Mine has seemingly gone yet further off the scale, and after a couple of years of really trying hard to eat sensibly and ride my bike. It’s all the bad chloresterol and none of the good it seems. It’s also combined with a suspicious weight gain which I really can’t explain, yes I know eat less than you burn but diet is reasonable (I can’t remember the last time I had butter)and I don’t have the luxury of mid-week rides etc.

I am gearing myself up for the next round of battles with my GP about statins, but anyone else trying to control chloresterol and found a way?

Reduce your high GI carb intake.

Read this

How much have you read around this?

It seems like certain foods cause cholesterol imbalances, rather than simply consuming saturated fats… but I tend not to pay attention to those bits.

http://www.treelight.com/health/healing/Cholesterol.html

http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/mom/cholesterol/default.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv2Z3UWYJKk

http://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/news/20100416/statins_may_lower_testosterone_libido?page=2

You didn’t mention how much you ride your bike. Plenty of exercise should increase your HDL “good” cholesterol. Have you tried those benecol drinks?

Thanks. Lots of stuff to read there. I agree with the book write-up when it says pharma has an interest to promote its drugs – one reason why I won’t go near statins.

What are “GI” carbs?

I have not read around this at all yet. I am wary of “cranky” stuff that passes itself off as scientific and struggle to differentiate.

Bike riding – just at weekends (have no time in the nweek). Doc recommended Benecol which I will try. I need to try to work out how to exercise in the week but it’s really going to be a struggle.

I would also be trying all orher alternatives before a statin if I had high cholesterol. You might want to think about your other cardiovascular risks too: folks with high blood pressure, borderline diabetes, who smoke and do no exercise are more at risk of health problems. If high cholesterol is your only risk factor, perhaps your dr will take that into account in his/ her advice.

What are “GI” carbs?

Definitely more reading required!

GI = glycaemic index, or how fast it makes your blood sugar go up. Get googling.

Thanks Vicky. Unfortunately, he was jumpy as BP was borderline high (plus the curous weight increase) so three bad boxes ticked.

Flipping annoying as I thought I was in better nick, it’s not for the want of trying! Not sure how to deal with any of them really.

Also the most effective way to reduce weight and cardiovascular risk factors is through dietary alterations.

I would be looking at that, especially if you already do a reasonable amount of exercise.

Thyroid checked?

Blood sugar checked?

Increased BP and weight gain could indicate developing Type 2 diabetes.

What is your triglyceride level like? A raised level is quite often a warning sign of diabetes.

You would be surprised how ignorant some GPs are of Type 2 diabetes.

If you have followed the traditional advice given to those with high cholesterol of avoiding fat and eating lots of “healthy wholegrains” then your weight gain is far from unexplained – it is completely predictable.

Start with reading Gary Taubes to realise why much of what you are being told by the health establishment is dubious at best.

Other blood levels checked and fine. He did keep talking about thyroid but I’m hardly under active – bloody restless as ever!

Gone for the starvation crash today but goodness it’s hard!

Please don’t expect GPs to know anything about thyroid, the extent of their knowledge seems to be reading the blood test result and ignoring clinical symptoms.

e-mail in profile and happy to answer any questions. I went outside the NHS, they are shocking and only wanted to prescribe AD’s. 😐

Thanks cinnamon. Ex-mrs was strongly over active and I know how hard that was for her.

He did keep talking about thyroid but I’m hardly under active – bloody restless as ever!

She means is your thyroid underactive, not you!

Only around 10% of the measured cholesterol in your blood is actually attributable to your diet – the rest is manufactured in your liver. Therefore, you may not be able to lower it without drugs. Statins are safe and hugely effective – they are the only cholesterol lowering agent that has been proven to save lives by preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Work out your 10 year risk of having a heart attack or stroke by going to http://www.qrisk.org (this is an online calculator that is validated in the UK and is what I use on a daily basis as a cardiologist). If my QRISK2 score was greater than 20%, I would definitely take a statin (and BP lowering agents if my BP was “borderline”).

The advice to get your glucose and thyroid checked is good. If you smoke – stop!

Hope that helps (I’ll be doing myself out of a job soon!)

http://www.saga.co.uk/health/medicines/statins-case-against.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/17/statin-side-effects.aspx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12224312

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ta
06 March 13 : Drugs for life

Doc recommended Benecol which I will try.

It does appear to work (on me anyway), and tastes better than most marge/spread too IMO.

Don’t think of it as expensive butter, but cheap medicine.

This thread has reminded me to go for my re-test.

You might want to think about your other cardiovascular risks too: folks with high blood pressure, borderline diabetes, who smoke and do no exercise are more at risk of health problems. If high cholesterol is your only risk factor, perhaps your dr will take that into account in his/ her advice.

