Reducing Cholesterol

Zelda247

Has anyone managed to reduce their cholesterol by diet?

marialouise

Meeee! 5.1 in my first blood test in 2011, 5.4 in 2014 to 2.9 in 2017. Not sure if it's totally down to diet but that was the biggest lifestyle change in 2014-2017. Don't know how much help I can be as I wasn't ever specifically paying attention to cholesterol but was having blood tests done for something else and kept a bit of an eye on it. Do you have particular questions about it? Hopefully someone else will have more help than I will, but just wanted to share that it is possible. And I eat about 14 eggs a week

Zelda247

Mine is 7.0 and need to get it down. I am not overweight etc so don't need to lose weight etc just eat healthier to lower the Cholesterol. My diet consists of a lot of carbs and some veg but not much fruit. I eat meat/chicken & fish and have quite a bit of milk and yogurt.

Yes, it can be done. Google will bring up plenty of tips for you.

cobham

You need to breakdown total figure to get HDL and LDL ration to see how "bad" your cholesterol is. There are people who argue it is a myth that it is bad in itself. Age, gender and family background and other health issues can be important inputs.

allthedoyles

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes, it can be done. Google will bring up plenty of tips for you.

agree 100%

quadrifoglio verde

The beta glucan in porridge is quite effective at reducing cholesterol as part of a balanced diet.
The plant stanols reduce it better, however they have been linked to weight gain.
Porridge will also make you feel fuller.

Zelda247

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

The beta glucan in porridge is quite effective at reducing cholesterol as part of a balanced diet.
The plant stanols reduce it better, however they have been linked to weight gain.
Porridge will also make you feel fuller.

Does all porridge contain beta gluten?

Zelda247

cobham wrote: »

You need to breakdown total figure to get HDL and LDL ration to see how "bad" your cholesterol is. There are people who argue it is a myth that it is bad in itself. Age, gender and family background and other health issues can be important inputs.

HDL 2.2. and LDL 4.3 bad I know!...

deadlybuzzman

A family member has a serious medical condition that requires regular check ups with specialists. Her cholesterol was way off what it should be an 2 out of her 3 doctors said medicate.
She refused to because of the issues with diabetes, she cut out all refined cards, improved general diet etc and the doctors said at the next meeting that it was a spectacular improvement, the best by a mile they had ever seen.
I'm eating a similar diet, my readings weren't great and although I'm eating much the same as her my overall readings got worse as I reduced my sat fat intake and my hdl went down!
Currently I'm about to start on a garlic supplement to see how that goes

quadrifoglio verde

Zelda247 wrote: »

Does all porridge contain beta gluten?

Zelda247 wrote: »

HDL 2.2. and LDL 4.3 bad I know!...

Yes, it occurs naturally in oats.
However some oat products have more than others. Porridge is just a great cereal to have at breakfast time though as it's quite filling.

Your HDL levels are actually quite nice though. They're more than ideal in fact.

Your LDL levels can be reduced by good diet changes, try and reduce as much saturated fats and trans fat (found in some margarines) as possible.

Remember you still have to live though:)

yosser hughes

marialouise wrote: »

Meeee! 5.1 in my first blood test in 2011, 5.4 in 2014 to 2.9 in 2017. Not sure if it's totally down to diet but that was the biggest lifestyle change in 2014-2017. Don't know how much help I can be as I wasn't ever specifically paying attention to cholesterol but was having blood tests done for something else and kept a bit of an eye on it. Do you have particular questions about it? Hopefully someone else will have more help than I will, but just wanted to share that it is possible. And I eat about 14 eggs a week

Well, what did you change in your diet between 2014-2017?

Zelda247

deadlybuzzman wrote: »

A family member has a serious medical condition that requires regular check ups with specialists. Her cholesterol was way off what it should be an 2 out of her 3 doctors said medicate.
She refused to because of the issues with diabetes, she cut out all refined cards, improved general diet etc and the doctors said at the next meeting that it was a spectacular improvement, the best by a mile they had ever seen.
I'm eating a similar diet, my readings weren't great and although I'm eating much the same as her my overall readings got worse as I reduced my sat fat intake and my hdl went down!
Currently I'm about to start on a garlic supplement to see how that goes

From the research I have done it seems some people have great results from changing diet and some don't can't understand it myself.

One minute we are told saturated fats are bad next thing they are good so eat butter.

