Cholesterol count

[angels]

I just had a blood test and my cholesterol count was 6.4 which is a tad high. I thought the upper limit was 5 but its apparently 4.

I must admit I had been caning the old saturated fats recently, so fair enough, I've got to cut back.

I'm eating sardines, fish etc and in place of butter I have bought some vile Flora stuff which is supposed to lower your cholesterol. I'm also drinking some yoghurt concotion which claims to do the same.

And yet some brochure I've just read from the British Heart Foundation says improving my diet can reduce cholesterol by 'up to 10 percent.' Surely this is cobblers? I thought cholesterol count was mainly due to your diet?

If that 'up to 10 percent' is right I think I may just go back to enjoying Haagen Dazs!

How else do I get my cholesterol count down?

Any tips gratefully received, and yes, I know some miscreant is going to post a picture of a ginormous fry-up on here.....:}

Edited to add the doctor didn't want to put me cholesterol reducing drugs.

[blue up]

Literally just got in from having my medical. 5.2 this year and a full 1.5kg lighter. Doc said not to worry.

[Maxbert]

My cholesterol is at 250-ish... Obviously not much standardization across the EU, maybe something they should look into?:E

My reading is somewhat high, but my doctor (fat-ish, with a gigantic bushy beard, looks somewhat like a pirate, a little worse for the wear) told me that there is no "absolute" in this respect- I am close to 42, and weigh around 63 Kg fresh out of the shower- I am also "hyper-nervous", ie my fingernails are chewed to the quick (since I was 7), and I always shake- Not debilitating, but there is a definite permanent tremor to my hands.

So- I currently have a fast metabolism and pay scant attention to my diet. Doc says that while my reading is on the high side, I shouldn't worry overmuch:confused:

Also there should be 2 readings- the "good" cholesterol, and the "bad"...

I guess if you're not on lowering drugs you are basically OK :confused:

Maxbert

[wings folded]

I wouldn't settle for less than a good 23 or 24 cholesterol count.

Oh, and wait a few weeks a some new study will tell you that high cholesterol is ideal. And you should:

1) drink like a fish / not drink at all
2) smoke until you can't see youself in the mirror through the fog / do not smoke
3) eat 5 weekly doses of oily fish and die from mercury poisoning
4) eat 5 daily doses of fruit or veg and contract all kinds of nasty things from pesticides

They all bore and irritate me, these Western medical experts

[Curious Pax]

Had high cholesterol when I had a medical prior to a posting abroad in 1994. Whilst abroad I met the now Mrs CP, who introduced me to the joys of red wine (I didn't touch it much before that). When I had a medical on returning to the UK my cholesterol level had plummeted to well under the max suggested, and remains there to this day.

So...crack open the red wine and let it do its work!!

[rhythm method]

Had my cholesterol checked about 6 weeks ago. Came in at 5.9 (a tad high they said.. check diet).

I avoided fry-ups (not that I ate them much anyway), all egg dishes, and I drank one Flora Pro-Active drink per day. After 4 weeks, the level was down to 5.48 (Almost the 10% suggested!)

By the way, between 4 and 5 is considered good, anything more is high, and the CAA limit is 6.5.

RM

[tony draper]

Bro Draper was a health/health food/exercise nut long before it became compulsory,when the Min of Health decided they needed some numbers from Doctors that they could fiddle and invented Cholesterol Bro Draper discovered said Cholesteral count was high and went on a even more rigid diet and ran about the park twice as much as before, upon his return to the quacks six weeks later he discovered his cholesterol count was not the same it had been, it had become even higher, ergo we Drapes don't have a lot of faith in diet/exercise best go the simvastatin route as we now do.
:E

[rhythm method]

Ahhh, but to go down the simvastatin route, you have to know your Kidney and Liver functions haven't been wrecked by years of binge drinking! I'm avoiding the statins! :}

[Fate is the hunter]

Since when has the CAA taken an interest in cholesterol readings? I retired from flying in 2000 after 32 years with BA and never had a test from the CAA in all that time. Five years later aged 60 decided to let the GP do a test--total cholesterol was 14.3 (4 recommended) and glycerides 22.7(1.8 recommended). Not known how long this level existed--blood pressure has always been 120/80 since a teenager.
Stress ECG and other tests suggest no long term harm hopefully. Statins,fibrates, and gallons of fish oil have brought total down to 3.9!
Just because your blood pressure is OK dot not assume the cholesterol is too. Would advise everyone irrespective of age to have a test.

