterol. I suspect that this is why very few people are able to improve their cholesterol numbers with the government recommended high carb/low fat diet. I improved mine with a low carb high fat diet.
 
Hi and welcome,

I can only speak from my own experience. My cholesterol and lipids dropped significantly when I ditched all the low fat products in favour of the real thing - butter, mayonnaise, full fat yogurt and cheese, plus loads of eggs. At the same time as ditching the low fat rubbish, I also cut right back on carbs. My energy now comes mostly from the good fats I eat (dairy, oily fish, meat, eggs).
@jack412 has some splendid videos about it. Hopefully he will see this.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

If you Google 'low cholesterol diets' you will find plenty of information to read, Heart UK has some on advice on lowering cholesterol levels which you should find useful. also take at the British Heart Foundation website:

http://heartuk.org.uk/cholesterol-and-diet
 
Hi all, thanks so much for your thoughts and experiences and for making me feel so welcome. Really useful advise! We will start by seeing whether carbs can be replaced by more veg, and I will continue our full fat dairy foods. Starting tonight with guilt-free full fat cream over some blackberries for dessert!! Thanks all. :)
 
the statins will lower his cholesterol, but it's the lipids and lipoproteins that still need to be balanced..my cholesterol is 3.2 but my trigs are still too high
with cholesterol now, they say it's not the fat but it's the carbohydrates that cause CVD
the triglyceride HDL levels are the main factors, and small dense LDL are bad



http://www.cardiab.com/content/13/1/135

Plasma triglycerides predict ten-years all-cause mortality in outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Conclusions
This finding suggests that more attention should be given to the management of cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetic patients with high triglycerides levels.
 
Interesting replies.
I got mine down to the right levels by a low calorie low fat diet, and low dose statins.

You need to find a diet, stick to it for 3 months, re test, and you'll know if it suits you.
If it does, stick to it, if not, try another method for three months.
 
jack412 said:
with cholesterol now, they say it's not the fat but it's the carbohydrates that cause CVD
Click to expand...

Well my opinion is that that statement is complete rubbish and who are the "they" that you speak of, a few mavericks how like to see their names in the media?

Do you actually know that cholesterol is fat? And that after a high fat meal you have higher levels of cholesterol in your blood for up to 8 hours, that is the reason why we have to fast to have a blood test for cholesterol showing the lipid panel as if we did not fast we would have a higher than bass line level of cholesterol.

Cholesterol carries fat around our bodies so if cholesterol is responsible for CVD then it must be fat and not carbs that is responsible. Now you will probably reply that carbs turn to fat so they are responsible but its just smoke and mirrors isnt it as if you eat too much fat that is also stored just as carbs are laid down as fat.

IMHO all this fat is good for us is just as bad if not worse than low fat is good for us and if you want proof that cholesterol is made from fat then you only have to look at the celebrity low carber Jimmy Moore's blog to see what too much fat can do to you...Even his doctor who he states as being a lc advocate was horrified earlier this year at Jimmy's ridiculously high cholesterol levels and he eats a very low carb high fat diet.

Too much fat = BAD
Too many carbs = BAD

Everything in moderation is the key and surely few would disagree with that statement.
 
Sid Bonkers said:
Well my opinion is that that statement is complete rubbish and who are the "they" that you speak of, a few mavericks how like to see their names in the media?

Do you actually know that cholesterol is fat? And that after a high fat meal you have higher levels of cholesterol in your blood for up to 8 hours, that is the reason why we have to fast to have a blood test for cholesterol showing the lipid panel as if we did not fast we would have a higher than bass line level of cholesterol.

Cholesterol carries fat around our bodies so if cholesterol is responsible for CVD then it must be fat and not carbs that is responsible. Now you will probably reply that carbs turn to fat so they are responsible but its just smoke and mirrors isnt it as if you eat too much fat that is also stored just as carbs are laid down as fat.

IMHO all this fat is good for us is just as bad if not worse than low fat is good for us and if you want proof that cholesterol is made from fat then you only have to look at the celebrity low carber Jimmy Moore's blog to see what too much fat can do to you...Even his doctor who he states as being a lc advocate was horrified earlier this year at Jimmy's ridiculously high cholesterol levels and he eats a very low carb high fat diet.

Too much fat = BAD
Too many carbs = BAD

Everything in moderation is the key and surely few would disagree with that statement.
Click to expand...
You are wrong. Fasting is not required for a lipid profile:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/46739

Cholesterol is a fat. It is not bad. It is good. 20% of your brain by weight is cholesterol. Every cell in your body can manufacture cholesterol. It is not bad for your health. What is bad is when LDL (which is not cholesterol per se, but a low-density lipoprotein) becomes glycated, which makes it no longer able to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Anyway, you can believe what you want. However, you may want to read "Grain Brain".
 
Sid Bonkers said:
Well my opinion is that that statement is complete rubbish and who are the "they" that you speak of, a few mavericks how like to see their names in the media?

