High cholesterol level

My doctor told me my cholesterol level is high and I should cut down eating fat products.

Has anyone else here also got high cholesterol?

Have you followed a special diet or stopped completely eating fat products?

I heard eating oatmeal on a regular basis helps.

Vegan diet (no animal products of ANY kind), no alcohol and no hardened fats of any kind. Guaranteed to drop your lipid values quickly and effortlessly. A lacto-ovo veggie diet will do the same (provided you restrict overall fat intake), but more slowly.

woof.

Oatmeal, more fiber, more veggies, less fat, less meat, more exercise.

A couple years ago eating oatmeal (for Brits: porridge; Haferflocken) regularly for 6 months for breakfast lowered mine some and pleased my doctor. I still have to watch it though. Now I usually mix some Haferflocken in with my Müsli.

Did your doctor clarify to you if the problem is "good" or "bad" cholesterol, or both? And do you have a sense if the problem stems more from your family history or diet? Best of luck!

eat whale blubber...

sorry, actually it is a good comment in some ways. There have been a lot of studies on Inuit populations where their diet is almost all fish and fats from fish (whales, seals etc) and they almost never have heart/cholesterol issues.
Most cholesterol in the body is actually synthesized in the body for use in steroid hormone production, so although reducing dietary cholesterol is a good move, it is more important to consider the whole lipid profile. The ratio of 'good' fats like High density Lipoproteins (HDL's) to that of 'bad' fats such as Low density Lipoproteins is a very important measurement. and you should have a lot more HDL than LDL.

The tips to doing this are boring though; avoid animal fats from red meats, cheese etc and increase 'good' fats by eating fish, use olive oil not sunflower, avoid Trans fatty acids, and low fat spreads (they contain trans fats to help keep them solid and spreadable otherwise they would naturally be liquid). I would also supplement with omega 3 and omega 6 oils. You can get these capsules in most apoteke... caution though.. if you take them on an empty stomach and then 30 mins later you belch, then it smells and tastes of fish !

I have taken a few liberties with the biochemical details of the trans fats stuff (I am a biochemist), but I am sure someone out there with more time, will correct the minutae.

Cheers

Cholesterol is cholesterol, you mean 'good' or 'bad' fats eg HDL or LDL

Don't make any drastic changes to your diet, and don't go vegan, your body is used to getting what you currently feed it and will react badly to any drastic step change. Increase the amount of fruit and veg you eat and cut down on fatty foods even stealth fats like butter, cheese and milk, and reduce junk food and salt. There's nothing wrong with meat but be aware that it does contain fat and will need to be cooked in a way that allows the fat to drain away, and chicken & fish are better than schweinshaxe. You don't even have to give up foods listed above but cut them down and see how your level reacts. IIRC there's some argument that far from making your cholesterol worse some alcohol in moderate/low quantity and especially red wine might actually lower it. High cholesterol wont kill you but left untreated the effects of it might so as well as tackling the cholesterol level directly do more sports which raise your heart rate which AFAIK doesn't directly help reduce cholesterol but does improve your heart function and general fitness which will leave you better able to cope with whatever comes next.

The Doc gave you no pamphlets or info?
There are different levels of 'High', you could be borderline high that diet alone can change it, you could be high that if you don't make changes you will be on meds soon.
The Doctor is paid to inform you, you never thought to ask him these questions?

Dont change your Diet!!

After all, who wants to Die Healthy?

The Inuit are genetically different. If nothing else got you trying to live on their diet, inside six months the scurvy would.


Bullshit. As someone having first-hand experience with drastic diet changes, I can tell you that this is utter bollocks and that your body doesn't give a shit what you feed it as long as it's getting nourishment. While there are a couple concerns for long-term vegans (chiefly vitamin B-12, available in Kale and some other greens), a short-term regimen to get those lipid values down goes pretty much unnoticed. And don't bring up the low protein aspect of vegan diets; the Western diet has way too much protein (more than double the WHO recommendation which itself doubles the medically necessary amount). Excess protein is the cause of not just kidneystones but conditions like osteoporosis because protein interferes with the calcium uptake cycle.

woof.

Think he wants to go from drastically high cholesterol to not drastically high cholesterol.