[PingDit]

I'm in the RAF. When I had my first blood test on transfering to aircrew, my cholesterol count was 9.3 - so what? I thought and suggested to the doc that perhaps this level was normal for my body - I'd been born that way? He went to some lengths to explain that; at the time, the national average was 4.2 and that a higher level would lead to severe heart problems in the future, especially with a reading like mine!
Time has passed by, I tried the statins which did bring the reading down but unfortunately, my body is alergic to them (that took some finding out, but at least I no longer have a permanent sore throat and I can now sleep at night!)
Anyway, to cut a long story short, my current reading is 6.3.
The most recommended ways of reducing levels are:

1. Eat more of a mediterranean diet in the way of salads and salad oils.
2. Cardiovascular exercise will help enormously.
3. If you smoke, give up. It won't reduce the cholesterol level but will help to avert the impending heart attack!

By the way, when I was taking the statins, my level reduced to 5.2!

Good luck!

[Shack37]

Maxbert

My cholesterol is at 250-ish... Obviously not much standardization across the EU, maybe something they should look into?http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/evil.gif



Try googling "cholesterol level converter"

s37

[Neptunus Rex]

Amongst many fine tips from my first (extremely patient) Flying Instructor:

"Now young Neppie, when it comes to your annual medical, go to the fat doctor who smokes!"

Seems to work.

;)

[G&T ice n slice]

Maxbert

what you are describing sounds like some of the symptoms of an over-active thyroid gland, aka "hyperthyrotoxicosis".

The Thyroid controls your metabolic rate.

If you are (a) skinny, eat anything and never put on weight (b) have tremors in the hands - and generally 'the shakes' (c) are nervous & on edge (d) have disrupted sleep patterns (e) suffer pain/aches in the eyes (f) have slighly protruding eyeballs ... and a whole bunch of other stuff

Then there is a good chance that's what you've got. AND your G.P. won't recognise it .

Suggest you ask for a blood test for that condition.

p.s. You doctor will want to put you on tranquilisers because he WON'T recognies the symptoms, or.. if he does, if you have epithelial ((I think that's the term)) extension ((where the thyroid is not only overactive, it grows as a 2-3 cell thick layer in the tissues of the neck)) he won't be able to feel its presence and will dismiss your concerns. Then you will have to get another GP

Best of luck

p.p.s. yep been there done that, got chucked out of that doctor's patient list, but at least I'm not dead. Never trust the quacks

[tony draper]

Prefer me bacon a bit crisper than that Mr G,:)

[Shack37]

Wot, only one banger and rasher? Bit skimpy.

[Loose rivets]

Yea, but it's got more lean on it that a whole pack of American bacon :{

[tony draper]

I prefer streaky bacon but none of the shops round here have it,except at Christmas for draping over the turkey.:(

[Dan Gerous]

Had a few heart problems in the family recently, with my contribution being suspected Angina, but looks like being nothing more than very bad indigestion,(seeing the consultant again on the 15th). My brother and sister duly trotted along to the docs for tests, my cholestorel being 5.1 and my brothers being 5.8. My sister was a wee bit smug as she thought hers would be less, but turned in a respectable 8.3. Best comment I heard after my suspected angina attack was my sisters kids 10 and 11 to her, "but Uncle Danny doesn't smoke, and is the fittest off you all". Someone pass me a fag, as I can't be ars3d to get off the sofa to get one myself. :confused:

[ExSp33db1rd]

Since as a schoolboy -do they still have schools ? - I have been taking my mothers advice of consuming a daily fish oil pill, usually of the Halibut Liver Oil variety, now known as Omega 3 in the present yuppie-speak, and for the past few years a daily Aspirin, and I also cut down on the fatty meats, salt, dairy produce, bacon and eggs,fish and chips etc. years ago, not fanatically but sensibly - I thought.

When my blood pressure and cholesterol exceeded the NZ CAA norms, I started the bood pressure and Statin pills, and at my last renewal medical the ECG was OK but my age ( what advancing age ? ) dictated a stress ECG during which the operator raised his eyes and asked if I was driving home ? !!