Absolutely – if it’s just ‘primary prevention’ (i.e. you haven’t already had a heart attack etc) then there’s a formula used (Q-risk) that doesn’t just look at high cholesterol, but BP/diabetes/age etc…
However, if it’s sky high, then there may be a ‘genetic cause’ which, despite the best self driven efforts, often needs medicine to lower it.

Please don’t expect GPs to know anything about thyroid, the extent of their knowledge seems to be reading the blood test result and ignoring clinical symptoms.

Whoa…..easy there C-G….
One [perceived] poor experience doesn’t require the whole profession to be tarred…

DrP

Do you know if there is a family history of high cholesterol/blood pressure?

Might be worth persuading relatives to get their levels checked and finding out what your recent ancestors died of.

A genetic cause needs to be treated diffrently than one cause by bad diet.

Before i’d go down the road of compromising your health by taking statins I’d take advice from a suitably qualified nutritionist with experience of treating cholesterol and hormonal imbalance. The current government/medical establishment guidelines for nutritional advice regarding Cholesterol as espoused by many medical practitioners are woefully behind the times with regard to current research – Eating cholesterol rich foods has very little impact on the cholesterol levels in your body – Fact!.

If you can be arsed reading through complex medical jargon, albeit explained as succinctly as possible then i advise you to have a look through this study done by Peter Attia , His Website – The Eating Academy is a good resource for nutritional advice, and his medical background reinforces his advice unlike a great deal of Quack websites.

Pretty much all research done on modern western lifestyle illnesses is either funded directly or indirectly through grants offered by the drug companies who have only one desire and that is to make you pay for something to alleviate the symptoms – if that something turns out to be a drug that you come to rely on for the rest of your life then all the better, why should they offer a dietary cure for the underlying problems causing the symptoms – it is not in their commercial/shareholding interests to offer cures.

Pretty much all research done on modern western lifestyle illnesses is either funded directly or indirectly through grants offered by the drug companies who have only one desire and that is to make you pay for something to alleviate the symptoms – if that something turns out to be a drug that you come to rely on for the rest of your life then all the better, why should they offer a dietary cure for the underlying problems causing the symptoms – it is not in their commercial/shareholding interests to offer cures.

It is important to bear the above in mind but equally you should also be aware that those who advise against statins have usually got a book to sell you, in other words both sides of the argument are compromised by commercial considerations.

Very true avdave2 but as the original poster mentioned suspicious weight gain despite supposedly healthy eating i’d bet money on problems regarding insulin levels and hormonal imbalance which can be treated by a nutritionist with up to date scientific teaching methods, our current nutritional training of Doctors with regard to the amount of time spent informing them in medical school about correct nutrition is woefull and their current workload means however well meaning they may be at the point of conversation with their patients, they do not have the time to keep up to date with current emerging nutritional trends.

As an example of just how inadequate this government treats nutrition we merely have to look at the nutritionally valueless slurry that is fed to people recovering in our hospitals.

Eating cholesterol rich foods has very little impact on the cholesterol levels in your body – Fact!.

This isn’t exactly a secret that the drug companies don’t want you to know. Its probably the first thing your doctor will tell you.

Most cholesterol is manufactured in your liver and Statins (I believe) work by inhibiting liver function. Sounds a bit scary, but I suppose you have to weigh up the relative risks.

My headline level is 7.5 with LDL at 4.5 and high density of 1.79 giving a ratio of 4.02.
Am I going to die? That QRisk thing says 1% chance….

It bothers me a little as so hard to find the truth on the subject! I’m fit, eat well, lean etc so hopefully will last out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policosanol

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swanson-Ultra-Policosanol-20mg-Capsules/dp/B00068JKMA/ref=pd_cp_d_0

I am not a doctor.
I’m not qualified to give medical advice, this is a serious topic, use the links for information and some further reading.
I read about this this whilst looking into the subject for myself.
Not tried this yet.
The studies seem inconclusive about any effectiveness, but if you do a bit of research, there are some positive results around. Granted, ther are also studies that say “no effect”.
But personally, I would probably be tempted to give them a go as a trial run, if nothing else is working, as an alternative to the statins.

Could it simply be a case of you’re not 100% aware of what you are eating?

I thought I ate reasonably well and did a reasonable amount of activity – my weight wouldn’t shift either (other than upward).

I now track my calories in and out (and I mean everything – down to milk in hot drinks) and it was really surprising to see how easy it was to eat 2700+ calories and be only burning 2200-2400.

Since tracking everything I have lost 5 lbs in 2 weeks.

Apologies if you are already doing this but may be worth at least trying for a couple of weeks if not before going down the road of statins, nutritionists etc.

(I use myfitnesspal.com for tracking – other similar sites are available).

