how to reduce cholesterol? no eggs? protein??

jon1981

hi,

I was surprised to be told I had a cholesterol of 5.3. Considering that i dont eat chips, crisp, or drink fizzy drinks and i work out 4-5 times a week i was disapointed. Also i see eggs are bad as they contribute to cholesterol. Anyone got any ideas on a substitute for eggs?

amazingemmet

Eggs increase hdl cholesterol(good) and decrease the bad one, ldl, would be better to know the ratio then just the total amount as would give you a better attack plan

Transform

Agree with above - the whole cholesterol measurment is a complete marketing farce if you ask me as cholesterol levels will vary according to hormone production i.e. colds, infections etc will increase your natural production, menopause etc

“Although it is commonly believed that saturated fats and dietary cholesterol "clog arteries" and cause heart disease, such ideas have been shown to be false by such scientists as Linus Pauling, Russell Smith, George Mann, John Yudkin, Abram Hoffer, Mary Enig, Uffe Ravnskov and other prominent researchers. Dr Stephen Byrnes www.powerhealth.net

“On the contrary, studies have shown* that arterial plaque is primarily composed of unsaturated fats, particularly polyunsaturated ones, and not the saturated fat of animals, palm or coconut.” Dr Mary Enig
* Felton CV et al. Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Composition of
Human Aortic Plaques. Lancet. 344:1195. 1994.

So therefore eggs will have no effect.

Take in more good fats (6-10g per day of fish oils), exercise regularly and levels will 'normalise' more.

Also check out http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm who has done amazing work in this area

luckat

There's such a thing as familial high cholesterol, which isn't affected by diet. I have this, and have to take statins to moderate it. When the statins were first tested on humans the tests had to be stopped halfway through because it was unethical to continue - the high-cholesterol people taking the placebo were continuing to have a high death rate, while those taking the statins were living on healthily.

However, I think this is generally for higher cholesterol than yours. (I'm not a doctor, not offering medical advice, just talking about my own experience and what I've heard. If you want the real skinny, go to your doctor.)

I wouldn't be too pushed about listening to contrarian versions of the cholesterol question. There have been many, many studies that show what increases your cholesterol, and shows the bad effect of high cholesterol on your chances of a heart attack.

The main cause of high cholesterol is smoking. Don't smoke, and don't hang out with people who smoke in your company.

Apart from that, eggs, coconut, lobster, crab, fish roe, the fat of meat, and offal are all bad for cholesterol. Steer clear of the Ulster Fry, don't lash back cakes and butter.

Apparently eggs from hens raised in the way hens should be raised can be good for cholesterol, in moderation.

If your cholesterol is worrying you, maybe you might just go to a more Mediterranean diet - mainly vegetables and grains, fruit every day, lean meat and chicken and fish, and oily fish a couple of times a week. Cakes and crisps and ice cream as an occasional treat.

Transform

What a load of crap - eggs coconut, fish causing high cholesterol levels.

The paper i referenced was from the Lancet - only one of the most well recognised medical papers.

The primary cause of high LDL cholesterol is vegetable oil and products that contain it.

Finally taking statins as a means of lowering cholesterol levels have in NO WAY been shown to extend ones life and have no direct link to heart disease which is the link most companies make when discussing lowering those levels.

http://www.mercola.com/article/statins.htm

Take a healthy approach to life and i do agree adopting a diet high in organic/free range animal products, good fats, low grain will make a massive difference

Reyman

Interesting references Transform. A lot of pharmaceutical companies making good money out of these chemicals.

Anyway 5.3 is not high cholesterol, and if you look at the references you'll see low cholesterol seems to be correlated with violent behaviour and suicide risk

jon1981

luckat wrote:

don't hang out with people who smoke in your company.

unfortunately everyone in my house smokes and i've had numerous arguments with them smoking while im about...i'll have to live it with until i move out.

jon1981

thanks for the info guys, theres loads of advice and guidance for me to digest now!

mloc

extremely low cholesterol levels are also associated with low testosterone in men
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15327593&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum

bad example ref, but thats the jist of it.

siochain

Reyman wrote:

Interesting references Transform. A lot of pharmaceutical companies making good money out of these chemicals.

Anyway 5.3 is not high cholesterol, and if you look at the references you'll see low cholesterol seems to be correlated with violent behaviour and suicide risk

5.3 is something to worry about. It’s about the average level in Irish people and the average Irish person dies of a coronary related incident\disease.

So if people want to be a part of the good statistics you should aim for a lower total levels but also making sure your ratio of HDL:LDL is good.

g'em

mloc wrote:

extremely low cholesterol levels are also associated with low testosterone in men
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15327593&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum

bad example ref, but thats the jist of it.

very simply Testosterone is made from cholesterol, as are all androgens. Too little cholesterol leads to low homormonal levels. Also another reason why medium-high dietary good fats are so important.

mloc

g'em wrote:

very simply Testosterone is made from cholesterol, as are all androgens. Too little cholesterol leads to low homormonal levels. Also another reason why medium-high dietary good fats are so important.

Indeed, in fact, all steroid hormones derive from cholesterol. In this way, extremely low cholesterol can lead to hormone imbalances including estrogen also.

PS I find it somehow ironic that I'm taking a break from studying for my vasoactive mediators exam to post this, just finished a sample essay on coronary disease and drug eluting stents, such is my life at the moment... ugh...

g'em

mloc wrote:

Indeed, in fact, all steroid hormones derive from cholesterol. In this way, extremely low cholesterol can lead to hormone imbalances including estrogen also.

PS I find it somehow ironic that I'm taking a break from studying for my vasoactive mediators exam to post this, just finished a sample essay on coronary disease and drug eluting stents, such is my life at the moment... ugh...

ah yeah but when it's related to training biochem is ... well, I was going to use the word "fun" but that's probably too big a stretch of the imagination... much easier to tolerate!!!

Malteaser!

g'em wrote:

very simply Testosterone is made from cholesterol, as are all androgens. Too little cholesterol leads to low homormonal levels. Also another reason why medium-high dietary good fats are so important.

I was always under the impression that the body was able to produce enough cholesterol by itself and didn't actually need to be supplemented by the diet.

t-ha

Transform wrote:

The primary cause of high LDL cholesterol is vegetable oil and products that contain it.

Hydrogenated or just vegetable oil in general? What about other oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats?

g'em

Malteaser! wrote:

I was always under the impression that the body was able to produce enough cholesterol by itself and didn't actually need to be supplemented by the diet.

It's a mixture of both. We synthesise about 1g of cholesterol a day and then 'use' about 200-300mg dietary cholesterol too.

Truth is, very, very few foods naturally have a lot of cholesterol in them - eggs, shellfish and offal are the main ones. Processed foods are a different story, especially those high in trans fats.

You're right though, technically speaking we don't need to supplement our diets for cholesterol production, but the good dietary fats serve a few functions mainly in that they'll help lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL). For lifters and athletes in general, high testosterone is beneficial, so for them, a dietary strategy that maximises hormonal production is likely to be a good thing?

Transform

t-ha wrote:

Hydrogenated or just vegetable oil in general? What about other oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats?

all types of veg oil - unless they are cold press filtered and you then do not heat them. Butter is better when heating is involved as its more stable

t-ha

Cool thanks.

wasabi

Lard is good too, but not easy to get hold of :rolleyes: