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I took my first blood test a few weeks ago and went to the doctor recently to discuss the results. My doctor said, the range he typically looks at is between 1-200, anyone at 150-160 he worries about, because over time the cholesterol can build up and contribute to a heart attack. I'm currently at 260. Since this is my first blood test, he can not determine how much "damage" has been done. Since it's so high now and I have a family history of high cholesterol it's time to buckle down and get to work on it. The doctor said that since I'm still relatively young the damage is totally reversible. The doctor basically told me, start on a cardiovascular regime and watch what you eat. I'm starting to run again. Unfortunately, the doctor didn't really tell me what I can or cannot eat. I've been trying to do my own research online, but there is a large plethora of information out there and it's difficult to sort through what is good advice and what is bad advice I've been told to avoid nuts, although I've read that I should be eating nuts. Same with chicken and fish. I read labels and avoid anything with higher than 10% saturated fat for my daily intake. I avoid anything with cholesterol in it as well. I'm basically eating grilled chicken with brown rice and broccoli 2x a day. I eat lots of salads with spinach, chicken and no dressing. Cheerios/ oatmeal for breakfast. Fruit is thrown in everywhere. I snack on some rice crackers and pretzel crackers all with 0% saturated fat. Anyway I'm sort of rambling on and on now. Is there any good resources out there, that can pin point what I can and cannot eat?
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# ? May 18, 2024 18:42 |
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You just really want to get a lot more soluble fiber in your diet. A glass of Metamucil in the morning with breakfast, which should probably be oatmeal (there are many tasty ways to make oatmeal, does not have to be instant!). Apples, pears, and prunes for snacking. Lentils are also good, cukes and carrots, ect. You don't really have to forego salad dressing. Olive Oil is great in moderation, maybe make some simple vinaigrettes or oil infusion dressings. Just don't start railing pints of the stuff. You seem on the right track towards good health. Stay in touch with your doctor, and keep it up! Remember to ask directed questions about what you should be eating at your next appointment. You might even want to consider getting a referral to a dietician, if that's within your means. And if all else fails, there's always Lipitor. Source: My mom's lifelong fight with weird cholesterol levels NOTE! Opinions on how cholesterol consumption effects our cholesterol levels are currently in debate in the medical community. Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Jul 7, 2015 |
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Suspect Bucket posted:You just really want to get a lot more soluble fiber in your diet. A glass of Metamucil in the morning with breakfast, which should probably be oatmeal (there are many tasty ways to make oatmeal, does not have to be instant!). Apples, pears, and prunes for snacking. Lentils are also good, cukes and carrots, ect. If you can't handle metamucil (I absolutely hate it) get a jar of Benefiber, and just add a teaspoon or two to tea/coffee or cold drinks or anything you bake. No taste, no texture, just extra fibre for the tiny effort of picking up a teaspoon when you're adding sugar to your morning tea. Salad dressing is completely fine if you make it at home and use a reasonable amount of it. I've always favoured a near 1:1 ratio of oil to lemon juice/flavoured vinegar, partially because i like the acidity, and partially because it means more delicious dressing for less calories.
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The deal with Cholesterol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtqHFLcCVSs
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Serum cholesterol and dietary cholesterol aren't linked much, are they?
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This thread made me go get some benefiber and some vitamins. I have high cholesterol as well and have been thinking about posting a thread asking for cholesterol lowering diets. You guys got any favorite recipies?
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Eat eggs benedict every day for breakfast, picnics of charcuterie and pâté with some really good bread (with lots of quality salty butter), delicious roasts with tons of gravy, followed my chocolatey creamy desserts with extra sauce, finish with enormous stinky cheeses and loads of port. Because gently caress it, it won't make a difference to your cholesterol either way and you've got to die of something, might as well enjoy your life, eat red meat and not drink fibre drinks.
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Scientastic posted:Eat eggs benedict every day for breakfast, picnics of charcuterie and pâté with some really good bread (with lots of quality salty butter), delicious roasts with tons of gravy, followed my chocolatey creamy desserts with extra sauce, finish with enormous stinky cheeses and loads of port. Recipe for a good life itt.
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Scientastic posted:Eat eggs benedict every day for breakfast, picnics of charcuterie and pâté with some really good bread (with lots of quality salty butter), delicious roasts with tons of gravy, followed my chocolatey creamy desserts with extra sauce, finish with enormous stinky cheeses and loads of port. Come on now. I need recipes. I am not so good at the foods that I can wing all that!
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Mr. Wiggles posted:Recipe for a good life itt. More like recipe for gout, dang.
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Skinny King Pimp posted:More like recipe for gout, dang. Bring back gout as a badge of honor/sign you've "arrived". Dudes used to get letters of congratulations when they first got gout.
