I have both conditions and have been given a different diet for each. I think it’s going to be impossible to live without fats AND carbohydrates. Which do you think would be the lesser of two evils? I’m currently on a low carb high fat diet.
Which is more damaging, high triglyce... - British Heart Fou...
Which is more damaging, high triglycerides or high blood glucose?
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Triglyceride
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Every time your blood sugar spikes up, harmful inflammatory enzymes are released in your body. High triglycerides are associated with atherosclerosis and thus cardiovascular disease &.the unhealthy metabolic syndrome. Fortunately an appropriate diabetic diet also reduces triglycerides.
In my opinion, Fats are an essential nutrient, carbohydrates are not. The only carbs you can eat without dramatically affecting your blood glucose levels are vegetables. So definitely reduce carbs, keep the saturated fats.
Brilliant, thanks for the answers. I’ve been trying to follow a low fat diet for a long time and it worries me every time I eat fats now. It’s something I need to get over I suppose. Thanks again for the answers it’s help to put my mind at rest. 👍
I agree with all of that, and high triglycerides are actually a problem of systemic inflammation, so if you treat the high triglycerides without treating the inflammation, you can still have a higher risk of cardiac events or stroke!! So I would agree to tackle the blood sugar and work on systemic inflammation. The triglycerides should follow tbr downward trend.
How does this correlate with people from Italy? I think they have the highest life expectancy of any European nation. I get that they follow a diet, which is full of fresh produce, but at the same time it is very carb heavy, mainly bad or refined carbs.
Similarly far eastern diets - have rice with everything. - yet live very long lives.
Carbs can be bad, but not all carbs are equal and picture of inflammation certainly adds another interesting layer.
I suggest you should be seeking professional advice in your dilemma. It is unlikely anyone on here is qualified to answer your question since most are not medically qualified, and especially since they have no details of your full medical history, only the brief details you have shared. So I suggest you go back to your GP and put the question to him/her and if they don't know the answer ask to be referred to someone who does know.
😩 Ouch!! Why do I feel like I’ve just had my legs smacked. 😂
I am surprised you feel chastised. The advice I provide on here is always given with good intentions and never personal. However what folks do with it is entirely up to them, of course, and the recipient may not agree with it in some cases, but that's just how it is. And it's the same for all the other advice provided by members.
Sorry Lnm but if everybody followed your advice then this forum wouldn’t exist. I’ve been seeing doctors and specialists for many years but I’ve learnt more from exchanging opinions with normal people who have had experiences of similar conditions. This site has over 55000 members so I think there’s something to be gained from all that knowledge. The opinion of a single doctor is important but from my experience they don’t know everything.
First, as a newcomer to this forum you will find, assuming you stay with it, that there are only a relatively small number of people who regularly contribute, and the vast majority of the 50,000 members are legacy members who are no longer with us for whatever reason, people come and go, and some including myself have left and rejoined with a different identity and that also inflates the numbers. Also I have noted some people post once only and then never re-appear. Further, the large majority of members are not medically qualified, and can only offer opinions based on on their experience or something they have read or heard, and as you may have already noticed these opinions can be diverse in nature, and sometimes picking your way between fact and fiction can be difficult. Nonetheless on occasion people ask for advice when it is clearly more appropriate for them to be seeking professional input, and it is only right and proper in my view that they should be directed accordingly, since in some cases this could be a matter of life and death, after all, that why we are all here.
You are correct and if we could all see a doctor at the drop of a hat your first response would be more valid. Sometimes between doctors appointments we have questions that arise from the information we’ve been given in correspondence from the doctor. As the OP suggests, this info is sometimes conflicting and it’s nice to have some different opinions to mull over. Your first reply suggested that the members opinions on this forum are flawed and useless because they are not medically qualified. I disagree. Emotional support can be just as powerful as medicine so let’s not dismiss it. Every person who has replied on this thread has offered some practical advice/info and I’ve found all of it enlightening so thanks to everybody for that.