Do you actually know that cholesterol is fat? And that after a high fat meal you have higher levels of cholesterol in your blood for up to 8 hours, that is the reason why we have to fast to have a blood test for cholesterol showing the lipid panel as if we did not fast we would have a higher than bass line level of cholesterol.

Cholesterol carries fat around our bodies so if cholesterol is responsible for CVD then it must be fat and not carbs that is responsible. Now you will probably reply that carbs turn to fat so they are responsible but its just smoke and mirrors isnt it as if you eat too much fat that is also stored just as carbs are laid down as fat.

IMHO all this fat is good for us is just as bad if not worse than low fat is good for us and if you want proof that cholesterol is made from fat then you only have to look at the celebrity low carber Jimmy Moore's blog to see what too much fat can do to you...Even his doctor who he states as being a lc advocate was horrified earlier this year at Jimmy's ridiculously high cholesterol levels and he eats a very low carb high fat diet.

Too much fat = BAD
Too many carbs = BAD

Everything in moderation is the key and surely few would disagree with that statement.
Click to expand...
It seem even the American diabetic association has fallen for the rubbish too
American diabetic association
Position Statement

http://www.professional.diabetes.org/admin/UserFiles/0 - Sean/dc132042 FINAL.pdf

Evidence is inconclusive for an ideal amount of total fat intake for people with diabetes;
therefore, goals should be individualized; fat quality appears to be far more important than quantity.

In people with type 2 diabetes, a Mediterranean-style, MUFA-rich [mono fats-rich] eating pattern may benefit
glycemic control and CVD risk factors and can therefore be recommended as an effective alternative to a lower-fat, higher-carbohydrate eating pattern.

even Dr Bernstein is talking rubish about the old ADA HCLF diet too

 
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NoCrbs4Me said:
You are wrong. .
Click to expand...

You may think so and you are of course entitled to your opinion but to say as a mater of fact that someone is WRONG is actually quite rude and confrontational, besides the FACT that I am correct we are required to fast for a lipid test or the results will be skewed.

I thought this was common knowledge but perhaps you have never had a blood test for a full lipid panel done so are unaware of this fact.
 
Blood cholesterol tests (lipid profile)
Do not eat anything and only drink water for 10 to 12 hours before having blood cholesterol tests (lipid profile).

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that can build up in your arteries and increase your risk of conditions such as heart disease.

There are several different cholesterol tests. When these are done together it's called a lipid profile. A lipid profile tests the levels of:

  • "good" (HDL) cholesterol
  • "bad" (LDL) cholesterol
  • total cholesterol
  • triglycerides (other fatty substances)
If you're just having a triglycerides test, do not drink alcohol for 24 hours before the test (you'll also need to fast as explained above).

The Health A-Z has more information about diagnosing high cholesterol.
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1018.aspx?CategoryID=69
 
jack412 said:
It seem even the American diabetic association has fallen for the rubbish too
American diabetic association
Position Statement

http://www.professional.diabetes.org/admin/UserFiles/0 - Sean/dc132042 FINAL.pdf

Evidence is inconclusive for an ideal amount of total fat intake for people with diabetes;
therefore, goals should be individualized; fat quality appears to be far more important than quantity.

In people with type 2 diabetes, a Mediterranean-style, MUFA-rich [mono fats-rich] eating pattern may benefit
glycemic control and CVD risk factors and can therefore be recommended as an effective alternative to a lower-fat, higher-carbohydrate eating pattern.

even Dr Bernstein is talking rubish about the old ADA HCLF diet too
Click to expand...



Well shouting wont impress me Jack but thanks for yet another link/video, wouldnt it make a refreshing change if just for once you gave us your own thoughts and opinions.

Of course I could post loads of links that dispute everything that your links say but I just cant be bothered TBH, been there done that got the tee shirt and I have no reason to question my method of control or bolster my belief in it as it has worked for both weight loss and diabetic control for 6 years now.

You see I dont feel the need to relentlessly post links to confirm what I am doing is working, I know it is :) I found out out works for me by picking bits from lc and bits from GI and other bits that I found worked for me and without becoming blinkered by one diet or another despite the amount of lchf propaganda posted here these days.

I believe that reducing carbohydrates is a great way to help control bg levels but I dont buy into a lot of the more extreme lchf views and never will regardless of how often you post the same old links.

Happy new year Jack I hope you find what your looking for
 
@astridi Heres some info from the American diabetes association specific to lipid management
Lifestyle intervention, including MNT, increased physical activity, weight loss, and smoking cessation, may allow somepatients to reach lipid goals. Nutrition intervention should be tailored according to each patient’s age, diabetes type, pharmacological treatment, lipid levels, and other medical conditions.
Recommendations should focus on the reduction of saturated fat, cholesterol, and transunsaturated fat intake and increases in n-3 fatty acids, viscous fiber (such as in oats, legumes, and citrus), and plant stanols/sterols. Glycemic control can also beneficially modify plasma lipid levels, particularly in patients with very high triglycerides and poor glycemic control.'

