Low carb confusion

[Carion]

I'm so confused. My CRP level is high. Looking up CRP, the 'C' stands for carbohydrate. So I presumed cutting down on carbs would be the thing to do to get my CRP level under control. I looked up low carb diets and recipes. Most sites say to avoid bread, pasta & root veg. BHF site says to eat bread, rice (which I've always thought was pasta) & potatoes (which is a root veg, right?). Which is right? Does anyone on here have high CRP and/or follow a low carb diet?

[HiveMind]

CRP measures the level of c-reactive protein (CRP) in a sample of your blood. CRP is a protein that your liver makes. It’s not a carbohydrate.

[HiveMind in reply to HiveMind]

Sorry forgot to add it’s an inflammatory marker.

[Carion in reply to HiveMind]

Yes. I'm trying to find what sort of marker and how to combat it.

[fairgo45 in reply to Carion]

My husband had a Crp of 137 it should be around 1 he was sent to hospital and had a kidney stone stuck in the ureter he had an operation and he's fine now but I'd say a high Crp might be kidney related for him because of the high inflamation but could be different for you.

It's definitely nothing to do with carbs

[Carion in reply to HiveMind]

Thank you. So what protein does the liver make and why?

[Carion]

So it is a cell-reactive protein? The only sugar I have is artificial sweetener in tea and natural sugars in food. My cardiologist raised the matter of my CRP level, but hasn't said what is causing it or how he's going to treat it. I had another echo- and bloods last week to try to find answers, but in the meantime my OHS has been put on hold because of this.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

A raised CRP level may indicate an infection or inflammation within the body. There are many different potential causes.

It could be potentially a problem if you are about to have surgery.

Hopefully the doctors will find out what the cause is once they can review your echocardiogram and blood results.

[Carion in reply to Milkfairy]

It has caused a problem with my surgery - postponed it.

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Carion]

I know it's disappointing to have your surgery postponed, however the surgeons will not want to increase your risks of infection or other complications after your surgery, so they will want to know why your CRP levels are raised.

[Carion]

I'm having OHS for AVR. According to the radiologist there was no sign of infection in or around my heart and arteries.

[Lazarus in reply to Carion]

yes and the doctors will mention the High CRP level in passing which is just so they can be sure you don't have some underlying infection (could be an ingrowing toenail or almost anything causing it!) before they operate on you.

I would not suggest changing your diet like that - especially if you aren't a nurition expert -as it unlikely to help your condition.

[Carion in reply to Lazarus]

I'm waiting for the hospital to get back to me with results, decisions, and advice. I won't be changing my diet until they do and I have spoken to a dietician.

[Captain_Birdseye]

Going to jump on here... carbohydrates are sugars... they are complex sugars and are broken down into simple sugars in the body.

So overuse of carbs still leads to excess sugar and potentially then inflammation.

There are diets out there (think keto, fast 800) that promote this low carb/high fat way of eating and studies have shown there are benefits, but it's pretty extreme and always worth running past a doctor before embarking on something like this.

[LaceyLady in reply to Captain_Birdseye]

I had to go low carb, high protein as I was diagnosed as T2 diabetic in June 2021. My HBa1C was 134!! Sudden onset, absolutely no idea why. Seems to be linked with Atrial Fibrillation which sadly I developed around May 2019🙄 I’ve lost 2 1/2 - 3 stone, was already losing weight in hospital. No, it has not put me into remission 😤 apparently that is only effective fir approximately 25%

[Carion in reply to LaceyLady]

Sorry to hear that. I'm still waiting to hear what is causing mine and what/if anything is going to be done about it.

[Captain_Birdseye in reply to LaceyLady]

I've heard some grand claims about diabetic remission, but had doubts...

I've lost a good amount of weight on it before as well but not sure how effective it would be in clearing up inflammation

[LaceyLady in reply to Captain_Birdseye]

There’s a lot of emphasis on inflammation but you need to know what’s causing it to be able to address it. The doctors are useless at communication!

There is a popular nutritionist who dies not advocate diabetics using that diet!

[jeanjeannie50]

I've always viewed CRP levels as a measurement of infection in the body. Mine was in the 150's when I had pneumonia.

Jean

[Hidden]

CRP is the measurement of inflammation. C stands for creatinine.

[Carion in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. So is it possible for anything I do/eat to make a difference to this level?

[Chappychap in reply to Carion]

"is it possible for anything I do/eat to make a difference"

Yes, life style and medication can both reduce inflammation.

Firstly meds. Yet another under appreciated benefit of statins is that, along with reducing lipid problems and stabilising arterial plaque, they also bring down CRP levels.

