High Cholesterol: how do you control it?

Posted by doedoe13 @doedoe13, Jul 1, 2018

I have very unusual cholesterol scores. Both are high. My Doctor says not to worry because the good is high and outweighs the bad. Here are the numbers cholesterol is 270 LDL is. 164 HDL 70.6. Do I just not worry like my Doctor said? Any ideas?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart & Blood Health Support Group.

For anyone taking no-flush niacin, instead of statins, be sure to tell your doctor and be aware it can thin the blood as well. A friend had a bad fall, with resulting broken neck and nose, and the ER doctors insisted that he was on blood thinners as they couldn't stop the nosebleed.

We kept telling them that he wasn't taking any medicine. Then I mentioned the niacin and one of the doctors said it was the likely cause of the hemorrhaging as they had seen it before.

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@johnbishop

@callalloo, My biggest lifestyle change by far has been losing weight. I've been tagged as a pre-diabetic for more than 20 years with a family history of diabetes. My weight had always ranged from a high of 330 in my mid 50s to an average of 260 to 290 in my 60s. Weight Watchers helped some but it really came down to making a decision that I had to change some bad habits. So I found a great health blog by @LeeAase where I learned about intermittent fasting and graduated to limiting my intake of carbohydrates. More info on his blog here - https://www.social-media-university-global.org/my-health-journey/

You might find the following discussion helpful -- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/

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@johnbishop Hi John,

I'm just wondering if intermittent fasting has caused a lowering in your cholesterol numbers. Have the lipids been checked since you started the fasting program?

I do know that weight loss can be a factor in lowering lipids (as well as blood pressure and so many other things), so I'm guessing with the weight loss you've experienced from fasting that you've probably improved those numbers?

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@hopeful33250

@johnbishop Hi John,

I'm just wondering if intermittent fasting has caused a lowering in your cholesterol numbers. Have the lipids been checked since you started the fasting program?

I do know that weight loss can be a factor in lowering lipids (as well as blood pressure and so many other things), so I'm guessing with the weight loss you've experienced from fasting that you've probably improved those numbers?

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Hi Teresa, I haven't checked my numbers but I'm sure they are much better as I always watch my BMI on my bluetooth scale. When I started my BMI was 31.1 and now it's 27.9.

Here's a clinical study that was done -- Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Lipid Profile–A Quasi-Randomized Clinical Trial: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.596787/full

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@johnbishop

Hi Teresa, I haven't checked my numbers but I'm sure they are much better as I always watch my BMI on my bluetooth scale. When I started my BMI was 31.1 and now it's 27.9.

Here's a clinical study that was done -- Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Lipid Profile–A Quasi-Randomized Clinical Trial: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.596787/full

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John
That is an impressive change in your BMI, congratulations on that success. I've always had concerns about fasting beyond a 12 hour time period. It would seem that wouldn't be good for the digestive tract in that it would be empty for long periods of time. Have there been any studies or problems found with the digestive tract with long term fasting that you know about?

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@johnbishop

Hi Teresa, I haven't checked my numbers but I'm sure they are much better as I always watch my BMI on my bluetooth scale. When I started my BMI was 31.1 and now it's 27.9.

Here's a clinical study that was done -- Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Lipid Profile–A Quasi-Randomized Clinical Trial: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.596787/full

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@johnbishop Hi John I'm impressed also with your BMI .I'm going to ask my cardiologist about going on this IF it may be beneficial for me now .Was it hard to get started?

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@hopeful33250

John
That is an impressive change in your BMI, congratulations on that success. I've always had concerns about fasting beyond a 12 hour time period. It would seem that wouldn't be good for the digestive tract in that it would be empty for long periods of time. Have there been any studies or problems found with the digestive tract with long term fasting that you know about?

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Here are a few articles on the subject that give a little more insight... Why I chose to do the intermittent fasting and low carb health fat eating is weight loss plus improving my blood labs to get me out of the pre-diabetic diagnosis. I figured if it can reverse type 2 diabetes it can certainly help me improve my health 🙃

-- Intermittent fasting and gut microbiota: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6924599/
-- What science says about intermittent fasting and the gut microbiome:
https://insight.microba.com/blog/what-science-says-about-intermittent-fasting-and-the-gut-microbiome/
-- 9 Potential Intermittent Fasting Side Effects: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-side-effects
-- Dr Jay Wortman Diabetes Remission is Surprisingly Simple!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx6xw3wOAMc

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@lioness

@johnbishop Hi John I'm impressed also with your BMI .I'm going to ask my cardiologist about going on this IF it may be beneficial for me now .Was it hard to get started?

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Hi @lioness, It was surprisely easy once I got started doing it for a few days. Gradually I became less and less hungry and now normally eat one or two meals a day with some snacks but try to make them healthy when I do snack. You might find the following discussion on the topic helpful -- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/

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@johnbishop

Here are a few articles on the subject that give a little more insight... Why I chose to do the intermittent fasting and low carb health fat eating is weight loss plus improving my blood labs to get me out of the pre-diabetic diagnosis. I figured if it can reverse type 2 diabetes it can certainly help me improve my health 🙃

-- Intermittent fasting and gut microbiota: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6924599/
-- What science says about intermittent fasting and the gut microbiome:
https://insight.microba.com/blog/what-science-says-about-intermittent-fasting-and-the-gut-microbiome/
-- 9 Potential Intermittent Fasting Side Effects: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-side-effects
-- Dr Jay Wortman Diabetes Remission is Surprisingly Simple!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx6xw3wOAMc

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Thanks, John. The articles you provided for both myself and @lioness were informative and helpful. I appreciate seeing both sides of the intermittent fasting plan.

As I've had several surgeries on the upper digestive tract, I'm hesitant to use it. While my BMI is normal, my A1C is not normal and my cholesterol could use a bit of lowering.

It is good information to have available. Thanks again!

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@johnbishop

Hi @lioness, It was surprisely easy once I got started doing it for a few days. Gradually I became less and less hungry and now normally eat one or two meals a day with some snacks but try to make them healthy when I do snack. You might find the following discussion on the topic helpful -- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/

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@johnbishop Thanks John I will read these over.Im
Concerned about my weight

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@johnbishop

Hi @lioness, It was surprisely easy once I got started doing it for a few days. Gradually I became less and less hungry and now normally eat one or two meals a day with some snacks but try to make them healthy when I do snack. You might find the following discussion on the topic helpful -- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/

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@johnbishop Thanks John .I gained alot of weight being isolated from COVID so need to get weight off and heart bypass so hearts not being so strained

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