why? can anyone shed light on my high cholesterol?

[ju51stimm]

have had high cholesterol for 2 yrs - 7.6 or thereabouts. struggling to lower. not on statins. normal blood pressure etc., deemed low risk etc. not particularly overweight but past 4 weeks have joined a slimming club and have been virtually fat free and lost 6.5 lbs. had fasting bt today, came back 8.1! absolutely gutted. cannot understand this! i am 56 yrs old and have had family upset past few months,so quite a stressful time, anyone else out there with this type of situation please! i will be told off tomorrow at my surgery. i dont know what to do?

[MikePollard]

If you are following the current dietary guidelines you will be eating 'healthy whole grains' and eschewing deadly saturated fat.

If you wish to improve your blood profile and lose your fear of the 'artery clogging' cholesterol threat, throw out the green topped milk, the Benecol and the sunflower oil and start enjoying butter, cheese, full fat milk, bacon, vegetables etc. Along with that drastically reduce or eliminate sugar, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta for it's carbohydrate in all guises mess up our metabolism.

Do your research into LCHF (low carbohydrate, high fat) lifestyle (note - not diet!) and your doctor will be left scratching his/her head as HDL/LDL ratio will normalise, as will triglycerides. Blood pressure will also normalise. Not least you will achieve peace of mind.

Enjoy your journey.

dietdoctor.com/lchf

[Aliwally]

Our genetic background plays a huge part in our cholesterol levels and you can tell them that at your surgery! There are so many misconceptions about high cholesterol and I'm still trying to puzzle it out after 5 years. There are many views about the right type of diet as you have probably picked up from this blog. Yes go the HEART UK website for more information. Your GP may advise/prescribe/bully/suggest/insist on prescribing statins for you (delete depending on your point of view). I am not being flippant, that is the reality of life with high cholesterol and the choices are yours not anybody else's.

[sandybrown]

Hello,

I was there with high cholesterol and high blood sugar 4 years ago! Life style change control and food intake control have helped me to reduce the blood test numbers and enjoy life, this is a slow process!

NHS health check can give more indication of any heart problems. Please ask your GP for full NHS health check including an ECG to eliminate any heart issues.

If you can go for long walks at least four times a day or go to the gym for 45 minutes at least five times a week.

"throw out the green topped milk, the Benecol and the sunflower oil and start enjoying butter, cheese, full fat milk, bacon, vegetables etc. Along with that drastically reduce or eliminate sugar, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta for it's carbohydrate in all guises mess up our metabolism."

The above has helped me to reduce blood test numbers. You need to understand blood test numbers for cholesterol and blood sugar.

Good luck.

[sandybrown]

All,

Please read the following in the copy of Daily Mail.

It's never too late to slim down and help your heart: Weight loss at any age can give long-term benefits even if it is only temporary

The longer any person is overweight, the more likely they will have problems

Experts show for the first time that temporary weight loss is worthwhile

Study stresses that obese people should start by preventing weight gain

Read more: dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

[KCTommy]

There are two types of cholesterol - LDL (bad) and HDL (good). The HDL neutralises the LDL but, if there is too much LDL in our liver, then the Cholesterol level rises. Q10 is similarly produced in the liver. I've been using a supplement called Co-enzyme Q10 - the oxidised (ubiquinone) version - for a number of years. At 73 my cholesterol reading is 5.3 and blood pressure 137/75. Your GP should give you both readings.

Cholesterol Helpline - 0845 450 5988/[e-mail]

Cholesterol diet sheet - heartuk.org.uk/cholesterol-...

Kind regards,

Ken

[YvonneD]

So many contradicting views from forum members ju51stimm. You must be even more confused. May I suggest that you listen to your GP and, as you have not managed to lower your total cholesterol levels for two years, ask if you may be referred to a lipid clinic. I would also contact the "cholesterol charity" HEART UK, as they are the experts in all things cholesterol related. Do your blood relatives have a similar problem? Have any of them died young from heart attach or stroke? There are different ways to treat raised cholesterol levels - depending if it is caused by lifestyle or an inherited condition (FH - Familial Hypercholesterolaemia). I would agree with KCTommy about the benefits of taking the CoQ10 supplement and, for me, the Kyolic age-dried garlic tablets have always been effective in reducing my levels.

I do hope you will not be "told off" by your doctor but will be given helpful advice to help you reduce your levels. Please keep in touch. We are all out here ready to share.

