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Cholesterol Issues!

Deedsie

Hi, i was hoping someone could post some basic information about Cholesterol problems. What people should do to keep it low, reduce it. Just something that could raise awareness?

If this is not a suitable thread by all means please lock it. If i knew enough on the issue id gladly do the thread myself.

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Delirium

The Irish Heart Foundation have this booklet that seems to be a good starting point for information about Cholesterol.

Shiminay

Get yourself a test done too if you're worried about it - a GP should be able to do it. I got it done last year, just a blood sample was needed and took about a week.

kaimera

The father had very high levels, told in no uncertain terms by the doc to get it lower so a new eating regime came in at home. [i believe his were 5. something]

No idea what mine actually is tho but like father like son and all that. Kinda try watch what I eat now as regards my cholesterol.

It is something ya should look out for tho.

Abhainn

Having completed 3 marathons in 2008 and finished in top 3% in all (including Berlin and Dublin) I was quite amazed when my blood cholesterol reading came back at 6.6 yesterday. This was up from the previous year of 6.3. when I started running. I am 37.
As you can appreciate my diet is healthy and I avoid food with these saturated fats.. . Except possibly for butter. I usually use two butters (kerry gold mini 4g each) in the morning with toast and dairgold on my sandwich.

So it's the half fat stuff for a while untill I get a retest. Any thoughts anyone?

Now heading off on a 7 mile run for lunch in preperation for an Ultra marathon.

davmol

5 is not high its the far end of the spectrum alright and your chol should be between 3 and 5.Obviously the lower the better but not too low.
Genetics play a big role in Cholest,if you have hereditary cholest you could eat bread and watr all your life but it will still be high,some have to go on medication like Lipitor ,its best for a doctor to confirm this.

A friend of mine was recorded at 6.5,hes 30 and was told to get it down to 5 or less or hed be put on medication.Ive heard of people with 7+.Try to be very active getting regular exercise,eat food with omega 3 ie fish.
Your doc should be able to provide you with advice or a leaflet on the right sfoods etc to eat.

arybvtcw0eolkf

davmol wrote: »

A friend of mine was recorded at 6.5,hes 30 and was told to get it down to 5 or less or hed be put on medication.Ive heard of people with 7+.Try to be very active getting regular exercise,eat food with omega 3 ie fish.

I'm just back from the Doc's after a full medical.

I'm 42 and have never had an problems with cholesterol, however in the last 18 months there's been a dramatic change in my lifestyle, this is down to a few factors. I've been gaining weight in that time too, I was competing at Judo and kickboxing at 95kgs until two year's ago - now I'm weighting in at 125kgs :eek:

So you can imagine the shock I got this morning when my cholesterol count came back at 9.3 :eek:

My liver function tests are all elevated as are some of my kidney function tests. I'm in such a state of shock that the doc sent me home to relax & get my thinking straight.

I'm back with him in four weeks for a repeat of the bloods, at this stage he said he'll monitor my situation without medication, so here's hoping.

Its gonna be a bloody battle I think

eden_my_ass

Can't speak for myself, but my girlfriend, her father, grandmother, and probably others all have levels over 9....her GP was a bit shocked, tried a few healthy eating steps but nothing changes...on the flip side, grandmother is mid eighties and fine!

davmol

Mairt wrote: »

I'm just back from the Doc's after a full medical.

I'm 42 and have never had an problems with cholesterol, however in the last 18 months there's been a dramatic change in my lifestyle, this is down to a few factors. I've been gaining weight in that time too, I was competing at Judo and kickboxing at 95kgs until two year's ago - now I'm weighting in at 125kgs :eek:

So you can imagine the shock I got this morning when my cholesterol count came back at 9.3 :eek:

My liver function tests are all elevated as are some of my kidney function tests. I'm in such a state of shock that the doc sent me home to relax & get my thinking straight.

I'm back with him in four weeks for a repeat of the bloods, at this stage he said he'll monitor my situation without medication, so here's hoping.

Its gonna be a bloody battle I think

You have to consider also though your body make up.As a Doctor explained to me the actual size of a persons arteries can be bigger than anothers.A large 6' 2 bloke is going to have larger arteries than a smaller skinnier lad,its just physical build.Therefore the bigger lad could have a CHOL reading of 7 and this might only clog 40% of his artery whereas the smaller guy might have a reading of 5 which may clog up 50% of his artery so is a slightly more worrying case.

This is just an example not all cases are like this ie not all bigger people have wider/bigger arteries.

MAirt ,a large gain in weight will greatly increase your cholesterol but it also depends on where you put the weight.Those who gather fat around the waist are known to hav higher CHOL levels as the body breaks down this fat and transports it up to the heart.Also, if you have never suffered from CHOL before ,it doesnt soud like its hereditary so you should be able to get it down naturally.Medication is and should be a last resort as some people are on CHOL reducing meds for life.

Dont worry though,when i came back from travelling after 6 months,my liver & kideny reading were also elevated along with my Triglycerides but when i got back to normal drinking(at wkends as opposed to almost everyday when travelling) and not eating junk all day every day everything got back to normal. Good luck with it!!

arybvtcw0eolkf

davmol wrote: »

Dont worry though,when i came back from travelling after 6 months,my liver & kideny reading were also elevated along with my Triglycerides but when i got back to normal drinking

Thats the other count which was elevated, that read 9.0.