Frankly, I'm a big surprised that you didn't get any leaflets or ask further questions either, such as what is the playing field.
When I had my diabetes check a few years back, as type 2 runs in my family, my borderline wake-up score got me sent on a how-to-eat course.
Was fun as everyone else was 60+ and the grannies trying to claim strawberry tarts as a serving of fruit will always stay with me.
The shock of seeing what could happen, being sat with people missing toes or having to inject insulin daily, worked for me.
Bacon still tastes great though ha ha.
But seriously, it's probably worth asking your doctor again for further information and assistance. If that information isn't forthcoming, change your doctor.

The majority of their vitamins are derived from eating the livers of said sea animals, in these livers the fat soluble vitamins are accumulated to such levels eg with Vitamin A, that they could actually be toxic to other humans. However for the water soluble vitamins, notebly Vit C, irrespective of my genetic disposition if I ate shit loads of raw, minimally cooked meats as they do i would have enough Vit C to survive.

"In 1928 the Arctic anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson attempted to prove his theory of how the Eskimos are able to avoid scurvy with almost no plant food in their diet, despite the disease striking European Arctic explorers living on similar high-meat diets. Stefansson theorised that the natives get their vitamin C from fresh meat that is minimally cooked. Starting in February 1928, for one year he and a colleague lived on an exclusively minimally-cooked meat diet while under medical supervision; they remained healthy. (Later studies done after vitamin C could be quantified in mostly-raw traditional food diets of the Yukon, Inuit, and Métís of the Northern Canada, showed that their daily intake of vitamin C averaged between 52 and 62 mg/day, an amount approximately the dietary reference intake (DRI), even at times of the year when little plant-based food were eaten.)[35]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_c

There's a wealth of research proving that many diets that involve a step change in food style can be detrimental to overall health. It's something to be done carefully. Besides, why deny yourself all the joys of life by living like a bovine?

Edit: Interesting that stuff about the inuit, after a trip to Greenland some years back I'd wondered how on earth they survive.

as it's already been said just cut on the junk food and spare yourself problems in the future.
you don't have to vegan to cut on fat. if you want to eat meat leave the bratwurts alone and opt for boiled or oven baked fish (not fried!).

instead of dairy use soya, which has been shown to reduce cholesterol (because most of its production happens in the US you want to make sure it is organic before you buy it.) you can use it under many of its forms (soya milk, soya yoghurt, tofu, tempeh and so on)

you can still get your good fats from nuts and avocadoes and if you are in need of vegetarian/vegan recipes don't hesitate to ask.

also read something on cooking oils so you know which one to use when you cook. (do you?)

Yes, that is precisely what I mean, although you and I may be using these terms differently. In January I was in the States for my annual physical. I received separate scores for:


These are the terms exactly as they appear in the written report I received afterward from my doctor. Perhaps where you come from these terms are used differently?

the doctor told me for the next 4 weeks i should go on a low fat diet or eat less fat products she will then test me again .if its still high then i will ask questions. the high cholesterol runs in the family . my 2 brothers cholesterol level are also high.

if it's in the family heritage you don't want to underestimate it, make your life easier and eat well.

For me, that sort of diet would be anything but "effortless"...

I agree, I wasn't trying to be an arse, sorry if it sounded like it... but biochemically they are lipoproteins which encapsulate cholesterol, the HDLs are much smaller, more dense (Obvious I know) and are less prone to sticking to things, like arteries in the form of a plaque, however the LDL's are bigger and tend to stick and not get metabolized...

edit... this is a nice explanation.. from wiki, so pinch of salt needed, not too much though, think of your blood pressure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_density_lipoprotein

"High-density lipoproteins (HDL) form a class of lipoproteins, varying somewhat in their size (8–11 nm in diameter), that carry fatty acids and cholesterol from the body's tissues to the liver. About thirty percent of blood cholesterol is carried by HDL.[1]

It is hypothesized that HDL can remove cholesterol from atheroma within arteries and transport it back to the liver for excretion or re-utilization—which is the main reason why HDL-bound cholesterol is sometimes called "good cholesterol", or HDL-C. A high level of HDL-C seems to protect against cardiovascular diseases, and low HDL cholesterol levels (less than 40 mg/dL) increase the risk for heart disease.[1] When measuring cholesterol, any contained in HDL particles is considered as protection to the body's cardiovascular health, in contrast to "bad" LDL cholesterol."

basically needs to go straight edge for a while
that'd do him well hehe

Recently I've switched to using rice bran oil. While total oil should be reduced (it's still fat), I quite like this stuff. Some rave about some potential health benefits for hamsters, I like that it has a very high smoke point so is great for stir-frying and doesn't have a strong taste in itself.
Can get it from Asian stores, well, I can get it at the one in Leonrodstr. Munich. Isn't dear either.

My mother has high blood pressure and, although her cholesterol isn't too high, was told by her doctor to try to reduce it further. She doesn't eat fatty, sugary or processed food. Instead she cooks from scratch (using olive oil, not butter or margerine) and eats lean meat (mainly poultry meat), plenty of vegetables, fruit and wholemeal grains. For breakfast, she eats home-made muesli made from rolled oats, mixed seeds and some dried fruit: this ensures that the only sugar in it is from any dried fruit she puts in.

katrina, they also recommend linseed oil and canola (although i've heard bad stories about it being rape seed oil in disguise, which is poisonous for humans)

some reading on the subject...

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=180

My brother was using the rice bran one in NZ and it is hugely popular in Australasia. I just like that it gets really hot so the veggies don't go nasty - anything that gets me to eat more veg is a good thing. Having the pan and oil very hot means that things stay crisp and edible, soggy greasy stir-fries are grim, so rather on any health hype, I buy the stuff because it works as a product.
As for linseed, it gets baked into bread there (oh for a Vogel's Soy & Linseed!), think it does in the UK too and some add the seeds to muesli or the oil into smoothies.
Here's snopes on canola oil.

Debatable. see
Bonjour JP.
Dietary protein: an essential nutrient for bone health.
J Am Coll Nutr. 2005 Dec;24(6 Suppl):526S-36S.

Besides, high cholesterol is only 1 risk factor for CHD. Neither does high cholesterol alone kill you, nor does low cholesterol alone prolong life.

got this email from my brother
"basically you have to cut back on saturated fat,that is processed food,butter and cheese etc
cut back to low fat meat such as chicken and fish.
drink more water with lemon it helps to dissolve fats in the blood.
especially if you drink as much water as you can before tea or coffee in the morning and get into the habit of it eventually your body will prepared loads of toxins and fat ready to be flushed out.otherwise your body is allways looking at where to store all then weird stuff that is in the modern diet.
you basically need to change your lifestyle gradually.
as long as you start to become aware it will be fine but we do have to be carefull as dad's family has a history of heart disease.
i have done a liver cleanse a few times which can really help as this is the organ that deals with all the levels of toxins in the blood etc."

interesting about water with lemon and drinking water befor tea and coffee.

Some facts about cholesterol:
The body produces 1000 to 1500mg per day. Daily intake from food is 500 to 800mg. Even if you don't eat any cholesterol containing food your cholesterol level can be too high. That may happen if your body doesn't control the cholesterol production correctly. There are a lot of studies showing that it is not possibly to reduce cholesterol by a special diet. For women the risk of getting a heart attack is constant at cholesterol levels between 160 and 240mg cholesterol. However, men having 240mg cholesterol in their blood facing a 50% higher risk of heart attacks compared to 200mg. Going to very low cholesterol concentrations is now alternative. Below 160mg the risk of suicide and accidents increases. This makes sense since cholesterol is necessary for the nerve system. 20% of the the brain is cholesterol! Since babies can't synthesise cholesterol baby food is sometimes enriched with cholesterol. Breast milk has enough cholesterol. So don't feed your babies soy milk.
It does't matter what we eat, eventaully we have to die.

Start the day with porridge made from the best oats you can find and water (never milk). Add a spoonful of honey, again as good a quality honey as you can find. Really good at reducing cholesterol and staving off hunger until lunchtime. I eat it every day since I was ill in hospital with pancreatitis last summer and feel a lot better on it. Shifted 8 kilos and cholesterol is down.

@ATL42
At least someone who shows some sense. 'Drinking water with lemon to disperse fat', 'Liver cleansing', where on earth do people get these weird ideas from.

People also do fasting to purge the body from waste products (Entschlacken).
However, nobody ever found waste products in the human body.
Some humans are waste. Even in that cases fasting would not help.

If we go by the theory that "you are what you eat", then... leaving out bad cholesterol and filling up that nutrition gap with good cholesterol foods (I really do believe in fish, vegetables, avocados, olive oil, soy and nuts!) should do the trick.

Of course, not overnight, but gradually...

http://www.hpb.gov.sg/data/hpb.home/media/...pyramid_400.gif

Yummy!

Cholesterol is cholesterol. There is no god cholesterol or bad cholesterol. Only two lipo proteids with different densities.
"you are what you eat" - If you eat pork you become a pig. If you eat chicken you become a hen.
If you eat nuts you go nuts.
Life is not that simple.