That is very similar to what the Mayo clinic and British Heart foundation says.

@NoCrbs4Me
What is bad is when LDL (which is not cholesterol per se, but a low-density lipoprotein) becomes glycated, which makes it no longer able to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Click to expand...
Most of the cholesterol used in the brain is manufactured in the brain. LDL cannot cross the brain barrier and is not meant to though small amounts of HDL are able to do so.
.http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v12/n5/fig_tab/nrn3012_F1.html
. The amount of cholesterol in the brain is high and during development there are high cholesterol needs ,however this decreases in maturity to a small fraction of earlier needs. This means that the rate of new cholesterol synthesis in the adult human brain is actually very low since replacement needs ,though continual are low (cholesterol in the brain has a long half life of 5 years )
See also this paper which includes much of the info above and also discusses the dysregulation of cholesterol on the various neurogenerative diseases .
http://dmm.biologists.org/content/5/6/746.full

re fasting for lipid tests .This may not be necessary in all people but high fat meals will alter the results; perhaps significantly .Triglyceride levels are very elevated after a high fat meal and may well be much higher than would be the case in a fasting test. Alcohol can also increase trigs following a meal
http://www.bpac.org.nz/BT/2013/November/lipid-testing.aspx
 
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phoenix said:
@astridi Heres some info from the American diabetes association specific to lipid management
Lifestyle intervention, including MNT, increased physical activity, weight loss, and smoking cessation, may allow somepatients to reach lipid goals. Nutrition intervention should be tailored according to each patient’s age, diabetes type, pharmacological treatment, lipid levels, and other medical conditions.
Recommendations should focus on the reduction of saturated fat, cholesterol, and transunsaturated fat intake and increases in n-3 fatty acids, viscous fiber (such as in oats, legumes, and citrus), and plant stanols/sterols. Glycemic control can also beneficially modify plasma lipid levels, particularly in patients with very high triglycerides and poor glycemic control.'

That is very similar to what the Mayo clinic and British Heart foundation says.

@NoCrbs4Me

Most of the cholesterol used in the brain is manufactured in the brain. LDL cannot cross the brain barrier and is not meant to though small amounts of HDL are able to do so.
.http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v12/n5/fig_tab/nrn3012_F1.html
. The amount of cholesterol in the brain is high and during development there are high cholesterol needs ,however this decreases in maturity to a small fraction of earlier needs. This means that the rate of new cholesterol synthesis in the adult human brain is actually very low since replacement needs ,though continual are low (cholesterol in the brain has a long half life of 5 years )
See also this paper which includes much of the info above and also discusses the dysregulation of cholesterol on the various neurogenerative diseases .
http://dmm.biologists.org/content/5/6/746.full

re fasting for lipid tests .This may not be necessary in all people but high fat meals will alter the results; perhaps significantly .Triglyceride levels are very elevated after a high fat meal and may well be much higher than would be the case in a fasting test. Alcohol can also increase trigs following a meal
http://www.bpac.org.nz/BT/2013/November/lipid-testing.aspx
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link that confirms what I said: fasting is not necessary for a blood lipid test.

In fact, it suggests that a non-fasting measurement of triglyceride might be more useful than a fasting test:
"Measuring non-fasting triglyceride levels may provide additional information for determining cardiovascular risk. Peak non-fasting triglyceride levels, four hours after a meal, are reported to be a strong predictor of cardiovascular events and insulin resistance, and risk equations may be developed based on these levels in the future."

This paper seems to say that LDL is in fact transported from the blood to the brain:

http://jcb.rupress.org/content/138/...9023f759d9d0416c3a4fbdeb&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

Confusingly, it also contradicts in no uncertain terms the idea that lipoproteins don't cross the blood brain barrier: "Lipoprotein transport across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is of critical importance for the delivery of essential lipids to the brain cells. "
 
It is an interesting link, when read in full.
http://www.bpac.org.nz/BT/2013/November/lipid-testing.aspx
Maybe the op can use the statement in it, to assess the diet changes.

'A decrease in total cholesterol, HDL and LDL is observed for up to four hours after a standard meal.*3 A decrease in lipid levels after a meal is perhaps converse to what would be expected, but this occurs due to the dilutionary effect of water contained in the food.3
Triglyceride levels are increased for six to eight hours after a standard meal.1, 3 If a patient has consumed a very high fat content meal prior to testing, or if they have slow lipid particle clearance after food (post-prandial dyslipidaemia), triglyceride levels could be increased more than the estimated 0.3 mmol/L variance, and misrepresent clinical significance.

* A “standard meal” is not precisely defined in the literature but can be assumed to be an average sized, main meal, which contains balanced proportions of carbohydrates, protein and fat'
 
@NoCrbs4Me I suggest you read more recent papers 1997 is a long time ago in this field. . A good start would be those more recent papers that reference the paper. Start with the review at the bottom of the list which outlines why it was thought even by 2004 that there was no 'net or even bidirectional transfer' of lipoproteins across the BBB But this is really off topic so I won't add any more.
 
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