cholesteral

I may have to change the way I eat, due to my Cholesteral results. I'm 6'2" 185lbs and in OK shape, but my numbers were way higher then some of my over weight co-workers.

I am under the belief that cholesterol levels are governed quite a bit by genetics. I had an instructor in college who was in good shape, but her cholesterol levels were always through the roof and it was a known family trait. What are the cholesterol levels of everyone else in your family?

Here is some interesting research with regards to dietary cholesterol.

Dietary Cholesterol & Atherosclerosis


Dietary Cholesterol & The Optimal Diet For Reducing The Risk To Athersclerosis

[TexasRN]

It would be a good idea to change the way you eat now, before you have any kind of heart attack and have a harder time adjusting. Gymcoach is right also in that it can be simple genetics working against you but a change in diet is always a good idea if you are eating a ton of red meat and fats. If diet alone doesn't cut your numbers enough, there are meds that work well for genetic cholesterol problems. I'm 5'10" and weigh 128, very active, and while in nursing school my cholesterol was high because of the fast food diet I was pretty much forced into by the study schedule I kept. I was able to lower it significantly just with diet alone after nursing school and now have great numbers.


~Amy

According to the commercials, you just have to eat more cheerios.

For starters, was it just your cholesterol that was high? or did you also have high triglycerides?

Gymcoach is absolutely right, genetics can play a big role, especially if you have a family history of: early heart attacks, heart disease, atherosclerosis etc. That would be a place to start, and then discuss that with your doctor.

In terms of reducing your numbers. The best thing in my oppinion is diet and exercise. I myself have a big family history of high cholesterol and diabetes in my family, and I once had bad numbers as well. But through diet and exercise I changed that. In diet, you are going to want to reduce your fat content, specifically your saturated and trans-fat. This would include: Bacon, sausages, burgers, fries, lots of red meats, butters etc. Start eating healthier meats like: fish and chicken (but not the fried kind).

In terms of exercise, start running or biking or do something that will give you a good sweat for 30-40 min. If you are worried that your numbers are high, based on your hight and weight that you gave us: try losing 5-10 lbs. Even that small amount of weight can help WONDERS for your cholesterol numbers.

Finally, there are medications (like Lipitor) that can help with cholesterol problems. But beleive me, you do NOT want to go on medications. It should be one of your last resorts.

[TexasRN]

Originally Posted by mscomc

For starters, was it just your cholesterol that was high? or did you also have high triglycerides?

Gymcoach is absolutely right, genetics can play a big role, especially if you have a family history of: early heart attacks, heart disease, atherosclerosis etc. That would be a place to start, and then discuss that with your doctor.

In terms of reducing your numbers. The best thing in my oppinion is diet and exercise. I myself have a big family history of high cholesterol and diabetes in my family, and I once had bad numbers as well. But through diet and exercise I changed that. In diet, you are going to want to reduce your fat content, specifically your saturated and trans-fat. This would include: Bacon, sausages, burgers, fries, lots of red meats, butters etc. Start eating healthier meats like: fish and chicken (but not the fried kind).

In terms of exercise, start running or biking or do something that will give you a good sweat for 30-40 min. If you are worried that your numbers are high, based on your hight and weight that you gave us: try losing 5-10 lbs. Even that small amount of weight can help WONDERS for your cholesterol numbers.

Finally, there are medications (like Lipitor) that can help with cholesterol problems. But beleive me, you do NOT want to go on medications. It should be one of your last resorts.

You make a good point when asking which specific numbers were high. There are different kinds of cholesterol in your body and you need to know the breakdown of your numbers specific to which type of cholesterol. There's triglycerides, HDL, and LDL. You want higher HDL numbers. So if they just said your cholesterol is high, get them to do the testing to find out more.

~Amy

Originally Posted by mscomc

For starters, was it just your cholesterol that was high? or did you also have high triglycerides?

Gymcoach is absolutely right, genetics can play a big role, especially if you have a family history of: early heart attacks, heart disease, atherosclerosis etc. That would be a place to start, and then discuss that with your doctor.

In terms of reducing your numbers. The best thing in my oppinion is diet and exercise. I myself have a big family history of high cholesterol and diabetes in my family, and I once had bad numbers as well. But through diet and exercise I changed that. In diet, you are going to want to reduce your fat content, specifically your saturated and trans-fat. This would include: Bacon, sausages, burgers, fries, lots of red meats, butters etc. Start eating healthier meats like: fish and chicken (but not the fried kind).

In terms of exercise, start running or biking or do something that will give you a good sweat for 30-40 min. If you are worried that your numbers are high, based on your hight and weight that you gave us: try losing 5-10 lbs. Even that small amount of weight can help WONDERS for your cholesterol numbers.

Finally, there are medications (like Lipitor) that can help with cholesterol problems. But beleive me, you do NOT want to go on medications. It should be one of your last resorts.

Can you elaborate? Reason I ask, I've been on Lipitor for 2-1/2 years now. My dad died of heart disease at 56 and his dad at 49. I have heard mixed things about Lipitor. I've heard some people having muscle problems, liver failure, all kinds of things. I really do not like being on it, but my doctor says given my family history and my levels before I started taking the Lipitor, I need to be on it. The last time they checked my levels I was doing great. My TG's were low, my LDL was low and my HDL was up. But, I shed about 55 lbs before then. I asked my doctor if he would consider taking me off the med to see where my levels would go, but he told me no.

Am I slowly killing myself being on this medication? I would hate to find out when I'm 50 that my heart is healthy, but my liver is shot!

And did you know that one of the ingredients in Lipitor is Talc?????? That cannot be good for you!