Is there a doctor in the house?

[melvin]

that's only natural ... medical problem? ask the Ducati forum ............ but of course   



so i went to have my tests done for the first time ever as i'm of an opinion that "if it doesn't hurt i must be healthy" .... funnily enough, i was right; well, almost
my cholesterol level is high and that goes for the "good" one @ 7.5 mmol/L (3.5 - 5.4) and the "bad" one @ 4.6 mmol/L (2.1 - 4.0)

hence my question; what to do to lower it down? read plenty but would rather hear normal words of advice than words of wisdom which are rather vague

thanks, guys 


....yeah, and i'm bracing myself for any smart-arse comments which are generally unavoidable regardless of the topic 

[Betty]

Food is your main problem, but not eating isn't really an option.

During a health check at work they said my cholesterol was high and I should see the doc. He's advice was ... maintainachieve a decent level of fitness, try to reduce stress and use one of those cholesterol lowering butter/margarine thingies.

Jukie's Dad was told to cut salted peanuts out of his diet and it made a big difference. So again it seems to be all about what you eat (and drink I s'pose).

Don't know how arancini (sp.?) rates on the cholesterol front ... but generally if you like it, it's bad for you.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and any advice should be taken as ridiculous nonsense, entirely based on bullshit and supposition and should not be relied upon if you actually want to stay alive

[brimo]

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt....

Remember that this is just a spot measurement and christmas being the time of excess and all, your cholesterol may just be up temporarily.

Some high cholestrol is hereditary, however a   lot of it comes down to diet and exercise, the usual, fresh fruit and veg, less saturated fat, and particularly more fibre.

Wholemeal foods, (as opposed to whole grain) is known to lessen your uptake of cholesterol, so if your eating something high in cholesterol, (e.g. Avocado, eggs, butter ) balance it out with wholemeal pasta or bread.

There are cholesterol lowering supplements but I wouldn't go down that (expensive) path.

If a poor diet is showing up with high cholesterol it's a good chance that same poor diet can cause other long term problems e.g. bowel cancer and diabetes to name a few, no need to turn in to a food nazi, just plan your eating a bit better and you'll be right.

[sydmonster]

Replace scooter with bicycle... - Chris

ps, really excercise is 50% of the problem. Cut down on trans fats; EG more vegies, less fats/meats. NO arancini for you!

[heatherp]

Do not eat Trans fats - found in any food that is normally liquid at room temp.  ie vegetable oils in margarines.  They do really horrible things to them to make them solid.

So eat butter rather than margarine.  It's the quantity and balance that matter.  Keep food close to what nature intended. Don't eat manmade chemicals. 

Do yoga, meditate. Have fun.   

Your good cholesterol is high - this is very good.  If your not overweight, smoke and don't have predisposition to heart problems - don't worry. If any of these apply - change your lifestyle.

Drink Hawthornberry tea - heart, blood, circulation regulator.  also good for bad circulation.

Don't ever take cholesterol lowering drugs (statins)  They stuff your liver and the doctors wont ever let you stop taking them even if your cholesterol comes down.

And in the end, some of us have genetically high cholesterol.  Did they also give you a heart attack risk ratio result?

[melvin]

Don't ever take cholesterol lowering drugs (statins)  They stuff your liver and the doctors wont ever let you stop taking them even if your cholesterol comes down.

what about these? been to the local health food store and that was suggested

[dragonworld.]

My cholesterol    level my found to be normal, BUT as a long term (45 years) type 1 diabetic with the associated circulatory problems et al my doc said that it is a bit high for me and has prescribed Lipitor. 
Hevent been back for a follow up yet but with the side effects I might have to look at some of the "other" methods of reduction. 

With the risk of loss of lower extremities due to bad calcification in my legs he aint happy with me riding either!!

Phuggit though, if it happens it happens but I'm not going to stop enjoying myself until shit happens and I'm forced to.  [moto]   

[mostro900]

you need....

1. More coffee
2. Forget wholemeal pasta - as an italian, that stuff is an abomination.
3. Meditate with said coffee
4. Get fit by riding harder and longer
5. Arancini get fried, so bummer.
6. Cut out the heavy fats and eat lighter cheeses - mascarpone, ricotta, etc.
7. Drink more red wine

Try that out for 6 months and if it don't work, then clearly my prescription is wrong and go back to a proper doc.

