Cholesterol question ?

[Noted & Disregarded]

G'Day

A question about cholesterol, did my medical a week or so ago and got the blood results back today my Chol, Trig, VLDL and LDL are all just on the upper limits my HDL is good so my ratio is in a safe range but I would still like to reduce it. The Doctor I saw only gave me a drug option and wasn't interested in me changing my diet.

So a little help please I understand I must cut back on red meat , butter cheese etc and eat more fish fruit and veg.

I eat lots of fruit and veg already so I will just up the fish and chicken a little and cut out the red meat, I think otherwise my diet is fine. I am also cutting out the grog for a month or 2 .

I also would like to know how protein drinks affect cholesterol I usually have a protein (whey) after a session at the gym.

I have heard so many things on what I should and shouldn't do.


Any help or hints appreciated

Cheers Noted

[got caught]

Why worry- be happy.:ok:

It sounds like your diet is pretty good. You could increase your fruit/veg intake to 5 a day, and cut down on fats which are solid at room temperature.

The red meat things a bit of a misnomer- there's probably more fat in a cooked chicken, than a good piece of rump.

Sorry don't know the answer to the protein question- but wouldn't you be better having a good piece of finny haddock than shovling some powdered refined crap into your body?

If you exercise well, don't smoke and your blood pressure & weight is within normal limits, forget the chiolesterol thing- go and live a little!!

[742]

With all due respect to got caught, my view is that the evil fats are the trans fats/ hydrogenated oils. These are liquid at room temperature, but have been shown to increase LDL with no corresponding increase in HDL.

Natural fats that are solid at room temperature (lard, to take an extreme example) will increase LDL, but also increase HDL. Most liquid vegetable oils that are not hydrogenated are a net plus, giving a solid boost to HDL.

The science in all of this is not settled, and those with tendency toward conspiracy theories might note that there is a lot of money being made in the manufacture and use of trans fats. But the increase in heart disease in the last century corresponds to the introduction of these modified fats into our diets. Of course a lot of other things changed in the last century, but an interesting study just published in the United States found that nurses who regularly used butter had a significantly lower risk of heart disease than those using margarine. And no, that last sentence is not backwards.

There is also a lot of money being made off of statins, and I am taking one myself. But skepticism of this fad with regard to otherwise healthy people is probably in order.

As a disclaimer, I am not in any way a medical type. My interest in this comes from a family history of heart disease and a high’ish cholesterol level. Your best bet is to start researching this matter directly, avoiding both the health food nuts and the non-specialist doctors who are not current in the field.

I suspect that got caught nailed it with regard to not smoking, exercise and good BP control. So enjoy your good HDL.

[Tarq57]

I've been reading up on this sort of thing, amongst others, for quite a few years now, and think that 742 has it pretty much spot on.
Even vegetarians can have excess cholesterol; all you have to do to achieve this (potentially) hazardous condition is eat too much, specifically carbs, more specifically, refined carbs.
I suggest having a look at a book called The Liver Cleansing Diet, by Dr. Sandra Cabot, published about 8yr ago. Lots of very fascinating info about how the liver works (or not) and what it likes (or not). Turns out Trans-fats are amongst the worst things you can consume, that are allowed to be added to food.
I had a cholesterol test a while back, and the Dr. said the ldl was fairly high, but the HDL was even higher, so it was all OK, to simplify.
HDL is usually associated with a "Mediteranean" type diet, high in cold pressed oils, LDL with eating a diet high in processed food, regardless of fat intake.
There was one study I've heard of that drew a direct correlation between an increase in vascular disease in countries where homogenised milk has been introduced. (The process destroys milk fat molecules to the extent that the body doesn't recognise them as food. When they pass into the bloodstream, an immune reponse is initiated, the end result of which is plaque build up in the blood vessels).
Lastly, a well functioning liver, combined with less exercise (but at least some!) than most people think is necessary will help lower LDL and plaque buildup. Healing liver herbs include Milk Thistle, and Dandelion. Ground roasted dandelion root almost makes for a semi-passable cofee substitute, and in my experience can help reduce the severity and duration of a hangover, also!

[slim_slag]

I also would like to know how protein drinks affect cholesterol I usually have a protein (whey) after a session at the gym.
A recent statement in Circulation reports that large amounts of additional soy protein in the diet has little beneficial effect on cholesterol levels.

As for fats, it's probably the type of fat which is more important than the amount. So, trans fat = very bad. Saturated fat = bad. Monounsaturated fat = good. A lump of steak has roughly the same amount of cholesterol as a lump of chicken, but higher saturated fats. So go for the chicken, though no need to miss out an occasional juicy steak if you feel like one, just cut the excess fat off it. Do the same with the chicken, don't eat the skin. Salmon is very fatty, but it's good fat like omega 3, and has been shown to be very good for the heart. Monounsaturated fats have a beneficial effect on good/bad cholesterol levels.

The body manufactures cholesterol when it needs it, and makes more than you eat in your diet. Saturated fats cause the body to manufacture cholesterol so blood levels go up. Balance your diet, avoid processed foods, don't overeat too much of anything, and you should live longer. My personal opinion is the food pyramid is wrong, too many carbs at the bottom, but you won't find vast amounts of people agreeing with me.

[Tarq57]

SlimSlag.
Yeah, I agree with you 100% on the carbs issue.
Recent reports I've seen imply that the food pyramid was designed by a rather large player in the processed food industry, and has very little basis in nutritional medicine.

[geezajob]

I was just wondering what the upper limits are for cholesterol for a pilot. I'm yet to commence training but hope to soon. Anyway, I've not had my class 1 yet and I was wondering if it can be a problem. I'm on statins every day ad infinitum to keep it down thanks to my dad's pesky genes. Would this be a problem? also got osgood schlatters in my knee! any ideas about that would be good too!