Within a week I had 2 arterial stents inserted. I was not happy, and complained to the surgeon about all the precautions I had taken, so what was the point ? He suggested that my precautions had only delayed the fateful day, not prevented it.

Medical science changes its' mind about every 5 years - eggs are OK again now, apparently - and I once had a Flt. Eng. who decreed that when the med. profession got around to admitting that lying around on the sofa eating crisps and drinking beer was the best formula for longevity and fitness, he was way ahead of them !

[parabellum]

Twelve minutes of aerobic exercise like, ski machine, swimming, cycling or, if you have to, running. (Running is the least healthy as it cracks up your ankles/knees/hips in later life and has your heart bouncing up and down inside your chest).

That is twelve minutes continuous when the heart rate has reached the aerobic level, so seventeen to twenty minutes should do it, anything after that twelve minutes is only burning calories and therefore good for weight loss, the cardiac work has ben done. Stop/Start games like tennis, squash, badminton etc. are healthy but you really do need that continuous twelve minutes at the aerobic level. Got all this from a heart specialist, by the way.

They say eating oatmeal, like porridge etc. can reduce cholesterol too.

[BarbiesBoyfriend]

Mine was 7

AME phoned me to advise.

I like cream. And cheese.:eek:

Edit to add, that was at my 'age 40 medi' I'll be 49 in a week.

[reynoldsno1]

By the way, between 4 and 5 is considered good

They can never make their minds up - 7 years ago mine was 5 - excellent, ideal they said. BP 120/80 - excellent they said for a 50 yr old. 1 month ago had it checked again - 4.5 and BP 117/74. We'd like it a bit lower ... for ****'s sake, what do you want ....:mad:

[Cardinal Puff]

Dark ales (stick to CAMRA brews to avoid the other crap beer factories put in the commercial stuff) and red wine. Apparently the flavinoids help reduce cholesterol. BP 120/80, cholesterol 4.7 and resting pulse rate 62bpm at last medical.

[Crossing Guard]

Do you smoke?
Do you drink excessively?(More than 3 standard drinks per day)
Are you more than 10% over your ideal BMI?
Do you exercise?
Does your family have a cardiac/blood pressure history?
Have you had your homocysteine levels checked?
Do you know what red yeast rice is?
If you answer no to at least three of the above and have a cholesterol level of greater than 7.0 go and have a chat to your nearest cardiologist

[angels]

Crossing -

If you answer no to at least three of the above

Er, I think you mean 'yes'. Yes? :}

Cheers, Gobona - I suppose that's butter on the toast is it?

Anyway, thanks to all for their input. I'll resurrect this thread in three weeks time or so when I get re-tested.

Stay healthy folks. :ok:

[Storminnorm]

I might reflect on the FACT that the bloke that "Invented"
jogging died of a heart attack whilst out jogging.
I don't drink at all now,pity about that, but I do still smoke.
Exercise is something schools call their books as far as I
can recall?
My BP is usually about 125/75. Heart rate generally normal.
I think you can cause more problems by worrying about HAVING
problems.
Just stood on the scales. Just under 13 stones. That'll do me.
The Memsahib is heavier, and gets upset about it. I don't.
I was 10 1/2 stone in the Air Force.
Ipso Facto, I've put on 2 1/2 stones in the intervening 40 odd years.
Round about 12 ounces per annum.
I must find something else to worry about.

PS, What IS cholesterol?

[kluge]

GobonaStick - where's the black pudding?

[wings folded]

Gobona stick

Far too much Baked Beans - all that fibre is much too good for you.

Grilled tomato - keep it back in the kitchen

Only two slices of toast visible.... how are you going to spread a half pound of butter on so little?

Needs more bacon, more sausage, a few fried spuds for mopping up the egg yolk and of course a proper slice of real Black Pudding.

A decent dose of Haggis would not go amiss either....

[MagnusP]

Cholesterol level - a bit high. BP is 120/70. HbA1c is 6.6. BMI is 24.

And there's pukka Stornoway black pudding in the fridge.

[CUNIM]

Hey Wings Warped:ok:, you forgot the essential fried bread upon which you place the fried tomatoes since cooked tomatoes are better than raw for lycopine thus offsetting the fried slice.

