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Post by canadamom on May 25, 2005 10:03:45 GMT -5
I just got my blood tests back from the doctor. My HDL (good) cholesterol is low, but within acceptable limits. My LDL (bad) cholesterol is higher, but also within acceptable limits. However, my HDL/LDL ratio is not good and outside normal limits.
I'm supposed to go back to the doctor in 6 months to get retested. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what I can do so that when I go back to the doctor to get retested the score is better? Is this the sort of thing that omega 3 fish oil is supposed to help with? What else can I do?
(By the way, I hope I posted this in the right forum.)
Lynne
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Post by Mom2boys on May 25, 2005 10:53:38 GMT -5
Hi Lynne, Did you read the post on psyllium seed husk? There is a link there to an article about how it lowers cholesterol. That would be a great place to start.
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Post by Dandelion on May 25, 2005 14:34:48 GMT -5
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Post by canadamom on May 26, 2005 6:14:53 GMT -5
I don't think sugar is affecting my cholesteral. I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy and since then eat very little sugar. My glucose came out fine on the blood tests.
The garlic might help. I just started taking fish oil supplements and I read in the link that you posted that fish oil can raise your bad cholesteral levels. So that might be what altered the HDL/LDLD ratio. The article said to take fish oil and garlic together so I'm going to try that.
Tina, I found a link to the psyllium seed husk discussion but it only seemed to discuss 'keeping regular', not cholesteral. Is there another link?
Lynne
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Post by marcia on May 26, 2005 7:37:50 GMT -5
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Post by Mom2boys on May 26, 2005 8:41:57 GMT -5
Sorry, Marcia's link is the one I meant to share. The reason Psyllium is good for cholesterol is because it keeps you regular. Our biggest reason for getting high cholesterol is that things sit in our colon and are absorbed for way too long.
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Post by canadamom on May 27, 2005 5:44:01 GMT -5
I guess I'm going to stop taking the fish oil, in case that's what is raising my cholesterol.
I'm going out today to buy some psyllium. Does it matter if i buy powder or husks? I guess the powder sounds easier to take.
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Post by Mom2boys on May 27, 2005 6:14:13 GMT -5
The husks do a better job of cleaning your colon. It has no flavor at all. I put mine in a very small juice glass with juice and drink it over about two minutes. If you let it sit too long, it becomes gelatinous.
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Post by stackeyha on May 27, 2005 8:30:51 GMT -5
Okay...this may not be popular but what is your actual diet like... Do you eat a lot of meat or do you eat vegetable protein? Do you eat a lot of starches? Do you eat a lot of beans? Do you eat a lot of veggies?...What about fruits? How 'bout sugars or processed food (somebody else prepares it) My hdl/ldl ratio has been GREAT (so saith the drs) every time I've had it checked in recent years...I don't have the numbers in front of me and I don't have the numbers from before I took on my diet to compare it to...so I am NOT the case study that I am basing this opinion on. However, many folk find that as they drop veggie proteins like soy and add more natural proteins like lean meats their hdl/ldl changes for the better. Soy is a plant and I'm not going to argue health benefits BUT most soy protein is about AS processed as you can get...soy should be fermented to be used properly and that is not how they get soy protein. I'm going to lump starches/sugars/processed stuff together...for some people these things cause blood sugar issues...some go as far as diabetes...One of the major precursors for heart disease is diabetes...if by chance you are someone whose blood sugar is being changed for the worse with these things it would