Like Lowerfield_no_more i feel this is a question for a specialist - you say you have been given 2 different diets to follow for different health reasons and are asking which of two dietary iingredients is the "lesser of two evils" - this is a question which should be dealt with by someone who has an understanding of the risks involved in your not following the diets as well as an underatnding of your condition - this is specialist knowledge and most of us here could only offer personal opinions
members can suggest ways in which you might be able to reduce your consumption of these ingredients but they can't decide which you should be focusing you attention on
those of us who know and understand our own knowledge limits frequently point members towards other sources of support and information, because we want them to base their health decisions on reliable information - that does not mean we are chastising anyone, simply suggesting a more helpful source of of support
personally, i would suggest a dietitician with relevant experience in the conditions affecting you
I understand giving different sources of support and information is a practical answer but simply saying “Go and see your doctor” is not at all helpful for the reasons I’ve given above. I am not so stupid to think that all the answers given here are gospel. Frankly I found Lnm,s reply was an insult to my intelligence. I am not such a simpleton that I have never seen a medical professional. It was in fact a question about the information they (the doctors) had given me. I can’t ask them personally until I can get an appointment so thought I’d ask here.
( I’m now starting to regret even asking the question, maybe I should keep the questions to myself in the future?)
PS
fishonabike, Thanks for the edit at the end of your post. I think your suggestion of seeing a dietitian with the relevant expertise is a good one.
I have seen a dietitian in the past but that was only to address the high cholesterol. The type 2 diabetes is relatively new so I’ll ask the question when I next see a medical professional. Thank you 👍
you might also want to bear in mind that responses to posts are also read by others who might have similar questions, so why seems obvious obvious to you might not be obvious to someone who is not so well informedas someone who used to communicate health information as part of my work, I try not to assume that other know what I do and respond to their questions with relevant information which other might also find helpful
basically, don't take it personally if someone lays out the basics here
Stating that someone's response, in this case mine given in good faith, is 'an insult to your intelligence', might be something you believe privately but in my view is not something that you declare for the world and his wife to see on here. This is not any old social media forum where anything goes, there are forum rules for posting, and I respectfully suggest you read through them especially number 2 which states Be kind, respectful & inclusive of one another. Consider how your language or conduct might make others feel.
Point taken but please consider your bedside manner may need some tweaking. You didn’t intentionally mean to offend me but it came across as if you were telling me off for having the audacity to ask such a stupid question.
Let’s draw a line under this and move forwards. I didn’t expect my flippant comment about leg slapping to lead to this. No hard feelings.
whilst waiting for your doctors consultation, please be aware than if you buy manufactured products that are said to be “low fat” you are probably eating additives to make the food palatable. In my view people who are advised to take care in their diet should also be advised to avoid products with these additives.
Read the label of any manufactured food and if it contains things you wouldn’t have in your kitchen, don’t buy them.
Stick to fresh foods you prepare yourself if you can possibly do so. The proportion of fat and carbs is up to your professional advisers.
Triglycerides levels is what's measured after your body deals with sugar that you have consumed. The risk factor for cardiovascular high ldl is 1.3 and for triglycerides it's 1.9, so that 90% higher than the average population. In my high sugar diet my triglycerides were 2.7 and coupled with an HDl of 0.8 caused my heart disease.
I lost 6 stone and my triglycerides are now 0.5.
It didn't stop the damage I had done to my heart vessels though.
wow, well done Dave those are great numbers. 👏👏
When I was first diagnosed my triglyceride level was 22.4 and cholesterol was 19.1
With medication and diet changes my last trig level was 12.9 so I have a way to go yet.
I have never been told that sugar would increase my trigs so thanks for the information, I now have something to work with.
Latest test results
Hi I've know idea but have you ever tried a low carb diet I was 15.5 stone I dropped to 13.5 I've managed to keep my wight like this for a couple of years now on a low carb diet you never feel hungry please try it
Hi Max. well done on the weight loss 😎👏👏 I’ve been on a low carb diet for the last 12 weeks or so. I’ve lost 5Kg (nearly a stone) which I’m over the moon about. The only thing that worries me is since going low carb my fat consumption has increased dramatically. (I track all my foods and macros in an app called “MyFitnessPal”) I’ve recently finished an 8 week course that my doctor recommended and it’s been life changing in understanding diabetes but the underlying case of hypercholeserlemia wasn’t discussed on the course so I’m a little apprehensive about my upcoming blood test in a few days time. I’ll post the results as they come in ok. Thanks for your reply 👍
Are you on statin I am and Cholesterol is OK if you are you don't have to worry mine is 2.4 I don't keep to the low carb diet I do like a drink or 2 I've found I get full very quickly now days
Hi max, yes I’m on a high dose of statins and another cholesterol lowering drug called fenofibrate. I like a drink too so this probably isn’t helping my readings but we all have a guilty pleasure right. 🙂
Those are some big numbers, I thought mines of 2.7 were high. I would definitely talk to your GP and ask about getting referred to a Lipidologist. He would be best to advise.