[wings folded]

Hey Wings Warpedhttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/thumbs.gif, you forgot the essential fried bread upon which you place the fried tomatoes since cooked tomatoes are better than raw for lycopine thus offsetting the fried slice.


Sounds like you know far too much about nutrition and nothing like enough about breakfast.

Grilled tomato seems to be able to maintain 400 degrees celsius on a plate for 2 hours, ensuring:

1) no gustative pleasure
2) a burnt mouth

Agree though that a bit of fried bread would be a good complement.

A bowl of proper porridge beforehand and a glass of half decent single malt would not be a bad thing either.

[wings folded]

Well, I feel vindicated.

The moment I mentioned a glass of single malt with breakfast, the thread was moved to Medical & Health.

These moderator chappies know a thing or two.

[blue up]

Gobonastick. I like eating the stuff but hate having to cook it myself. What was the point in getting married, anyway?

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j279/foggythomas/sausages.jpg

[kluge]

All tastes a lot better if done on a Gas BBQ :E

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<When I told him I had drunk a bottle of Jack the previous night at a haloween party >>

Well at least it should be a very good blaze at your cremation which, I imagine, won't be too far off.....!

[9AlphaWhiskey]

OK, here's my stats:

BP 120/80 ish
Resting HR 62
Total Cholesterol 3.8
LDL 2.2
Triglycerides 1.6
No smoking
Sane alcohol levels
BMI 23
no family history
no stress factors
well and fit, have never even had a cold in decades

That was the situation a while back when I had a full blown heart attack, went into cardiac arrest and had two stents in the "widow-maker" coronary artery. All without symptoms or pain. I once had an ingrown toenail that hurt orders of magnitude more than anything I experienced during this event. When I asked my cardiologist what he would have done if I had seen him a week before the attack, he said "Nothing."

I have lost all faith in the numbers that are supposed to indicate a safe zone. I have seen absurdly obese people and used to think they were a heart attack waiting to happen, and of course, it never did. I agree with the above poster: start worrying about something else. Just be ready to take your ride when they punch your ticket cuz there's probably little you can do about it anyway.

[Pace]

I thought this cholesterol thing was the biggest drug company con of the century? 70% of heart attack victims have normal or low cholesterol levels?

Have we been conned about cholesterol? | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-430682/Have-conned-cholesterol.html)

[noblues]

Had my Class 1 renewal today and was surprised to be given a cholesterol test.

Apparently the CAA are doing it as an 'info only' thing for over 40's.

Mine was 5.2 which I was told as good, I had a look on the chart they had and saw 7'ish was danger zone ....

I always thought to get am accurate reading one needs to almost fast for 12hrs, is this true?

[javelin]

For a touch of sensibility for a moment...........

You get one done at 40 under current CAA thinking.

As my family have had problems, I get mine done every 2 years.

First one was around 5.5, then it has risen slightly to 6.5 and stayed stable - I am 51.

As my AME says - towards the higher end but here is the important thing - no other contra indications, i.e. not overweight 86kg/6'1", no smoking, reasonably active, reasonable diet moderate drinker ( :E ).

I find it a good check every 2 years to ensure no trends start, if they do I will correct them or look at drugs to modify.

There is no hard and fast 'limit', it depends on your personal circumstances.

[teresa green]

Start walking, and have at least 1000 mg of fish oil a day. Why is it that everything we like is either illegal, immoral or fattening? Meanwhile enjoy your life, think of all those people who knocked back desert on the "Titanic".!:bored:

[priapism]

I asked my GP what the difference was between fat and cholesterol .

He explained that you don't wake up in the morning with a cholesterol.

[teresa green]

If put on medication for this problem, please first consider googling the product. Some have the most painful side affects, which I found out the hard way. Best to stick to exercise, fish oil, low fat diet, etc before the possibilty of getting into more trouble taking some of this :mad:.

[Bob the Doc]

We're basically talking risk and probability here. Having a high cholesterol (especially if the LDL cholesterol is high as well) increases your risk as does smoking, being fat, drinking too much, being older and having a family history of heart disease

None of this will stop the occasional racing snake from dropping down dead from a heart attack or the odd fat bastard lasting until their 100th birthday. It just changes your place on the list of people that are going to have one this year/decade etc.