[melvin]

you need....

1. More coffee
2. Forget wholemeal pasta - as an italian, that stuff is an abomination.
3. Meditate with said coffee
4. Get fit by riding harder and longer
5. Arancini get fried, so bummer.
6. Cut out the heavy fats and eat lighter cheeses - mascarpone, ricotta, etc.
7. Drink more red wine

Try that out for 6 months and if it don't work, then clearly my prescription is wrong and go back to a proper doc.

it didn't take long  

....yeah, and i'm bracing myself for any smart-arse comments which are generally unavoidable regardless of the topic 

la ringrazio, medico 

[mostro900]

it didn't take long  

la ringrazio, medico 

yeah, well, there was waaay tooo much sensible advice in all those replies....somebody had to bring it back to reality! 
sorry won't make it tonight

[heatherp]

what about these? been to the local health food store and that was suggested

Hi Melvin

I tried the psyllium cure - supposed to work but I got sick of it pretty quick- like eating cardboard.  It's okay if you're a cereal for brekky person so you can hide it amongst the coco pops!

As for taking phytosterols.  I haven't tried it.  Most of these things are isolated from soy beans which may be okay in  the short term.  Long term you're just taking something else that has been modified by humans.  It's not a good idea to take a lot of soy long term.  Again it comes down to all things in moderation and keeping it close to natural.  I gave up meat/chicken but my doc told me to keep eating cheese and drinking red wine because you have to have some enjoyment in life.

And all this won't do you any good if it all becomes a chore. 

My concern would be that in lowering your bad cholesterol, would the good (HDL) be lowered too?

And Dragon

Diabetes 1 sucks.  Hawthorn berry tea for your circulation too.   

[monstermick58]

My cholesterol    level my found to be normal, BUT as a long term (45 years) type 1 diabetic with the associated circulatory problems et al my doc said that it is a bit high for me and has prescribed Lipitor. 
Hevent been back for a follow up yet but with the side effects I might have to look at some of the "other" methods of reduction. 

With the risk of loss of lower extremities due to bad calcification in my legs he aint happy with me riding either!!

Phuggit though, if it happens it happens but I'm not going to stop enjoying myself until shit happens and I'm forced to.  [moto]   

Hello fellow type 1, only 27 years, but I hear what you are saying.




                                                 Mmick

[Holden]

Cholesterol comes from animal cells. Don't eat any.

I once did a research paper on the subject of vegetarianism and cardiovascular/crebrovascular disease (turns out there's a lot more bad stuff in animal cells than cholesterol). But I realize that diet is as sensitive a subject as religion, so I won't preach at ya.

Animal fat & heart disease:
http://heart.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/78/5/450
http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/resources/atlas/en
http://www.cdc.gov/HeartDisease/facts.htm
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2152
http://www.pcrm.org/news/downloads/berkow_barnard_blood.pdf
Plasma lipids:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/3/525S
Dietary fat & strokes:
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/5/783
Dietary fat & prostate cancer:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n15_v144/ai_14488574
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/prostate/HealthProfessional/page4
Dietary fat & colorectal cancer:
http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v90/n1/full/6601441a.html

[sydmonster]

..Rob, you want some Arancini? Some drink? some ice-cream? Ohh cmon.... Bar Italia had their worst Thursday eve in a while. Rob's cash flow injection "to their till" means Bar Italia will go into receiver ship soon.... - Chris

[DosVerde]

Interesting timing Melvin. I have just had my cholesterol checked for the first time recently and it's pretty high, although I'm opposite to you, the bad is high and the good is low. I'm not surprised really, I indulged in life too much and so now I'm paying for it.

The Doc said she would normally recommend asprin, but I can't take it - they found the high Cholesterol reading in a blood test to work out what was really wrong with me - a peptic ulcer - so asprin is out. So I am now on the lowering tablets for a few months.

I now have to review my eating habits, basically I was told to go on a low fat diet..... I had a lovely salad for lunch. I still have to find something to complement the red wine, maybe ricotta on rice crackers.

I think I have the excercise in check now, especially as my license gets a 3 month rest in Jan    I'll be on the pushy alot.

Thanks all who posted, the info helps.