High Cholesterol Support Group
High cholesterol is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is not a disease but a metabolic derangement that can be secondary to many diseases and can contribute to many forms of disease, most notably cardiovascular disease. If you have high cholesterol, join the community to find support and share your experience.
I became vegan this year to try to naturally lower my cholesterol. Previously was mostly vegetarian but still consumed eggs, cheese, dairy etc. I thought if I cut out dairy and fried foods, my LDL's would have no choice but go down. My attempts at curbing this naturally have all failed.
Jut got blood test done today, and big surprise, my cholesterol is horrible. TC = 303, LDL = 233, HDL = 70
The improvement from last year that gives me a little hope is the HDL is going up which helps my overall ratio.
In 2014, during statin, TC=217, LDL=151, HDL=66 (Still higher than normal range recommends)
In 2014, before statin, TC=263, LDL=205, HDL=58 (exercising like mad)
In 2013, TC=314, LDL=256, HDL=58 (reached a desperate level)
In 2012, TC = 281, LDL=220, HDL=61 (Vegetarian, took niacin supp)
Anyone have success stories on diet/exercise changes that worked long term? That don't include juicing and working out for 3 hours a day.
Jut got blood test done today, and big surprise, my cholesterol is horrible. TC = 303, LDL = 233, HDL = 70
The improvement from last year that gives me a little hope is the HDL is going up which helps my overall ratio.
In 2014, during statin, TC=217, LDL=151, HDL=66 (Still higher than normal range recommends)
In 2014, before statin, TC=263, LDL=205, HDL=58 (exercising like mad)
In 2013, TC=314, LDL=256, HDL=58 (reached a desperate level)
In 2012, TC = 281, LDL=220, HDL=61 (Vegetarian, took niacin supp)
Anyone have success stories on diet/exercise changes that worked long term? That don't include juicing and working out for 3 hours a day.
http://time.com/3705734/cholesterol-dietary-guidelines/
Some people have very high cholesterol numbers from a genetic disorder called "familial hypercholesterolemia." I do not know if you are at that level or not, but you seem to be close.
I have never read anything about cholesterol affecting testosterone. However, hormone issues can be associated with both (I believe, do not really know for sure).
If you are really interested in digging deep into this subject, and I am sure you are, let me recommend three books for you to read.
1. The Great Cholesterol Myth: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Cholesterol-Myth-Disease--Statin-Free-ebook/dp/B009PKIPOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423695839&sr=8-1&keywords=the+great+cholesterol+myth
2. Death by Food Pryramid: http://www.amazon.com/Death-Food-Pyramid-Politics-Interests-ebook/dp/B00HFKX24Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423695892&sr=1-1&keywords=death+by+food+pyramid
3. The Big Fat Surprise: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surprise-butter-healthy-ebook/dp/B00A25FDUA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423695927&sr=1-1&keywords=the+big+fat+lie
All three are excellent and you will become an expert on this subject, knowing far more than nearly any doctor.
For a while I went to an alternative doctor who was just brilliant and caring. But he was always pushing supplements and think down the road I'd probably be getting an IV with vitamins. So I went back to my traditional GP and wing it on my own, hopefully with common sense. :)
I'm skeptical that eating "whatever" has no impact on your blood cholesterol. Mainly because my good level went up without crazy intensive exercise. I had surgery in November and wasn't able to workout as i did before. Regarding that, also wanting to reduce my risk of cancer by not eating hormone-laced meats and dairy products.
The improvement to my HDL has motivated me to continue veganism, not just for my health, but for overall well-being and reduce my environmental impacts. I'm going to start back into an intensive workout regimen and see what happens to my levels in another 3 months.
I recently read the Food Revolution, which wasn't that well written but interesting because it was from multiple MD viewpoints regarding plant-based diet.
I'll read the books you (sptrout) recommended though and become an expert;)
Both books were written by women investigative journalists, one living on the east coast, the other on the west coast. (The author of "The Big Fat Surprise," said she spent 9 years investigating and writing her book.)
Both books were published last year (2014) about 5 months apart so they had no way of knowing what the other was writing. (BTW - - Both were vegetarian before starting their research, neither are now.)
Both dug deep into all the studies that have been conducted the past ~50 years on all the diet and diet fads. They also compared the results of the various studies to what people eat around the world, with very interesting comparisons. "Death by Food Pryramid" obviously centered on that bogus, and deadly diet, but covers much more.
In the end, both came to nearly the same conclusions on what to eat. You will be very surprised to learned the truth about the food we eat and how we got into the big mess we are in (heart problems, obesity, diabetes, etc.).
IMO, most of our medical problems start in a town called Washington D.C.
I'm in the camp that believes homocysteine has more to do with heart health than cholesterol: http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Kilmer_McCully_MD.shtml
In terms of diet, meat doesn't raise cholesterol as significantly as sugar and carbs. The best diet (according to my cardiologist) is to eat a diet of mostly veggies and a bit of meat. Completely skip sugar and limit carbs as much as possible.
A vegan diet is terrific but I think the problem is that you can wind up eating a lot of carbs, sugars and the chemical crap storm in all the vegan products. Raw and organic and unprocessed is great.
Another issue with the vegan diet is that you can wind up short on B vitamins and a lack of B vitamins can drive up your homocysteine level which is likely the real culprit in heart disease.
http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Kilmer_McCully_MD.shtml
If you're really hungry for carbs, sweet potatoes are good. Sweets - berries. But mostly veggies and meat.