Cholesterol and Triglycerides

9 months ago•17 Replies

Hi All, I am new here and have recently had a health check at the doctors surgery and it looks as though my cholesterol and triglyceride readings are high. My total cholesterol was 6.51, my HDL was 1.44, my non-HDL was 5.07, my Chol/HDL was 4.5 and my triglycerides were 4.80 mmol/L. I am a 42 year old male.

The nurse didn't mention seeing the doctor so apart from cleaning up my diet and exercising more should I look at going back to discuss medication? I would prefer not to take medication if this can be addressed through lifestyle choices alone.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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sos007Ambassador

9 months ago

Welcome to the 'cholesterol' community! There are many informed members here who can help provide you with feedback from their own experiences and research. Although none of us are doctors, you don't have to be a doctor to develop strong knowledge on a health topic.

From the information you provided it appears as though you are consuming far too many simple carbohydrates, potentially including sugar and equivalents. This is evidenced by your Triglyceride values. If you modify your diet to dramatically reduce and ideally 'eliminate' sugar and simple carbohydrates from your diet, your non-HDL will likely decline into the normal range.

Check your blood test to see if you also have values for the following:

- hbA1C

- ALT (liver enzyme)

- uric acid

If you have these, please provide them.

Can you also provide some vitals such as height and weight?

Do you exercise daily?

I encourage you to watch this video:

- 13 minutes

You should try and get your triglyceride level to below 1.0 mmol/l.

With dietary and lifestyle modification you can likely achieve your health objectives without the use of pharmaceuticals.

Good luck.

sos007Ambassador

in reply to Autumn822

9 months ago

Neither statins nor Benecol should be necessary to improve your current condition.

Benecol is a processed food company that adds plant stanol ester (https://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/features/low-cholesterol-diet-plant-sterols-stanols#1) to their processed foods.

Plant stanol ester is found naturally in vegetables, legumes and fruit among other whole foods. You are better off eating the natural food than buying processed food that adds plant stanol ester. This is because the processed foods have other undesirable ingredients such as sugar, omega 6 oils and lack the fiber that is found naturally in whole vegetables, fruits and legumes.

A whole-foods, plant-based diet (you can still have animal protein but in reduced quantity) along with daily exercise, is best for returning your body to equilibrium.

Cholesterol is one of the body's repair mechanisms and elevated amounts indicate an inflammatory condition has been triggered in the body through an unbalanced diet and potentially insufficient exercise. The focus should be on addressing the 'source' of the inflammation and not the result of the inflammation. Targeting the result of the inflammation (cholesterol) is the equivalent of shooting the messenger.

Once you have addressed the source of the inflammation your cholesterol levels should return to normal.

The most important thing you can do to return your body to health is to eliminate sugar, simple carbohydrates and processed food from your diet.