I can't stand margarine so I eat the half fat butter but don't have more than 3 slices of bread in any day so not a huge amount of butter.

I eat lean red meat maybe 3 times a week. I eat nuts as I like them and some veg and salad but not a huge amount. I don't eat any fruit so I know I need to improve on that.

marialouise

yosser hughes wrote: »

Well, what did you change in your diet between 2014-2017?

Gosh that's like asking what changed in my wardrobe over 3 years, it's been very gradual.

To sum up I eat a lot of whole foods and plenty of them, and cut out lots of rubbish. I never smoked, I drink way less now than before and I avoid regularly eating much processed food.

More specifically I now eat a lot of fresh and lean meat, eggs and fish (chicken fillets, lean beef/steak, prawns, salmon), loads and loads of vegetables, the token healthy fats like avocado, seeds and nuts. I use grass-fed butter (like kerrygold), coconut oil or olive oil, but I measure the amounts carefully, usually 5g/ml at a time. I have reduced my carb intake a lot, to things like fibre-rich sources like oats and sweet potato, and I hardly ever eat bread and I don't eat much fruit and don't need it either, I am getting plenty of vitamins and minerals from the rest of my diet, and I eat some berries occasionally. I use MyFitnessPal to monitor my intake of calories, protein, carbohydrates (sugar, fibre) and fats.

So the biggest changes were from throwing together any cheap meat (eg fatty burgers or chicken kievs) and sauces to making more foods from scratch using more nutritious alternatives, and cutting out rubbish like chocolate, crisps, cakes etc. There were other smaller details too like opting for a lower-carb lifestyle, swapping cows milk for almond milk, getting more exercise, but I'm not sure which parts made a difference. I'm sure trading snickers and pastry for tuna on corn cakes as a mid-morning snack made a difference though!

Zelda247

marialouise wrote: »

Gosh that's like asking what changed in my wardrobe over 3 years, it's been very gradual.

To sum up I eat a lot of whole foods and plenty of them, and cut out lots of rubbish. I never smoked, I drink way less now than before and I avoid regularly eating much processed food.

More specifically I now eat a lot of fresh and lean meat, eggs and fish (chicken fillets, lean beef/steak, prawns, salmon), loads and loads of vegetables, the token healthy fats like avocado, seeds and nuts. I use grass-fed butter (like kerrygold), coconut oil or olive oil, but I measure the amounts carefully, usually 5g/ml at a time. I have reduced my carb intake a lot, to things like fibre-rich sources like oats and sweet potato, and I hardly ever eat bread and I don't eat much fruit and don't need it either, I am getting plenty of vitamins and minerals from the rest of my diet, and I eat some berries occasionally. I use MyFitnessPal to monitor my intake of calories, protein, carbohydrates (sugar, fibre) and fats.

So the biggest changes were from throwing together any cheap meat (eg fatty burgers or chicken kievs) and sauces to making more foods from scratch using more nutritious alternatives, and cutting out rubbish like chocolate, crisps, cakes etc. There were other smaller details too like opting for a lower-carb lifestyle, swapping cows milk for almond milk, getting more exercise, but I'm not sure which parts made a difference. I'm sure trading snickers and pastry for tuna on corn cakes as a mid-morning snack made a difference though!

That sounds fantastic. I would like to cut down on carbs as well but I am also a bit worried that it may affect my mood. I suffer from anxiety and carbs are supposed to be helpful in that respect.

Do you eat wholewheat pasta and rice?

Lady is a tramp

Zelda247 wrote: »

From the research I have done it seems some people have great results from changing diet and some don't can't understand it myself.

One minute we are told saturated fats are bad next thing they are good so eat butter.

I can't stand margarine so I eat the half fat butter but don't have more than 3 slices of bread in any day so not a huge amount of butter.

I eat lean red meat maybe 3 times a week. I eat nuts as I like them and some veg and salad but not a huge amount. I don't eat any fruit so I know I need to improve on that.

I reckon it's best to just stick to unprocessed foods as much as possible, and you won't go far wrong.

With that in mind, if I were you I'd switch to real butter or coconut oil instead of the half-fat butter.

Maybe consider switching to homemade yogurt-and-porridge bread instead of regular bread ... it's amazingly easy to make, and just as filling and satisfying as regular bread, it's really delicious! So you could eat just as much of it and more, without feeling like you're depriving yourself or being unhealthy. Would be worth giving it a go anyways.