Cheers

Danny B

Whoa…..easy there C-G….
One [perceived] poor experience doesn’t require the whole profession to be tarred…
DrP

Believe me, Dr P, it’s been a very real experience and it’s not uncommon either with my illness. Thank goodness for t’internetz eh. 🙂

Pretty much all research done on modern western lifestyle illnesses is either funded directly or indirectly through grants offered by the drug companies who have only one desire and that is to make you pay for something to alleviate the symptoms – if that something turns out to be a drug that you come to rely on for the rest of your life then all the better, why should they offer a dietary cure for the underlying problems causing the symptoms – it is not in their commercial/shareholding interests to offer cures.

Applauds somafunk. 😀

As an example of this, I currently purchase my meds from outside of the U.K. I am fighting for the NHS to pay for these but it will cost a minimum of 3 times as much. So … who’s taking the pi$$ ?

Thanks again everyone. I have spent a fair bit of time last night reading up, and first off I am confused by the (a) welter of information and (b) how some of it seems to contradict – as exemplified above in some ways. Persoanlly, I am deeply suspicious of statins and will do whatever i can to stay away from them.

I don’t have my results to hand but seem to recall that my ratio was in excess of 7.5. I will ask family but I doubt many have ever had it checked. Not aware anyway of any issues.

I researched the underactive thyroid and am reasonably convinced in a self-diagnosis way that I don’t fit the bill – it’s just the weight gain.

Danny, I am slightly ashamed to say you may have it. I was recommended the myfitnesspal thing and started it yesterday morning. I am absolutely horrified about how easy it is to cancel out eg my 30 minute walk each morning by some seemingly trivial food. Either that thing is way out or I have no idea about what I have been eating. I stayed around my claorie target yesterday and was silly hungry and felt as if I’d eaten about a third of usual.

I will keep at it for a few weeks, and then I think use it as a record to see a nutritionist about both my weight and my crazy chloresterol levels.

Thanks again everyone – deeply appreciated.

Often, I will strongly advise patients to keep a very strict food diary – along the lines of “every crumb that passes your lips should be written down”.
It’s frequently surprising to THEM how much they are actually eating.

The thing with change is, is that you’ve got to believe it’s necessary before you make it. If you don’t believe you’re overeating, you won’t approach the diet as a cause for weight gain.

Good luck

DrP

The contribution of high carb diets is interesting with regards to high LDL levels.

Once the liver and muscles are full of glycogen the next step for the liver is to convert glucose to Palmitic Acid, this is a very low density lipid, the sort that sticks to blood vessels.

Another interesting thing is Palmitic acid decreases your sensitivity to Leptin, one of the hormones that tells you you are satiated.

Often, I will strongly advise patients to keep a very strict food diary – along the lines of “every crumb that passes your lips should be written down”.
It’s frequently surprising to THEM how much they are actually eating.

Good idea.
Alternative option:
Now that most have smartphones, take a picture before eating anything and upload to an online food diary/blog.
Less chance of failure to do it due to real-time rather than retrospective action.
Also, pshycological effect of pre-munchies picture may have more chance of altering eating habits positively.

I can’t remember the last time I had butter

Once you understand why you should keep the butter but lose the bread that you’ve spread it on then you’re a lot of the way there.

Statins should be a last resort after diet and lifestyle choices have been looked at.

A guy called Chris Kresser speaks a lot of sense on this if you’re still doing your research.

Another interesting thing is Palmitic acid decreases your sensitivity to Leptin, one of the hormones that tells you you are satiated.

Brilliant.. it’s complicated stuff this!

Molly, it get more interesting…..I work in home ventilation and Leptin is a potent ventilatory stimulant especially during sleep. Obesity Hypoventilation (under breathing when sleeping) is a growing problem so as people become Leptin resistant due to dietary issues the problem will only get worse.

@OOO – I have invested in a Fitbit One also and set my target to 10000 steps a day (around 5 miles). It (I’m slightly ashamed to admit) does motivate me to move around more. You can argue that £80 is a fair amount to spend and that the motivation should just be there but it is working for me.

The bonus is that the Fitbit website talks to myfitnesspal and credits bonus calories if I do enough exercise, hit the gym – whatever. That way I can make sure I’m not eating too little as well as too much.

Cheers

Danny B

I can’t remember the last time I had butter

There’s your (one of) problem. Margarine is the devil’s ear wax. It’s quite likely one of the causes of high chloresterol, ironically. And it tastes minging.

Agreed margarine tastes awful. But I thought compared to butter it was much better?

I really am confused now, especially over the carbs mentioned in a couple of threads. My (previous) diet pretty much exclusively consists/ed of vegetables, fruit and carbs (pasta, bread).

Danny, thanks for the Fitbit. I am managing to use my Garmin and guuesswork for calorie input but will bear it in mind. Given the time I spend at work in the week, exercise opportnities during the week are very limited. I try to go as bonkers as I can at weekends.