Secondly life style. Smoking (indeed any nicotine, so this includes vaping or secondary smoking from a partner) is absolutely terrible for inflammation. Then there's glucose spikes, they also promote inflammation. So sugary drinks, biscuits, sweetened breakfast cereals, beer, etc, will all promote inflammation. As will highly processed foods, (in particular processed meats such as bacon containing nitrites) also processed carbs from things like white bread, white pasta, or white rice.

The first thing is to avoid these foods.

But in the modern world that's easier said than done! They're cheap, tasty and convenient, which is why on average we get about 60% of our calories from highly processed foods. And for some people, sadly often including those who are less well off, that can rise to over 80%.

In place of highly processed foods, try to eat oily fish like salmon or sardines or mackerel, olive oil, green leafy vegetables, berries, seeds, and nuts.

As well as diet, there's also exercise, stress management, and weight loss. These are the big three; and all are proven as effective ways of reducing chronic inflammation.

There's no surprises in any of this. The problem is that it's pretty tough to incorporate into our modern lives. It's expensive in both time and money, it's very inconvenient, and you'll probably be trying to live your life differently to the people around you.

But unfortunately the statistics are crystal clear, do the good stuff and your chances of living longer and healthier rises signifcantly. Do the bad stuff and your odds become a lot less attractive. Sure there will always be outliers in both camps, but for the vast majority of us the evidence is overwhelming.

Good luck!

[Carion in reply to Chappychap]

Thank you for your reply.

We cook all our meals from fresh, eating all the healthy ones you mention, and rarely have any processed food except sandwich meat and bacon. I don't like seeds and can't eat nuts. I also can't exercise more because it strains my heart, causing palpitations and dizziness. The doc/hospital were surprised that we never have pizza, only have KFC/chippy meals every blue moon, and said our diet is a good one.

I do chair-robics twice a day and go for short walks (about 30 yards is all I can manage in 1 walk) 3 or 4 times a day. That is a walk from our front door round to the back door.

My hubby smokes, and I have the occasional ones (a max of 6 a day, but usually 4) and I drink 2-3 units of alkie a day. Tea and water are my preferred drinks.

[Chappychap in reply to Carion]

I'd also add a couple of other points.

I have medical care for my heart disease/atheroschlorosis in both the UK and Canada. Both countries tend to follow a similar regime, but one difference is that Canada includes more CRP testing and more focus on the results. Consequently, if I'm not resident in Canada I augment my annual NHS cardio blood test with private CRP tests every six months. They're not too expensive, about £40, and they allow me to monitor how effective my medication and life style regime really is. Luckily I've got a British GP who's happy to incorporate these results into his medical care plan. Incidentally, the one other private blood test I regularly have is for Cortisol levels. I'm not a particularly stressed individual, but before I retired I did a job that involved a lot of long haul international travel, usually about thirty week long trips per year. It was astonishing how chronic jet lag drove elevated Cortisol levels, perhaps why people who do shift work have a significantly higher incidence of heart attacks and strokes than people with more regular sleep patterns.

Secondly, the hard truth is that several common co-morbidities, such as Lupus, Type 2 Diabetes, Gum Disease, Sleep Apnea, Chrone's Disease, Arthritis, etc will all drive chronic inflammation, which in turn can drive atherosclerosis and plaque formation. Which is why it pays us all to do everything we possibly can to avoid or at least minimise these co-morbidities.

Good luck!

[Carion in reply to Chappychap]

Thank you for your good luck wishes and further reply.

I'm not a stressed-out type of person. I used to do a high-profile, stressful job at the Home Office before I retired 7 years ago, but nowadays life is like one long weekend, and I enjoy it fully. When I was able to, I did gardening, photography - lots of long walks with my camera, ladies that lunched, volunteered at the local food bank, reading, creative writing (which I still do), acting, and the occasional necessary housework.

I'm not aware of having any of the co-morbidities you mention, except perhaps the sleep apnoea.

My sleep pattern leaves a lot to be desired and always has. I only get broken sleep up to 6-7 hrs a night now. For years I only slept 5 hrs a night, broken by several wake-ups.

[Coper10]

I had high levels of CRP (about 290) prior to needing an aortic valve replacement operation. My op was delayed until they could find and treat the cause (in my case pneumonia and pericarditis). I seem to recall being told levels needed to be below 20 before the op would be considered. Once I had appropriate treatment, my CRP gradually came down and I had my operation.

[Carion in reply to Coper10]

Sounds like I may have quite a wait then. I'm still waiting to hear what my level is, and how/when it's going to be treated.

[Coper10 in reply to Carion]

I was admitted to hospital as was quite unwell and no-one knew why. I was in 5 weeks before I was well enough for my op but 2 weeks of that was undergoing tests to find cause. Once I was correctly diagnosed and treated, the levels came down steadily.