[allyg]

Hi. the only way to reduce weight quickly is to cut out the carbs, + all sugars, as Mike says eat natural foods, full fat products ie milk, cheese, butter, yogurts, most of all cut out all processed food, anything in a packet is full of E no, and worst of all sugar.

I started my journey eating healthily 2 years ago, lost weight within 3 months and kept CHOL down eating proper food,

3 years ago I had a TIA, I wont go into detail but Statins caused much pain so I stopped

taking them after 12 months, my Doctor disagreed the rest is history.

Mike Pollard, thank you for informing me of the journey.

Regards.

Allyg

[patch14]

Your diet that you are on? Low fat? Lots of lovely carbohydrate to "fill you up"? There you go then! Cut down or even out the carbohydrate - start including fats in your diet and up the vegetables, salads and raw fruit. Watch the fruit juice, and definitely anything that has sugar in it. Also try drinking water or squashes rather than fizzy drinks even if they are sugar free.

[Jdottie]

Are you talking about LDL cholesterol?

[sandybrown]

All,

Confused & contradicting!

Life style change and food intake can help to reduce blood cholesterol and blood sugar but slow process.

I am sorry to say NHS food plate and other food guide lines that are available are out of date! I gave up following the advice given by NHS, now doing my own on LCHF, can see the benefit. Please check the sugar and salt content in any food or drink you take, the quantity is given in grams, try and look at this as a cube of sugar, soon you can see the quantity. An eye opener!

[sparky333]

Yes a low fat diet will increase your cholesterol. It's the worst advice you can get. What you need to do is eat less meat particularly red meat. Eat oily fish - I recommend wild salmon (farmed salmon is full of chemicals) and mackerel - eat vegetarian 2 days a week. Lay off of hard cheeses like cheddar for a while.. and go to health shop and buy some hemp seed oil capsules - better and cheaper than benecol etc. Cut out sugar and increase your good oil intake again - oilve oil/butter. Within 4-6weeks your cholesterol will come down to 4 or 5.

[lillywhites]

one word NIACIN it works

[ju51stimm]

Thank you all for your advice, I will take on board your valuable comments x

[sindy]

i'v heard the term lipid clinics, can anyone tell me what they are and what they do to help me with cholesterol?

thanks.

[sandybrown in reply to sindy]

Hi,

Please take a look at this link:

heartuk.org.uk/statins-and-...

[Aliwally]

Hi Sindy,

A lipid clinic ( sometimes called a metabolic clinic) is an outpatients' clinic in a hospital. It is run by a consultant with assorted medics and nurses. They specialise in inherited lipid disorders that cause very high levels of cholesterol. Familial Hypercholesterolaemia is one, but there are others. Some clinics have funding to do "cascade testing" of people with FH, that is they can trace other members of the family who may have inherited the gene. They offer avice about drugs, can do various other tests such as liver scans and carotid artery scanning and for some people advise about apheresis if levels are exceptionally high.

You need to be referred by your GP to a lipid clinic.

[sindy in reply to Aliwally]

Hi Aliwally,

thanks for your reply will look in to this with my gp.

[pauline19]

Typically Familial Hyperlipidemia will show up in your 20s or early 30s. I was told by world famous hospital here in US to eat Benechol etc etc when my triglycerides shot up in 8 weeks from a lifetime of normal (I'm 53). I'm with Mr. Pollard on this. Chase the gene if you're young, if not ditch bread, pasta and esp. sugar and fructose.

[Withattitude]

I have a cholesterol of 7.1 and when I asked my GP for a test for familial hypercholesterolaemia, he said my levels were too low! Please explain?

[carolann48]

I have been on a healthy diet since the end of February and lost 15lbs, given up smoking but............my cholesterol level has jumped to 8.3 from 5.4. My doctor can't explain this. can anyone else explain it>

[sandybrown]

Hello,

Do you have the cholesterol numbers for LDL, HDL and ratio. Reducing cholesterol by weight loss and exercise is a slow process. What about your food intake have you changed this?

Ask you GP more more time to lower cholesterol by food intake and go for another full blood test in six months.

Good luck.

[suki65]

Hi, how late at night do you eat and when do you have breakfast ?

[mforstater]

All of the comments have stressed diet, which are relevant, but I think you may find that it is the stressful time you are having that is helping to raise your cholesterol level. Chronic stress plays havoc with our hormonal, cardiac and digestive systems. As I understand it (and I am not a doctor) stress leads to an increased inflammatory response in the body, and this increase can lead to cancer, depression, heart problems etc. Perhaps it also alters the cholesterol/lipid action ? You might try to deal with stress reduction/management to reduce stress and this may help.