I eat very little fruit too but lots of veg so I reckon I'm doing okay. There are actually lots of ways to incorporate more veg into your diet. If it's a thing that you don't like the taste or texture, just puree them or chop them up small, and prepare a couple of days worth of veg in advance so you can just chuck them in with whatever you're having for dinner.

In general I aim to only buy single-ingredient foods as much as possible, and work from there. I don't find it particularly hard work and my diet is quite varied. I have my cheat days too, and I've no problem getting the odd takeaway or frozen pizza or whatever. But I'm quite happy with my day-to-day eating so long as it's mainly unprocessed ingredients that I begin with for all my meals.

marialouise

Zelda247 wrote: »

That sounds fantastic. I would like to cut down on carbs as well but I am also a bit worried that it may affect my mood. I suffer from anxiety and carbs are supposed to be helpful in that respect.

Do you eat wholewheat pasta and rice?

Eek this is getting sort of detailed now and I don't want to give very specific advice... I had a nutritionist for 8 weeks and part of that meal plan had carbs around the workouts (sweet potato and a sugary treat post workout), and on rest days there was wholewheat pasta. The rest of the meals were just a protein/fat/loadsa veg balance and that's pretty much what I've stuck with out of habit now, and I don't eat much pasta because I can't be bothered to cook it! But yes, I had some yesterday for the first time in a while actually, so nothing's set in stone. I also have found some "low carb" bread, and there's all sorts of alternatives like carrot-tortillas and courgette-spaghetti to help increase your fibre and reduce your refined carbs.
Of course in moderation there's nothing wrong with carbs, so absolutely include them, you have to do what's right for you. You are trying to reduce your cholesterol and keep your hormones/anxiety in balance, you're not entering a bodybuilding competition! I have different issues/goals so I eat differently. I just stepped away from this pattern:
Cereal for breakfast
Pastry + latte
Roll at lunch
Chocolate/fruit in the afternoon
Dinner of huge portion of carbs, bit of meat and veg and a jar of sauce
to:
Eggs and vegetables for breakfast (lots and lots of possibilities here)
Maybe some nuts, black coffee
Chicken/tuna/salmon/prawn salad with lots of healthy fats to keep me full (but measured!) for lunch
Big snack late afternoon*
Light dinner late evening*
Maybe some greek yoghurt before bed

*These are usually the same sort of thing like meat/fish and veg/salad, I work strange hours and don't need a big dinner at 9pm so by most people's standards I have a light-ish lunch, a huge snack and a light-ish dinner. This works for my mood, I actually get hungry about every 3-4 hours no matter what I eat, so I prefer to eat decent food at regular intervals instead of eating a roll at lunchtime and being hungry shortly after and having blown my calorie budget by lunchtime. I get hangry pretty quickly whether I have carbs or not

I prepare a lot of my meals so I always have something with me, since I can never predict what will be available in the canteen for example, so I'd rather just prepare my own stuff.

Don't cut out carbs immediately, maybe try reducing them in one meal per day like an omelette for breakfast with veg and maybe some cottage cheese or some meat if you feel like it, or at dinner try and reduce your portions and step away from the refined ones to a smaller portion of a high-fibre food.

I absolutely would ditch the margarine also, this can contain trans fats which are probably the worst ones for reducing cholesterol. Go for small amounts of grass fed butter and avoid trans fats where possible (margarine, fried foods like chips or fried chicken, ingredient labels which have hydrogenated vegetable oils).
I dunno what else to say as I don't know what you typically eat but I'm sure you know yourself where you could make little changes.

Zelda247

Lady is a tramp wrote: »

I reckon it's best to just stick to unprocessed foods as much as possible, and you won't go far wrong.

With that in mind, if I were you I'd switch to real butter or coconut oil instead of the half-fat butter.

Maybe consider switching to homemade yogurt-and-porridge bread instead of regular bread ... it's amazingly easy to make, and just as filling and satisfying as regular bread, it's really delicious! So you could eat just as much of it and more, without feeling like you're depriving yourself or being unhealthy. Would be worth giving it a go anyways.

I eat very little fruit too but lots of veg so I reckon I'm doing okay. There are actually lots of ways to incorporate more veg into your diet. If it's a thing that you don't like the taste or texture, just puree them or chop them up small, and prepare a couple of days worth of veg in advance so you can just chuck them in with whatever you're having for dinner.