make sense that the sign post of hdl/ldl would be headed toward not so good. Beans...good source of natural veggie protein and good source of fiber however, depending on the recipe (baked beans for instance) and the cooking method...some people, many times the same ones who have a problem with sugar, have a problem with beans because their bodies treat it as sugar. Lots of veggies is usually a good thing...but if ALL of your veggie intake comes from iceberg lettuce or celery or over cooked green beans...you may be getting some fiber but all the other wonderful enzymes and nutrients that are the reason that the human body needs veggies is lost to you. Last thing about processed foods...Transfatty Acids and High Fructose Corn Syrup. Excess in Transfatty Acid causes bad hdl/ldl problems... a great article on this is drcranton.com/nutrition/oiling.htm, it's called The Oiling of America. HFCS just exacerbates the blood sugar problems...again adding problems to cholesteral. If you have posted your diet in the past and I've missed it, I'm sorry...I just think that you can't look for a single answer until you figure out the why. Fiber is NOT going to help if you are eating only veggie oils that are 45%-80% transfats...no matter what. I hope that makes sense. For me, nowadays (most of the time) I am very low carb, whole foods...I eat meat or eggs at least 3 times daily...I eat a lot of nuts...I eat very little veggie protein or at least I don't go looking for it...I eat very little sugar, starch, I eat very few fruits (between allergies and blood sugar...apples and berries are about all that I can handle)...I eat lots of veggies. As far as processed goes if I can't make it myself with ingredients that I recognize I try really hard not to eat it. If I have to eat something somebody else made I do my best to watch the ingredients like a hawk. I'll tell you that I'm definately NOT there...but hope to have this completely in hand within a year...gotta have this baby first. I've been at some level of this way of eating for 4-5 years-first thing I cut was transfats out of stuff I cooked...and been pretty strict for almost 2...I've had 2 or three blood tests during that time and again each of the doctors have commented on how great my hdl/ldl -/over all cholesteral has been. These are just some random thoughts...I hope one of them is helpful.
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Post by stackeyha on May 27, 2005 8:40:07 GMT -5
Oh and one other thing...I wouldn't cut fish oil until I evaluated my diet...if the fats you are using are veggie oils...even coconut oil I believe...you aren't getting your omegas in a processable form in a large enough amount...there are different ways to get your omegas...flax oil (careful for allergies, I have two friends who aren't allergic to anything else who go anaphalactic with flax) and evening primrose, don't take it in pregnancy til the very end because of it's prostoglandin content...
Omegas themselves help with a whole mess of things BUT blood sugar and hdl/ldl ratio in time.
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Post by canadamom on May 27, 2005 13:59:59 GMT -5
1. I eat meat usually once a day, and I never eat vegetable protein
2. I love starches and I probably eat too much of those. Lately, I've been trying to eat brown rice, whole grain bread, etc. instead of white.
3. I don't eat a lot of beans, but if I do then I would eat baked beans
4. I guess I eat cooked green beans or carrots or peas (are they a bean?), and iceberg lettuce salads mostly. What else could I eat?
5. I rarely eat sugars since I had gestational diabetes. I don't eat processed foods -- one reason is they're more expensive than homemade.
6. Up until a few weeks ago, I know I was eating too much transfatty acids. Margarine is cheaper than butter. Plus I just wasn't really worrying about it.
So maybe I shouldn't cut out the fish oil because I know that most of the fats I eat are from vegetable oils, so I'm not getting omega-3.
Also, I guess I should eat a bowl of oatmeal in the morning because they are always saying it lowers cholesterol. Problem is, I hate it. I'll have to put cinnamon or bananas or something in it to change the flavor.
