Cholesterol question

[Janeway]

I have never had high cholesterol before, ever. Then, last week Tuesday I had blood work, my usual blood work I get every 3-4 months at the endocrinologist. I was horrified when my cholesterol and trigleserides (I know I spelled that wrong) came back high. Mortified and upset. I am a pretty healthy eater, but my husband and kids-not so much. So in recent times, stuff like pizza has become a regular thing in the house. And even though I often get salad instead of the pizza, salad with dressing is not exactly healthy. 

 

I only got the results two days ago. After that, I got very upset and told my husband no more pizza or fast food! Coincidentally, that day had been the worst diet day ever. We had pizza around 5:30pm and then my husband went out for burgers after 9pm!!! I did not eat the burgers and I had just a little pizza. But I think about the children's future if this is happening with me. 

 

Now I have returned to my old eating habits..which includes things like fresh fruit every day and cereal and oatmeal and such and nuts for snacks, etc, hummus, etc. I am not scheduled to return to the endo until March, but really, I could have scheduled that in January. I would like to see if I am on the right track with getting back to where I used to be with my diet. How long should I wait until I have my blood work redone? I would just get a lipid panel so I was planning to go to my family doctor instead of the endo to redo that part. Do you think Monday is fine? Or is this something that might need a few weeks to recover from? No..I am not looking for shortcuts..I just want to see if I am on the right track.

[ktgrok]

FYI, cholesterol fluctuates quickly, so if you had a fatty meal the night before, that would be enough to possibly raise it, just temporarily. 

 

Also if you hadn't fasted long enough. 

 

Some meds and pregnancy and some other stuff can raise it too. 

 

Which of your cholesterol numbers went up, the good or the bad? Recently my total went up, but looking at it my bad cholesterol went down and my good went up. So overall, a good change. If I just looked at total I'd be wondering though!

[Kassia]

I was also going to ask if your cholesterol number was broken down to HDL/LDL.  My total cholesterol is high, but my HDL is very high so the high total is not a concern.  

 

Some people have high cholesterol no matter what they do as far as diet/exercise - high cholesterol can be genetic.  I have a friend who has been on cholesterol-lowering meds for a very long time and she eats pretty healthy and exercises regularly.  

 

 

[Katy]

Well, the fastest I've ever seen it drop in medical studies was with people on a raw diet, eating 5 pounds of produce every day, and the only fat and salt they got was 1 olive.  They tested after 10 days and saw a huge drop.

 

But in reality, your insurance won't pay for the lab work that quickly, and it probably won't be accurate for several months anyway.  Any cause of inflammation, eating cheese or sugar for a couple of days, or even fighting a virus you don't have symptoms for can temporarily raise it.

 

Wait 3-6 months and try again.  Avoid cheese, eat more things like beans and broccoli.  You'll be fine.

[ktgrok]

Well, the fastest I've ever seen it drop in medical studies was with people on a raw diet, eating 5 pounds of produce every day, and the only fat and salt they got was 1 olive.  They tested after 10 days and saw a huge drop.

 

But in reality, your insurance won't pay for the lab work that quickly, and it probably won't be accurate for several months anyway.  Any cause of inflammation, eating cheese or sugar for a couple of days, or even fighting a virus you don't have symptoms for can temporarily raise it.

 

Wait 3-6 months and try again.  Avoid cheese, eat more things like beans and broccoli.  You'll be fine.

 

lol, mine got better eating low carb, with tons of cheese. So your milage may vary :)

 

It has gone up a bit in pregnancy, but that seems to be typical, and only the good kind went up. Before pregnancy my cholesterol was actually too low according to the reference ranges. Eating cheese, lean meats, eggs, and no beans and not much bread. But I on the other hand don't drown my foods in butter, and don't eat much sugar at all. 

 

I'd eat however you normally eat (minus fast food and pizza all the time) and see what it is. Then worry about any major diet changes. 

[J-rap]

I don't know if you are approaching menopause, but my cholesterol was always very good and I ate mostly very well.  Upon menopause, even though nothing else had changed, my cholesterol suddenly spiked.  I did ask them if a recent bad meal could have made a difference, and they told me no.  That it's a slow change and really only reflects months of general eating habits.