In general I aim to only buy single-ingredient foods as much as possible, and work from there. I don't find it particularly hard work and my diet is quite varied. I have my cheat days too, and I've no problem getting the odd takeaway or frozen pizza or whatever. But I'm quite happy with my day-to-day eating so long as it's mainly unprocessed ingredients that I begin with for all my meals.

Thank you so much, Could you share the recipe for the yogurt and porridge bread please?

Zelda247

I don't think I could cut out carbs totally. I think the way ahead from what you guys are doing is to focus on non processed foods as much as possible and switch to FF butter. In addition try to add veg and fruit wherever possible.

Regarding snacks, they are a must for me so trying to focus on nuts and natural yogurt, I love both so that's an easy one. Aldi do a wonderful natural yogurt with probiotics and I am hooked on that.

Lady is a tramp

Zelda247 wrote: »

Thank you so much, Could you share the recipe for the yogurt and porridge bread please?

I use one of the 500g pots of yogurt from Lidl. Put it in a big mixing bowl, with two yogurt-pots-worth of porridge oats, and one teaspoon of bread soda, and a wee bit of salt. Mix it all up.

I use the silicone bread molds from Homestore & More - the mixture will fit into two of these. Most people would sprinkle a few nuts and seeds etc on top; I prefer it plain.

Bake for around 50 minutes at 200 degrees. Leave to cool on a wire tray.

It actually tastes and looks and smells very like regular soda bread! Definitely worth trying at least once.

There are other recipes available online too, might be worth looking into, this one is probably one of the most straightforward though.

Zelda247

Lady is a tramp wrote: »

I use one of the 500g pots of yogurt from Lidl. Put it in a big mixing bowl, with two yogurt-pots-worth of porridge oats, and one teaspoon of bread soda, and a wee bit of salt. Mix it all up.

I use the silicone bread molds from Homestore & More - the mixture will fit into two of these. Most people would sprinkle a few nuts and seeds etc on top; I prefer it plain.

Bake for around 50 minutes at 200 degrees. Leave to cool on a wire tray.

It actually tastes and looks and smells very like regular soda bread! Definitely worth trying at least once.

There are other recipes available online too, might be worth looking into, this one is probably one of the most straightforward though.

Straightforward is good

marialouise

Zelda247 wrote: »

I don't think I could cut out carbs totally. I think the way ahead from what you guys are doing is to focus on non processed foods as much as possible and switch to FF butter. In addition try to add veg and fruit wherever possible.

Regarding snacks, they are a must for me so trying to focus on nuts and natural yogurt, I love both so that's an easy one. Aldi do a wonderful natural yogurt with probiotics and I am hooked on that.

Yep you don't need to cut out carbs, but cut down on the refined and sugary ones (cakes, crisps, chips, sweets, white pasta, very processed bread) and instead get them from whole food sources with lots of fibre (like oats, quinoa, sweet potato, bulgur wheat etc).

Be really careful still with nuts and full fat butter. They're both healthy but they are very calorie-dense so just a handful of nuts can very high in calories and they are very more-ish so maybe weigh out a portion before work and bring it with you instead of eating out of a bag/packet, and learn what a 5g portion of butter looks like. Again I recommend MyFitnessPal for just a few days (try a week or two) to get an idea of what you're eating and see what foods you're eating are high in which nutrients. You may not need to do it from a weight loss point of view or to change anything, it's just fascinating to see it written down, it'll really open your eyes.

Give it a bit of time and effort and get your blood re-checked. If you haven't seen any improvements then I wouldn't leave it too long before seeing a dietician instead of trusting strangers like me on the internet!

Zelda247

marialouise wrote: »

Yep you don't need to cut out carbs, but cut down on the refined and sugary ones (cakes, crisps, chips, sweets, white pasta, very processed bread) and instead get them from whole food sources with lots of fibre (like oats, quinoa, sweet potato, bulgur wheat etc).

Be really careful still with nuts and full fat butter. They're both healthy but they are very calorie-dense so just a handful of nuts can very high in calories and they are very more-ish so maybe weigh out a portion before work and bring it with you instead of eating out of a bag/packet, and learn what a 5g portion of butter looks like. Again I recommend MyFitnessPal for just a few days (try a week or two) to get an idea of what you're eating and see what foods you're eating are high in which nutrients. You may not need to do it from a weight loss point of view or to change anything, it's just fascinating to see it written down, it'll really open your eyes.