Lynne
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Post by stackeyha on May 27, 2005 14:44:06 GMT -5
It's a hard thing to figure out really...I'd look at your starches and your veggies...carrots are actually tubers like potatoes and they are much higher in both sugar and starches... try to find a replacement for the iceberg...I didn't like the taste of most of the "greens"...but I do like the sweet spring mixes more and more...my fav right now is by Emeril Lagasse and it's in a box...it's the sweet spring or the mardi gras sping (that one has flowers that I don't eat...) but there is nothing funky added that I can see and it lasts awhile cuz it's in a box. If you like the bitter or spicy greens there is arugula and several spicy spring mixes plus dandelion greens available...then to go up a bit, throw in a snitch of fresh spinach...just a couple of leaves to start with really has a lot of good stuff and it's not too bulky which is a big complaint when switching over. Now these are a touch more expensive than iceberg (maybe even twice as much)...but with iceberg you get virtually nothing of nutritional value...some water...but even fiber is pretty low. As far as other veggies...asparagus, tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, zucchini, sweet peppers, onions, some people like squash, artichokes...etc...what do you like? As far as starches/sugars - for me this is a list of what makes my blood sugar crazy...meaning I get cranky, lethargic, really sleepy, depressed, cravings etc. I'm not diabetic that I'm aware of and I haven't been diagnosed "officially" with anything, but talking to folk here and around, I'd be really surprised if I wasn't hypoglycemic (probably reactive) Sugar (any sugar even natural sugars like honey or maple syrup if I have too much without protein or fat with them.) Almost all grains Bread - any bread...even made by me from fresh ground wheat. Rice - most rice, including brown if I don't eat enough protein or fat with them. Corn - as in on the cob, frozen, canned...the stuff we eat is almost pure sugar and once it hits the digestive juices it turns into glucose...zap! And hits your blood quick as a snap. Oatmeal is the same as all the others...if I have it with protein or fat I'm okay...so I make a nutty granola myself...the big recipe has 6 cups rolled oats to 6 cups nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews whatever) and then I add honey and maple syrup and cinnamon to it and some oil to keep it from sticking...I still have to have an egg with it and usually can only have about 1/2 cup. Starches like - potatoes, carrots, bananas, baked beans (truely I only like the really sweet ones so this could be a sugar too). As far as both transfats and hfcs goes...if you buy ANYTHING at the store, from bread, to peanut butter, to whole wheat crackers, to refried beans...read the label. Even if it says 0 transfats...if it also lists on the ingredients hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated ANYTHING it has transfats...the laws are coming that will stop this, but for this moment as long as it's under a certain % they can still say none when actually there is some. I've only found one whole wheat bread that did not contain one of 3 things...hydrogenated something, HFCS or some sort of artificial sweetener (which I'm allergic to)...and I haven't bought it in a while but I think it's nature's own the 100% whole wheat one...but I could be wrong because it has been awhile. For us, only my kids really eat any serious amount of bread...my dh and I find that bread makes us not eat the veggies that we should...so once in a VERY great while we go to macaroni grill just for the foccacia and olive oil/balsalmic...kind of like other people would now and then treat themselves to pie. As far as butter -vs- margerine...get rid of margerine...it is almost pure poison. If you like the spreadable stuff...land o lakes has a butter/canola blend that tastes good and makes a nice transition from margerine for the family...they really don't need those transfats either. Just be aware that canola if heated too high does switch to transfat, as does the cheaper olive oil so be careful how you cook with it...but at least it doesn't start out as a transfat like corn oil and most veggie oils. Coconut oil doesn't change when it's heated and it's great for you as far as nutrient value. I sometimes make my own spreadable butter with butter and either canola or light cheap olive oil....whip em up with a hand mixer, put it in a tub voila! spreadable butter. I want to do this with coconut oil...but coconut oil is rock hard in the fridge so it wouldn't be spreadable. Anyway, hope this helps... Let me know if you want the actual recipe for the granola.
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Post by Mom2boys on May 27, 2005 15:37:02 GMT -5
The Psyllium will do the same as the oatmeal.
The margarine most likely had an effect on the cholesterol. I'm glad you're not eating that anymore.
I agree with Stack on the vegetable protein. Bleck!
Can you eat romaine or spinach salads instead of iceberg? Also, cook your veggies as little as possible. I try to eat mine raw, but if you are not there yet, then just steam them, but try to keep them crisp even though they are cooked.
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Post by Mom2boys on May 27, 2005 15:41:40 GMT -5
Sorry, Stack, I posted before I read your response. I agree with what you said.
All olive oil turns to trans fat when heated. I haven't heard of any that don't... and we don't use canola oil here at all. I blend coconut oil with my butter and keep it in a butter container on the counter. They make some neat butter containers now that will keep it fresh for 30 days on the counter.
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Post by marcia on May 27, 2005 17:55:03 GMT -5
oooo... please tell me more about your coconut oil butter blend, and those containers!
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