Cholesterol anyone ?

i just noticed this week some of my cholesterol levels were high on some testing results from 3 months ago. I went back and looked at my results from 4-5 years ago, when I was still in great physical shape, and the difference is striking. My levels used to be the best possible, all of them.

Now, they have all rised, and my doctor didn’t even mention it. Of course, they’re not totally off the chart, but if I keep it up this way, I’ll be taking medication in a few years.

So my HDL cholesterol is something like 2.7 mmol/L which is high, my LDL cholesterol is okay at 2.7 mmol/L, triglycerids 0.85 mmol/L which I think is good and total cholesterol is 5.79 mmol/L which is high. Non HDL cholesterol is 3.08 and there is no reference, so I have no idea if it’s okay or not.

Apparently too much of the good cholesterol (HDL) can also lead to cardiac problems. And I can’t find anything online to explain what elevated Total cholesterol means.

Anyone knows what to make of this ?

 

You may find the following link of interest - the graphs are worth studying :

https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2012/09/25/silence-was-the-stern-reply/

Whenever reading any research about cholesterol always remember that cardiovascular disease (i.e. heart attack and stroke) are not the only causes of death. So if you do something that reduces your risk of developing CVD (or dying from it) but increases your risk of dying of cancer then you have gained nothing. If you pay attention to research papers you'll notice that overall mortality is often not mentioned. And the reason it's not mentioned is because either the research intervention made no change to it, or it even made overall mortality worse.

 

My 2c is that the primary thing going on is enforced lack of exercise. Our body was built to move, and when it's unmoving for too long it degenerates. I've seen it dramatically in myself, it's ... it's whatever the word is for something that makes "depressing" seem like a fluffy kitten. There could also be something about M.E that directly bodges up cholesterol, but I suspect the severe lack of activity is enough, especially activity above the aerobic threshold.
eh. Is that even 2c worth? OK, 1.5c.

 

I think it makes sense ! Also, I know I don’t eat as well as before. I eat commercial foods, more refined sugars, and sometimes binge on not so good foods. And I don’t cook much, no energy. I’ve gained at least 20 pounds of fat and lost maybe 10 in muscle.

Also, as you said, not exercising is really not helping.

 

@Dechi Other than high cholesterol, do you have any other risk factors for heart disease (ie high blood pressure, high triglycerides, etc.)? My cholesterol and LDL were both high, but because I don't have any other risk factors, my doctor wasn't worried about my cholesterol and didn't think anything needed to be done about it.

 

there is not really enough evidence relating to cholesterol I recently read in a Japanese study of cholesterol in the elderly population 80+ that having higher cholesterol levels seemed beneficial in quality of life for the elderly . the paper was on Medscape .

 

Yup, same here. As long as you are not pre diabetic or have high blood pressure then there is no need for meds. Both my HDL and LDL are on the higher end, triglycerides are low, my ratio is normal. I eat quite a bit of coconut oil so that could be why too.

 

There is also evidence that if your cholesterol gets too low, it can cause depression.

 

I have low blood pressure, although it went up a bit, and my triglycerides are good. I don’t think anyone is going to prescribe medicine for me now, but what worries me is that only 4 years ago, I was at the very low end of all levels, and now all my levels have gone up a lot, some even off the charts. There has to be something wrong with my habits, that I can change.

I don’t want to wait until they’re seriously high to make changes. This is, I hope, the push I need to est better and try and lose weight.

 

This article may be of interest :

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325650.php

Very low levels of 'bad' cholesterol may raise stroke risk

New research examines the data of almost 100,000 participants and finds that excessively low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

 

Wow, now I’m happy my bad cholesterol isn’t so low anymore...

 

It's not just you. I had roughly similar issues. A few years ago I partly turned it around by being very strict with food intake, using a notebook to record every bite (yeah, it's a pain). It's not easy, there were times of getting burned out on it and regaining, but I've at least steered away from obesity, metabolic syndrome and all that goes with it. I'm still in poor shape, but better than I was. I'm slooowly learning to make quick, low-effort but not bad food.

My unimpressive methods: If being slightly ambitious: Throw some spices on veggies, roast them quickly at high heat for a little crispiness, use a spray bottle to mist just a few grams of oil on them. Otherwise I'm buying pre-cut salads (expensive, and you have really watch where you get them from, very easy to get contamination) of various types, which becomes my fast food. Another out is canned chicken; it's low cal (using a no fat version), not awful-inedible but also bland enough I don't overeat. Throw said stuff on plate with the salad/veggies, now ya got fast food without eating garbage.

 

I would not attach much weight to any single study in medicine, especially regarding nutrition.

 

I think metabolic syndrome happens somewhat more often than usual with us. Raised blood sugar, raised cholesterol, central obesity (apple shape in the middle). Exercise is probably involved, but also, as mentioned above, poor eating due to low energy. I think I was heading this way.

It might be enough to make a few small changes (full fat milk to semi-skimmed, those spreads that reduce cholesterol, a bowl of porridge a few times a week) without massively overhauling diet. Especially if a slightly raised cholesterol is the only problem.

Porridge is supposed to be really good for bringing cholesterol down and is my personal favourite diet tweak. It's amazing what a pinch of salt, a corner of a teaspoon of sweetener and a teaspoon of jam (or fresh blueberries) can do for plain porridge oats.

 

Cholesterol is not the problem. Insulemia is.

 

My LDL was borderline when I was consuming foods with trans fats. It went down normal when I stopped, but then I started eating chocolate and it went up again. Now I've stopped the chocolate and I'll see how it goes on the next test ...

 

Great tip for vegetables ! I do buy prepared fresh salads but they get boring. I also buy all prepared meals, like shepard’s pie. I can’t really cut vegetables, so I sometimes buy them cut as well, but never really thought about cooking them in the oven. Ma daughter makes those for me sometimes.

I’ve never seen canned chicken, but I don’t know if I would like that. I’ll have to search for it.

 

Is porridge also called oatmeal, like Quaker Oats ? If so I really do like it and eat it often, even for dinner. I put a little brown sugar in it and just a spoon of chocolate milk...

 

I've always had the impression that oatmeal and porridge were the same concept, but used different part of the oats, or differently milled oats at least. (i.e. porridge oats are not the whole oat squished, they are a refined product. I understood oatmeal was the whole oat squished, porridge oats have the germ, husk etc. removed.

I may of course be wrong, it's been difficult ot get any clarity on the matter the few times i have looked into it, and without being abe to buy something called 'oatmeal' in the UK, impossible to compare.