[Tarq57]

Geezajob
Sorry don't know the limits for cholesterol, but if you're interested, the link gives some information about cholesterol inhibitors, and it doesn't make pretty reading. (There is alternative advice at the bottom of the page.) It makes sense to me, but if you are in the rather-not-know or trust-current-medical-wisdom camp (which the regulators in charge of determining medical requirements appear to belong to also), you might prefer to skip it.
Don't know anything about the knee condition but wondering if it could be related to the inhibitors you've been taking.
Be warned, I'm pretty anti-mainstream in some ways so this could be useless to you.

[Tarq57]

Perhaps it would help if I included the link: http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/statin.html

[Roadtrip]

Don't be surprised if a moderate change in diet has almost no affect. Everyone's body chemistry and genes are different. My cholesterol was below 200, but my ratio was so-so, even with exercise. Doc put me on a very small dose of Zocor (10mg) which brought it down to about 100. I'm smart on diet, but don't watch every single fat molecule. My trigycerides were a moderately high 400, and a small dose of Zetia (10mg) brought those down to about 130. I believe the way Zetia work is to block the body from absorbing the bad stuff in the first place, so it just goes right on through you.

I don't like taking medications either, but my flight surgeon is really sold on the benefits of these things. He says the benefits are such that there's serious consideration being given to prescribing the Zocor class meds to those with even normal cholesterol levels.

Talk to you Doc some more about meds if the diet doesn't produce good results for you.

[QDMQDMQDM]

My feeling, based on current evidence, is that there will be recommendations that everyone achieve a cholesterol below 4mmol/l within a few years and to get to this most will need to take high doses of an effective statin, such as atorvastatin. I think we will then see the epidemic of heart disease in the Western world wither away, leaving us all to die of Alzheimers or run out of money, or both.

Forget diet -- unless you go to huge extremes it won't make much difference. Enjoy the bacon and eggs and take the pills, I say.

QDM

[Loose rivets]

Forget diet -- unless you go to huge extremes it won't make much difference. Enjoy the bacon and eggs and take the pills, I say.
QDM

is this true for Gout?

Mmm...one has low cholesterol and a ridiculously low BP, but I have to take Allopurinol (300) "for the rest of your life."

I would very much like to stop taking this medication if the problem can be dieted away.

I have had two episodes of gout, and would sooner cut my feet off than have another one. In full uniform, fifty yards from the edge of the tarmac, I had to get a vehicle to pick me up. I could not...repeat not, walk another step.

At this time I was very fit, well in terms of judo, running and the like, but this came out of the blue. Daily Allopurinol has been a total answer...except in terms of the published side affects.

Any hope that a cure by dieting can be achieved? LR

Edit...oh, by the way, this was 25 years ago :-(

[QDMQDMQDM]

Loose Rivets,

Thre is always a genetic component to gout, but it can be aggravated by certain foods, the list of which I am sure you know well. In your case, getting it at a young age, when you were not obese and probably not over-indulging in forbidden foods or a bottle of Port a night points to a very strong genetic component in your case.

You can find out pretty easily, though, by cutting your allopurinol to 200mg daily, following a strict gout-avoiding diet and keeping an eye on your serum urate level. Then cut to 100mg if all OK and maybe even come off it completely. But if your urate starts to climb much above 0.42mmol/l you may be in for trouble and if you are doing everything you can on diet and are not obese then the majority of the problem is genetic.

All the usual caveats -- general advice only, do not change medication without seeing your own doctor, etc etc etc.

QDM

[Loose rivets]

At the risk of hijacking this thread...first thanks for that info, but my main problem is that being in a non EEC country is proving more difficult than I had imagined. I am on the edge of losing all my British rights to medicine, and the costs here are, well, impossible.

Wanting to see my grandchildren grow up has been financially catastrophic. I guess that they have to find a way to pay for all the medicine and welfare that is needed for the folk that have never paid a penny into our economy. :mad:

[QDMQDMQDM]

Drug costs are enormous, no way round it. Worth a visit back to the UK every 2-3 months to pick them up in person! No comments on legality etc.

QDM

[Tarq57]

Looserivets,
I guess or hope your Dr. has given dietary advice already (avoid/eatlots of) if not, google sees all, but I would imagine you've already done that.
I have read a book that lists a correlation between food/health conditions and blood type - pm me with your type if interested. You might look at trying some Berberis 6x once a day for a week or so. Aids elimination/tendency to kidney stones etc.

[spaceman18]

Hey
Those of you on here who are talking about the tablets (statins?) you can take to lower your cholesterol.....are any of you pilots? Ie. it isnt something that would invalidate ur medical?
JUst wondering as my cholesterol is high ish, and there is a history of heart disease in my family, yet i dont smoke, am not overweight and eat reasonably well.
Many thanks:ok:

['I' in the sky]

No, Statins will not invalidate your medical. Check with the CAA first to see if the ones you use/propose to use are OK. If you are new to them and are already a pilot you need to ground test them for side effects for a couple of weeks before you continue flying.

[Old Smokey]

Just a reminder that all things must be kept in balance, a direct quote from Wikipedia -

"Cholesterol is the major precursor for the synthesis of vitamin D, of the various steroid hormones, including cortisol and aldosterone in the adrenal glands, and of the sex hormones progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone".

If your Cholesterol levels go down too far, they do not go down alone!:ooh:

Just trying to put a balance on things, everything in moderation.............

Regards,

Old Smokey

[Colonel Klink]

Try a glass of dry white wine or two a day before your next blood test; it will drop your choloesterol. Lay off the coffee and beer and you will be OK.