cholestrol

[poorclare]

I have been told (hospital) that my cholestrol was very raised at a level of 7 is this good or bad.

I do intent seeing my GP in 3 wks but would just like to know what to expect

Good health to everyone

[cliffsdoll]

yes its high, i have high cholesterol which is now controlled by tablets, doctors aim to keep cholesterol at 4 or below, you can help yourself by giving up fatty foods, sweets and chocolate, sugar, high fat milk , cakes pasrys, chips and crisps, basically everything you enjoy and replace it with fruit veg, low fat milk and butter, salads, boil all your meat ect no fried stuff, cottage cheese ect, if it doe'nt improve your gp may put you on the tablets.

[shaneystar2]

Quite high !
See here...good info.
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/hype rcholesterolemia.htm
It can be controlled by diet or medication ...statins. I had high cholesterol but by following a diet given to me by my G:P Practice nurse have managed to reduce it and avoid taking medication..Basically ..low fat diet.Boring but necessary.
Diet for life really !

[parkesquay]

You may be one of those people (like my wife) who naturally produces high levels of 'bad' cholesterol (low density lippoproteins) and it will have nothing to do with what size you are or what you eat. For example my wife is petite in size and weighs less than 8 1/2 stone.

In order to combat the LDL she is permanently on Simvastatin(or similar) and this together with sensible dieting keeps her down towards the 4 level.

[icemaiden]

I had high cholestrol also at 7, and with cutting out all fatty rubbish as mentioned above it is now down to 4.0.

One thing I did learn is to cut down on Saturated fat, this raises cholestrol considerably. Look at food labels and you will see "saturated fat per 100g" if it is 5.0 and below it is safe to eat. If it is over 5.0 avoid at all costs.

When you do this you will also notice how much saturated fat is in so called "diet" foods.

A real eye opener. Good luck to you.

[poorclare]

Thank you all. wow this is going to be some cut back, I love every sweet, enjoy a fry once or twice a week, hate boiled meat. Years ago I smoked heavy and I was able to stop without any problems BUT chocolates and milk - different matter, BUT if its a matter of life and death, well I want to LIVE. by the way I'm 9st 2 and have been for about 10 years Thank you all

[cliffsdoll]

made a mistake earlier i said said boil meat, what i meant was grill.

[WendyS]

Healthy eating is probably the best way of reducing cholesterol and I know plain grilled meats, poultry and fish can sound rather boring, but you can always zing up their flavour by coating them with a light dressing of pesto or sweet chilli sauce (if you like spicey things).

Benecol drinks are also supposed to be cholesterol reducing if you drink one daily but I'm always a little wary of some of the health claims of commercial products.

[powyco]

I reduced mine from 7 to 4 by eating Flora Pro-activ spread, their semiskimmed milk and yogurts. These are expensive, but they really work, and they are cheaper than over-the-counter statins. See the Flora website.

[Murielmci]

I chose to eat low fat about 3 years ago - weight problem in my case. I do not find it boring and neither does my husband who now cooks and eats low fat too. We bought several low fat books and put all our old ones away for a while - byebye Delia! (she is much loved by hubby) and the rule was you can cook anything you fancy as low as they are in these new books. After about six weeks we started bringing back the old books one by one and adapting them all with our new good habits. If oil is called for we use less and make sure it is a good oil or we use the one-cal sprays. These are excellent and really cut down the fat content.

We buy reduced fat or no fat dairy products such as fromage frais, creme fresh and greek style yoghurt and we use these instead of cream.

We stock jars of sauce and check the fat content before they go in the basket. That way everything we have in the house is good and we do not have to have a science lesson just to eat a meal.

Sorry if this is a long post but others must have depressed you with how boring your diet will become - it is just not so but some adjustments will need to be made.

Fry ups - have one for your birthday. Everything you can't have promise yourself on Christmas day. This way nothing is forbidden you just store up treats. You wan't manage all the treats of course but heh they were never forbidden just posponed.

You might like to look at the GI/GL diet which as well as being fashionable is actually very edible and good for your cholestral. It is a diet for life and is not aimed purely at weight loss. It will also ensure you do not suffer from diabetis. I have added low GI to my low fat diet, am eating well, am fit and have no diabetis or cholestral worried.

Try and enjoy!