Thanks for the info.

***Actually I might be wrong on that last count, but I know it was high. In fact the Doc said it was very high!.

carveone

davmol wrote: »

5 is not high its the far end of the spectrum alright and your chol should be between 3 and 5.Obviously the lower the better but not too low.

My opinion, but also indicated by Framingham study (now 60+ years old) and Vorarlberg Monitoring program amongst others, say that if you lower your cholesterol you risk your health. Personally, I think the whole cholesterol thing is a pile. A multi billion dollar pile...

A friend of mine was recorded at 6.5,hes 30 and was told to get it down to 5 or less or hed be put on medication.

Or else? Or else what. I'm sure it was an unintended tone in the postign but that sounded like the doctor was threatening him. I'd tell the doctor to shove it (but that's me).
Here, this is some numbers from the Swedish 20 year study:

From 1986 to 2004, cholesterol levels declined in men, 25-64 years old, from 6.38 to 5.78 mmol L−1 and in women from 6.32 to 5.51 mmol L−1.

So 6 can, at very worst, be considered normal. Presumably normal is the new sick now. BMI is almost as bad - let's take a number and, in the absence of any other criteria, use it to label a person. "Brad Pitt is overweight". "George Clooney is obese". BMI is a load of toss. Even the WHO agrees with that...

PS: Why do I care? I care if the government steps in and puts dumb ass taxes on good food or worse, insurance underwriters starts asking for your BMI or Cholesterol levels and levying you based on it. Don't say it can't happen...

Total cholesterol level is made up of 2 parts: LDL (low density lipoprotein) the "bad" cholesterol and HDL (high density lipoprotein) the "good" cholesterol. When getting a reading it is important to find out the ratio of the two. A level above 1.5 in HDL is usually a very good sign and the higher your HDL the better. So for example a person might have a total reading of 5.6 but if this was made up of 1.9 HDL and say 3.7 LDL this would be a lot healthier than a 5.6 reading with 0.5 HDL and 5.1 LDL. Exercise and diet can help raise your HDL reading and lower your LDL. Also worth noting that recent survey showed that the same blood tested by different groups gave varying degrees of discrepency:rolleyes: So always worth a second opinion (reading) if your levels are quite high.
IMHO cholesterol levels are a very important factor in heart disease.

carveone

sy wrote: »

Total cholesterol level is made up of 2 parts...

Good post

I like to get pushy with people who say "cholesterol bad. level of 6 bad" without knowing why or even what is considered normal. Or the level of deviation from normal. Or that a really low cholesterol level might warrant a TB test. Ahem...
To me, the whole thing is like finding a link between plasters and cuts and then supposing that plasters are the cause without any supporting evidence.

Yes, without the ratio, you're just getting a number with no context. I'll freely admit that I don't know for sure if the link between LDL plasma fraction and heart disease isn't a valid one; I'm playing devils advocate to an extent (ever since the stupid egg thing in 1994, and the polyunsaturates in '84, the butter in '74 etc etc etc). If it is valid, the rest of your post makes perfect sense

Wibbs

I agree with carveone and sy. My reading would hover around the 5.5, but my HDL is near the 2 mark. Big diff.

If you look at aging research and life extension research(not the loony stuff mind), insulin and insulin resistance is one of the biggest factors and indicators in age related damage(that and cellular inflammation). The only proven way to increase lifespan and healthy lifespan at that in all the animal subjects so far looked at(inc. primates) is calorie restriction. Not starvation though. It's a low calorie intake but with very high nutrient intake. It'll drop bad cholesterol like a shot too. Not an easy diet to follow though. Tried it for six months a few years back. Very hard to do and I would eat a fair bit less than most. You do notice effects pretty quick. Better skin and faster healing of small cuts was the most noticeable. Funny enough more energy too.

IMHO I would strongly suspect, nay believe that for those without a preexisting genetic propensity to high cholesterol, a radical diet change, exercise and stress reduction will drop cholesterol without recourse to drugs. Most won't or can't follow that so drugs are the only real options. I would reckon early stage type two diabetes the same. The stress aspect I reckon is a biggy. I know a chap, not dissimilar to Abhainn. A very fit and healthy man on the outside. Cholesterol flagged high though. How did he change his? He changed jobs. Pretty much as simple as that. He went a completely different direction in his career and it dropped. Did nothing else.

Griffinx

My Cholesterol was 7.2 so the doc advised that I increase exercise and change my diet. After a couple of months of this it had only decreased minimally so he reckoned the cholesterol was genetically based. Now I'm on a daily Crestor pill which has reduced it down to 5.2.

I'm not too bothered by the drug as it seems to have lots of positive aspect. Seemingly half of US cardiac surgeons put themselves on it even though their cholesterol was ok.

Interesting new research at

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=94097

Gx

ambman

Flaxseed

Is great for lowering it. I take flaxseed capsules but you can buy flaxseed to put on you cereal in the mornings but either way it is good for getting it down;)