 

I did have to change my eating habits a bit, because even though I exercise, high cholesterol just runs in my family.  One thing that really helped was taking fish oil.  I take 2000 units/day.  After that, I did cut out most junk food I was eating (which wasn't a lot), and for lunch I've resorted to veggie/fruit smoothies.  Other than that, I do still eat meat (low fat) with lots of vegetables, and am still a sucker for desserts.  But I've probably cut my desserts in half.  I've lowered my sugar intake a lot.  (Not sure if that affects cholesterol at all.)  The desserts I do have are generally not super fatty.  I do still splurge occasionally on pizza or fast food, but probably only once/month.  So, I'd say I haven't made extreme changes in my diet, but certainly some changes, and I already did eat quite well.  

 

I took my second test after 6 months and it had improved to the point where the doctor was no longer worried, but we now know that it's something we need to watch.  Even the second test was not great, but it was better and I guess in my doctor's comfort zone.

[ktgrok]

I don't know if you are approaching menopause, but my cholesterol was always very good and I ate mostly very well.  Upon menopause, even though nothing else had changed, my cholesterol suddenly spiked.  I did ask them if a recent bad meal could have made a difference, and they told me no.  That it's a slow change and really only reflects months of general eating habits.

 

I did have to change my eating habits a bit, because even though I exercise, high cholesterol just runs in my family.  One thing that really helped was taking fish oil.  I take 2000 units/day.  After that, I did cut out most junk food I was eating (which wasn't a lot), and for lunch I've resorted to veggie/fruit smoothies.  Other than that, I do still eat meat (low fat) with lots of vegetables, and am still a sucker for desserts.  But I've probably cut my desserts in half.  I've lowered my sugar intake a lot.  (Not sure if that affects cholesterol at all.)  The desserts I do have are generally not super fatty.  I do still splurge occasionally on pizza or fast food, but probably only once/month.  So, I'd say I haven't made extreme changes in my diet, but certainly some changes, and I already did eat quite well.  

 

I took my second test after 6 months and it had improved to the point where the doctor was no longer worried, but we now know that it's something we need to watch.  Even the second test was not great, but it was better and I guess in my doctor's comfort zone.

 

Yes, sugar has large impacts on cholesterol. Cholesterol is produce by the body to repair the blood vessels. High blood sugar damages blood vessels, so cholesterol is released to "band aid" them. 

 

And I've always been told that a high fat meal just before could impact the results. 

[Liz CA]

There is a lot to cholesterol readings.

If your good cholesterol HDL is above 100 - this is good. The ratio between HDL and LDL is important as well.

LDL is the one you want to watch. But even higher LDLs with low triglycerides is not as worrisome.

Then you have the VAP test where the lab can determine if you have large, buoyant particles or small and sticky - small & sticky is not so good; large & buoyant is not as much a concern.

 

Did you get a detailed test done where HDL and LDL are separated results?

[Pawz4me]

When I reached menopause my cholesterol levels spiked. It was also around the same time I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and I suspect that had something to do with the spike, too. But all of my cholesterol levels have always been stellar, and the odd thing is that all of my ratios are still excellent. My LDL ("bad" cholesterol) went up, but so did my HDL ("good" cholesterol). So even though my total looks high, all the ratios are excellent. It's weird.

[Liz CA]

When I reached menopause my cholesterol levels spiked. It was also around the same time I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and I suspect that had something to do with the spike, too. But all of my cholesterol levels have always been stellar, and the odd thing is that all of my ratios are still excellent. My LDL ("bad" cholesterol) went up, but so did my HDL ("good" cholesterol). So even though my total looks high, all the ratios are excellent. It's weird.

 

Estrogen declines and sometimes cholesterol goes up.

 

[Rose in BC]

A low carb, high fat diet has given me stellar cholesterol numbers and eliminated high blood pressure (for which i was taking bp pills to treat).

[Anne]

Rose, could you please tell me more about what you eat - and don't eat? 

 

Thank you...

 

Anne, who has been trying to eat low carb/primal but who had succumbed to the yummy loaf of bread SOMEONE brought home and had two pieces of toast and a grilled cheese sandwich.....................sigh.