Cholesterol

[weee]

I feel as if I have been dodging one major health issue after another since I was 42 when I was diagnosed with a blood clot , then coeliacs

Now my GP tells me I have a cholesterol of 8 and 'Mild' diabetes...

To look at me you'd think I was one of the fittest 50 year olds you've met.. Cycle 40 - 50 miles a week, walk regularly for an hour or more, eat gluten free low carb diet

*sigh...

It seems you can live as healthy a lifestyle as you like but the genes will get you...

[Penel]

Hello again Wee.

Hopefully your gf diet will have improved your health and the low carb will keep the diabetes under control.

The cholesterol thing has several possibilities, depending on what you read. If it's not genetic, then a raised cholesterol level may be a response to some form of inflammation in the body. I suffer from the occasional bout of an inflammatory eye problem called uveitis. There has been research to show that in chronic cases, affecting both eyes for example, it can be relieved by taking statins to reduce the inflammation.

We know that gluten is classed as inflammatory, perhaps something else may be a problem? Sugar, refined carbs and vegetables oils high in Omega 6?

We may not always be able to avoid the message in our genes, but have a look at the science of epigenetics. It suggests that not everything is set in stone.

[Chancery]

Hi Weee. Is the cholesterol actually a problem, not just him worrying about the figure? The original norm for cholesterol (I think in the 70s, but don't quote me. Malcolm Kendrick has the data on this) used to be 7.5. As you can see, you are half a point over this, so no, not dangerous! Unless they have specified this is actually harming you physically in some way, I would recommend paying no attention to this and reading The Great Cholesterol Con by Kendrick (a bona fide doctor, not a quack) before you get side-tracked into something unimportant.

The mild diabetes sounds more important, but again, perhaps you need to find out if it really is before panicking. Is it transitory? Will it have settled again in a month? How long has it been monitored? Is it worsening? These are all things you need to know before you worry about any of it.