Heart disease runs rampant in my father's side of the family. He lost all his siblings, I have lost 2 siblings and ended up having a cabg x2.
I now excercise like crazy and avoid all cereals which are packed with hidden sugars and stay away from breads, pasta, cakes and sweets.
I would say my food is made from scratch with nothing ultra processed.
It works for me but not necessarily works for everyone. I look at my historical bloods and today's bloods are in the optimum range.
I do take 20mg of Atoravastatin but that's too prevent plaque from breaking off, as per my cardiologist, my ldl is 1.6 and HDL of 1.29 and trigs of 0.5.
I would recommend getting your fasting insulin and fasting glucose.
My fasting insulin was 5.9 and a fasting glucose of 4.9.
Thanks Dave. I’ve been seeing various Lipidologists for about 20 years and all their advice has been to AVOID FATS, especially saturated fats. Now I’m being told to eat lots of fat (full fat dairy etc) and avoid carbs at all costs. It’s a steep learning curve at the moment and the more information I get the more questions it raises but my short time on this forum has helped a lot. When I have a blood test next week I’ll have more data to work with so I’m looking forward to that.
I wouldn't advise anybody to change there diets. I just post what works for me. We are all uniquely different and what spikes my insulin doesn't necessarily spike yours.
After losing my visceral fat around my midrift, my liver definitely functions way better, and my glucose spikes are way less compared to 12 months ago.
As I say I do excercise a lot and this morning I was out doing a 52km bike ride. I am 57 and I am very different from typical patients that have undergone CABG.
52km 😲 That’s impressive, I’d struggle to do that distance in a car 😂
I’m 57 in October, I try to swim for 45 minutes every day but I probably average about 5 days a week due to other commitments. I definitely feel mentally better after exercise and notice my moods lower on the days that I miss it.
I’m currently using a freestyle libre blood glucose monitor. It gives real time information on my BG level and I’m finding it really helpful. I wish they had something similar to monitor my lipid levels, that would be a game changer.
Just wanted to add that my other half was diagnosed as pre-diabetic so was sent to see the diabetic nurse whose knowledge I would question. She said he was fine eating Mr Kipling apple pies but should definitely not be eating 2 apples a day.
That's the problem with the NHS and there dietary advice. During my Cardiac Rehab they said that sugar wasn't the bad guy. Sugar has absolutely no benefit to your body and you don't need it as the liver will metabolise protein and fats if it needs to. I eat fruit and definitely avoid high sugar fruits such as grapes, I eat strawberries, bananas, apples and oranges.
It's not open for debate that fructose is the bad guy, and standard table sugar is made up with 1 part sucrose and one part fructose.
The only organ in the body that deals with fructose is the liver and it can only deal with around y teaspoons per day. 1 can of coke has around 18 tea spoons.
😲 Really? That’s terrible. These so called medical experts can cause more damage than good. Always best to do your own research and get a second opinion.
There is a new medication specifically for high triglycerides called Vazkepa. I have been on it for nearly a year and my levels have come down from 7 to 2. I have no idea if you would be eligible for it, but I think it would be worth asking.
Thanks Trevor that’s great news and it’s something I’ve never heard of before. I’ll ask the doctor about it at my next visit. Are you also on a restricted diet?
I’ve just had a quick look at Vazkepa and my first impression is good. Your right about eligibility though, even though I know my own condition I’m still not sure if I’m eligible. 🤷🏻♂️ I’ll ask some questions 👍 Thanks again Trev.
Just for info, I received a note from my doctor today.
”Your blood tests show your new diet has put your diabetes into remission with your HbA1c now just 39. Your cholesterol has gone up though, potentially due to the diet. Are you still under the lipid clinic at the hospital?”
I haven’t had the full breakdown of the results yet so I don’t know how much my cholesterol has gone up by but I’ll keep you posted ok 👍
I’ve received my blood test results and I’m over the moon. My total cholesterol has only gone up 0.3 points from 6.7 to 7 😃 The best thing of all is my triglycerides have come down from 12.9 to 7.7 🎉🥳🍾
Blood test results
Over the years I've seen many dietitians, a lot can't answer basic questions. I was referred to one for diabetic advice, she couldn't answer how many serves of carbs I should eat. I remember in cardiac rehab, 2 dietitians had completely different advice. Moderation in everything.
I agree, the first dietitian I saw 20 years ago was absolutely fantastic and gave me lots of practical information. The last one about a year ago was a telephone consultation and they were a total waste of time. I didn’t get one piece of useful advice over the whole conversation.
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