Give it a bit of time and effort and get your blood re-checked. If you haven't seen any improvements then I wouldn't leave it too long before seeing a dietician instead of trusting strangers like me on the internet!

Thanks so much.

Lady is a tramp

Do you know what works for me? (And I've lost three stone in the past couple of years!)

I don't waste treats.

A friend of mine who I eat out with a lot thinks I'm really self-disciplined, but I'm actually not! It's just that if I'm going to eat badly, I make it worth it, and don't feel a shred of guilt about it.

So, when it comes to cakes and biscuits. I won't even consider them unless they're chocolate, and very chocolately! So she'll be constantly eating Digestives or carrot cake, and beating herself up over it, and not even enjoying them. Whereas I refuse every sort of dessert unless it's RIDICULOUSLY chocolately, and as it rarely happens that something "good" enough presents itself, I don't need to feel guilty about making a pig of myself - I'll just really enjoy that triple-chocolate-cake (with cream, of course) every few weeks.

Or with bread and pasta ... I'm not going to waste my time on the yicky wholewheat stuff (which is only slightly healthier, if at all, it's still processed food.) Instead I just eat alternatives - who knew you could have a really lovely wholesome filling dinner that does NOT involve bread or pasta or rice or spuds or any of those things! It's actually so possible! But when I do actually eat something like that, it'll usually be a really delicious big fat white sourdough bread ... probably toasted and with scrambled eggs and sausages, and I'll make the most of it.

I know it sounds so simple, but you enjoy your food SO much more when your treats can actually BE treats because you know you've stayed clean the other 90% of the time. Rather than eating low-level low-satisfaction crap every day, and having the constant nagging feeling of guilt about it.

goat2

which breads and pastas are best to help in the reduction of cholesterol, I no longer eat red meat, now to find out that the humble potato does not help me either

goat2

which breads and pastas are best

Meeeee79

goat2 wrote: »

now to find out that the humble potato does not help me either

Ive never heard of a link between potato and cholesterol, what does the research say about this?

goat2

Meeeee79 wrote: »

Ive never heard of a link between potato and cholesterol, what does the research say about this?

the starch in potatoes, it is recommended to go the sweet potato route, but alas the sweet potato is no resemblance to the one we are used of, I am in a pickle with the cholesterol, hard to control, love the creamery butter, potatoes, butter, sausages, and adore cheese, have to cut the butter, cheese and sausages along with another fav of mine out, the steak, so trying to find a new way

willmunny1990

goat2 wrote: »

the starch in potatoes, it is recommended to go the sweet potato route, but alas the sweet potato is no resemblance to the one we are used of, I am in a pickle with the cholesterol, hard to control, love the creamery butter, potatoes, butter, sausages, and adore cheese, have to cut the butter, cheese and sausages along with another fav of mine out, the steak, so trying to find a new way

Don't think this true, potatoes are a rich in soluble and insoluble fiber which reduces cholesterol.

Now how they are cooked may be an issue, with the use of butter, cream and other added stuff but the potatoe in general is good for cholesterol.

Meeeee79

willmunny1990 wrote: »

Don't think this true, potatoes are a rich in soluble and insoluble fiber which reduces cholesterol.

Yeah to be honest im not so sure either,maybe further research required here!

goat2

I am a lover of all things veg, which is great for me, but I know people who do not like veg, they would have a far bigger prob than me.

Zelda247

goat2 wrote: »

I am a lover of all things veg, which is great for me, but I know people who do not like veg, they would have a far bigger prob than me.

What's your favourite Veg?

goat2

Zelda247 wrote: »

What's your favourite Veg?

Parsnip,Spinach,

Zelda247

goat2 wrote: »

Parsnip,Spinach,

I am trying to increase my veg intake, what is your favourite way of cooking?

Tar.Aldarion

Mixed roast veg is delicious.

Although it's not certain the effects of dietary cholesterol on blood serum levels it still has at least some effect as far as I know (people argue about that a lot). I don't eat particularly healthily but I eat no foods with cholesterol in them and my cholesterol is really low. As I eat no cholesterol I also get very little saturated fat, maybe it's that. The two often go hand and hand in foods.

Also weight seems to be a factor, not being overweight is important.