Statistics and probability are dark arts to most people, hence the fact that certain news agencies think that '50% of all doctors are below average' is news. My father (who is a statistician) likes to say that the 'average' human being has one tit and one bollock. It's probably slightly less than one of each but you get the idea.

Reducing your cholesterol will probably reduce your cardiac risk. Cholesterol lowering drugs are generally well tolerated but a significant number of people have quite debilitating side effects.

There are no absolutes in medicine except that we will all die eventually of something and for about a third of us it will be heart disease

Enjoy the red wine!

BtD

[Markstephen]

Exercise is the best way to control cholesterol

[carsickpuppy]

Has anyone on here tried Niacin to lower cholesterol? My father, aged 73, had quadruple bypass about six years ago and has been on prescription cholesterol lowering meds, BP meds, etc. since then.
About two years ago he started taking 500-1000 mg of over-the-counter Niacin per day and during his quarterly check-ups he sees a noticeable increase of the "good" cholesterol and a drop in the "bad". Other meds are still the same, but some dosages have been cut.

[411A]

... and the CAA limit is 6.5.


Which is complete rubbish, as you might expect.
My FAA senior Aviation Medical Examiner in Arizona (who also is approved for EASA, UKCAA, DoT Canada, CASA, NZ, GACA...and several others) tells me that statistics generated by the UKCAA shows no difference re: cholesterol related problems with professional pilots (with class one medicals) are identical with the FAA ...3%.
This is not new data either...been this way for at least ten years.
So...cholesterol testing is just another way to extract money from your wallet.
Nooo surprise there....:ugh:

[Viscount812]

Interesting things Statins. Was prescribed a small dose of Simvastatin daily to help with chlorestorol. The only medication I've ever reacted to, but it took some months to surface and indentify. Symptoms were muscles and limbs (particularly legs) becoming heavy and a feeling of small stones rubbing the soles of my feet. Eventually I started to find it difficult to walk, I just didn't seem to have the strength in my legs. Once we (my GP and I) had identified the problem, it took just a couple of weeks to return to normality, but another brand of statin attempted a few weeks later returned similar symptoms. My advice if you have side effects is to read the slip of paper that comes with the medication and details the possible downsides.

Meantime, if you're reading this, on statins, and feeling perhaps 20 years older than you feel you should, you now know what to do.

[YorkshireTyke]

Trouble is .... medical profession change their minds about every 5 years, it's OK for dark chocolate now, red wine, eggs again, even coffee, all just about banned for anyone who had some interest in their health and longevity a few years ago.

Of my early days flying colleagues who have keeled over, most were of the frenzied exercise freak persuasion.

One had his licence suspended for awhile due to a suspicious ECG, turned out he had an ECG trace abnormality that is only apparent in the top strata of super-fit athletes.

Not a lot of people know that ( Including aviation medical examiners ! )

Had a Flt Eng, once who said that when the med. prof. got around to deciding that lying on the coach, drinking beer and eating Smiths' Crisps were the way to go - he was way ahead of the game. He's stilll around.

Ask 2 people - get 4 answers.

Sensible eating, and moderation in all things without getting fanatical about anything, seems to work. I think a lot of it is genetic, so there's damn all you can do about it.

[driftdown]

My mother at 86 has had high cholesterol for years and she eats very healthily and drinks virtually nothing. Unfortunately she cannot do much in the way of exercise these days so I guess what you inherit is what you have got.

A bit like blood pressure the previous thinking causing alarm now seems to be a little revised in terms of what is acceptable.

[gordon field]

Viscount: I had exactly the same reaction and it took some months to surface and indentify and some weeks to really start clearing up after I stopped taking Statins. The Doc wasn't interested in my feedback or the recent article in the T.graph.

Really sore femoral muscle, painfull knee and numb foot all now much better after 2 months of no statins.

[gingernut]

Just found out me'eld fella's cholesterol is 3.7, with an equally healthy hdl.

Guess I'll never get the kids to Florida:ooh:

[Viscount812]

Gordon Field - I think it's perhaps more common than the medics try to make out. My GP was quite philosophical about it - they'll do you good, but not at the price of your existing quality of life. It seems there isn't too much choice of a prescribed alternative - which begs the question of what is in those plant steroids and the like that Benecol advertises does you good when you pile 1/2" of butter on your toast (and reports that I have heard tends to suggest that the stuff does actually have a beneficial effect).