Low carb diet n’Pbc: Today, my doc informed... - PBC Foundation

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Low carb diet n’Pbc

Sdone profile image
16 Replies

Today, my doc informed me that a low carb diet was best to bring down my cholesterol. That makes no sense especiallly with a Pbc possibility. Those with Pbc do u have lowfat diets or low carb. It seems like low carb is more lipid rich n bad for liver

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16 Replies
ninjagirlwebb profile image
ninjagirlwebb

My doctor does not advocate any diet restrictions, only eating a heathly diet that is low fat, lean protein, lots of fruits & veggies, calcium rich, while avoiding non processed foods . As for low carb, I try to eat less simple carbs & staying with whole wheat.

martinap profile image
martinap

I was very sceptical too and have read up on evidence. I include a scientific study for you on this. I started low carb high healthy fat aka keto three month ago a big commitment in the beginning but once I got used to it very nice even going out to restaurants is easy. Before I was on a healthy low fat lots of vegetables and fruit diet. But kept gaining weight and my cholesterol kept going up alarmingly the last year’s. As I was very sceptical I tested my urine every week on kidney liver and other markers to be on the safe side. Within three months my values normalized and I am back to a healthy BMI without loosing weight too fast. Also my fatigue seemed to have improved slightly. I am in a keto group where another lady has NASH and she experienced the same. Again this is not for everyone. Apparently some people might experience a rise in cholesterol. That’s why I took my next blood test at the hepatologist as a marking point to decide to continue or not.

For me it worked and I am very happy about this but I will keep monitoring.

I use a free app to track my food intake and activity level and it hhelped me greatly.

It is called MyFitnessPal. It is also excellent when wanting to monitor in general what kind of food you eat on a daily basis and what micro and macro nutrients you take in and very easy to use.

Here a scientific article

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

And a more general article referring to the ketogenic diet and in this case fatty liver disease

ruled.me/keto-best-fatty-li...

Having a medical and nutritional background myself I had to adapt to the concept of huge amounts of fat being potentially healthy for me. I was already on a non processed food diet before so avoided the worse carbs and all fast acting sugars. Looking into the metabolism, the role of mitochondria and our anti-mitrochondriak antibodies and Krebs cycle and the way glucose is stored and released from the liver it made sense for me to give the liver a break by circumventing part of the Krebs cycle and using fat as fuel.

Again this worked for me and some others I met on PBC forums and other groups. By no means it works for everyone and I would recommend everyone who tries to follow guidelines and recommendations of fora like ruled.me or other good keto websites and to keep a diary to monitor progress and effect when trying!

Good luck with your decision. And if you try let us know how it is going! Best wishes, Martina

Sdone profile image
Sdone in reply to martinap

Thank you Martina!

Yankeerose3 profile image
Yankeerose3

My dr recommended not eating bread, potatoes, and rice. He said doing that I'll definitely lose weight. I did loose but also got really sick so, I believe some of the weight loss was do to that. Feeling better but gained some of it back. I go back for follow up today. Can pbc cause flu like symptoms?

Jmorrison profile image
Jmorrison

My liver specialis recommended fish oil tablets to help bring cholesterol down. I haven't had bloods since taking them so don't know if it has helped yet.

JaneIng profile image
JaneIng in reply to Jmorrison

I have been on fish oil (omega 3) for 1.5 year and it did not bring my cholesterol down. Would be interested to know if it bring your cholesterol down.

Sdone profile image
Sdone in reply to JaneIng

I tried fish oil in past n it raised . Doc says it raises your cholesterol level by 10%

gwillistexas profile image
gwillistexas in reply to Sdone

Tks. Never knew that.

gwillistexas profile image
gwillistexas in reply to Jmorrison

If you’re one of the less fortunate & your cholesterol is genetic, I don’t think fish oil will bring it down. I have to take statin. Good luck.

Sdone profile image
Sdone in reply to gwillistexas

Yes runs in family

gwillistexas profile image
gwillistexas in reply to Sdone

Same here😊

Sdone profile image
Sdone

Yes. I do use the fitness app & it worked out greatcwith losing 11 pounds on diet alone. However, at that time i followed its high protein recommendation n ended up very sick with leg swelling n spasms n later high ama a year later eating less protein more fish n healthy , my cholesterol still up. I do eat potatoes n 2 slices of gluten free bread daily , no rice. I wonder if mediterranean diet would be better?

gwillistexas profile image
gwillistexas in reply to Sdone

Sdone...at the PBC Roundtable discussion in May, a registered dietician spoke. She advises to stay away from ketogenic diets and aim for Mediterranean diet. So that may be the way to go😊

Sdone profile image
Sdone in reply to gwillistexas

Awesome, thank you. Yes, i did notice my face and legs get puffy when i eat high protein ever since Ama has been elevated. That helps alot. I will check amazon for a book on mediterranean diet recipes minus wine. Is Vanilla a no no for PBC?

gwillistexas profile image
gwillistexas in reply to Sdone

You’re welcome. I’m not sure about vanilla. At present, I do not follow Mediterranean diet but may check it out. Apparently it has a lot of anti inflammatory benefits. Let me know what you find. 🤗

Sdone profile image
Sdone in reply to gwillistexas

I sure will!

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