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There was a lot of blood in my poop today like a loooooot do I have high blood pressure too you think or is it low cause it tool a long time to make and if it was high it should have shot out real fast? (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
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So serious talk because apparently some people don't understand real life common sense things and some people don't get hyperbole, healthy eating doesn't mean not eating good stuff. And eating well doesn't mean you can't eat healthy things like vegetables as well. Yesterday I worked hard and wanted a big supper. So this is what I made: ![]() That's a grilled lamb sirloin chop. Not dressed with anything but salt, pepper, and a little paprika. It's with a great big salad dressed with vinegar and oil and some buttered bread. Salad is good and awesome and I eat a lot of it in the summertime because I have vegetables coming out of my ears, and also it's good for filling you up (I heard this referred to as "volumetric eating" or something else silly once but the idea is sound). The vegetables are also good for you. Eating a great big plate of food like this is living the good life for sure - really tasty and satisfying. But it's also not an oh my goodness going to kill you kind of meal either. There's no hard and fast rule about what to eat, no formula of "so much of this and so much of that". Just eat good things and don't eat too much of them unless you're going to be working it off.
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obi_ant posted:I'm basically eating grilled chicken with brown rice and broccoli 2x a day. I eat lots of salads with spinach, chicken and no dressing. Cheerios/ oatmeal for breakfast. Fruit is thrown in everywhere. I snack on some rice crackers and pretzel crackers all with 0% saturated fat. Dude. That's awesome. Sorry that I don't have much to contribute, but if you can learn to embrace that kind of diet, you're going to be really happy in the long run.
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El Marrow posted:Dude. That's awesome. Sorry that I don't have much to contribute, but if you can learn to embrace that kind of diet, you're going to be really happy in the long run. The exact opposite of this.
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Scientastic posted:The exact opposite of this. I'm perfectly happy not eating bullshit.
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People who only eat grilled chicken, brown rice and vegetables make me really sad. Eating a delicious and varied diet isn't unhealthy, deliberately behaving in this weird ascetic manner is just an awful way to live. Eating proper food != eating bullshit Also, the odd deliciously rich thing makes life better and self-flagellatory denial is loving boring.
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If swallowing pills doesn't bother you, I'll throw in a recommendation for fiber supplement capsules over powders. Look for "Psyllium Husk Capsules", they're basically just the powdered stuff, minus the sugar+flavorings, encapsulated into pill form. In my experience the generic brands are like 1/4th the cost of the Metamucil branded stuff. The claims about soluble fiber lowering cholesterol seem to be pretty well supported, but I'm also not an expert so whatever. If nothing else, they'll make you poop good, which is a pretty great thing. I found it extremely hard to get enough fiber in my diet, even when I was eating nothing but 100% whole grains, non-starchy vegetables, and lean meats (which of course I couldn't keep up forever). "Eating Right" is a loving minefield of conflicting information, pseudo-scientists, snake oil salesmen, magical thinking, and new age religious zealots. Talk to your doctor and see if they can refer you to some one who knows what the gently caress they're talking about. I think what you're looking for is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), but I could be wrong about that, there are a bunch of similarly sounding people who will tell you what to eat, with varying levels of certification and competency. A change in diet and exercise may not treat the problem effectively at all, and you may need to take medication. Talk to your doctor.
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If you do end up needing to take medication, don't feel like it's because of some personal failing. Cholesterol levels absolutely have a familial/genetic component and often you end up with a kind of lower bound of where you can get those levels through diet and exercise alone. If that lower bound is higher than is healthy, well, you're just gonna have to take some medication to bring it the rest of the way down. And remember: everything in moderation, including moderation. Eating lean meats and a variety of fibrous veggies with some fruit and nuts thrown in most of the time is good for you and all that but you are not going to ruin your health by just eating something indulgent every now and then. I'm with Scientastic, too, the whole "food that isn't 'healthy' is bullshit and I am morally superior for not eating it" is loving irritating. If that kind of diet works for you literally every single day of your life, that's great, good for you, nobody gives a poo poo so stop being an rear end in a top hat because I like a steak with whipped bone marrow once a year.
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Hi there I'm a doctor who also happens to enjoy food and cooking Yes, the media reportage on the link between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease is oversimplified and dumbed-down. There is a connection, but it's not like having a stellar cholesterol profile will guarantee that you're not going to have a heart attack, Unfortunately, your cholesterol is elevated enough to be a relatively significant risk factor, but is just one part of what goes into overall risk of having heart, cerebrovascular, and peripheral artery disease. Arguably the largest risk factors for these are smoking cigarettes and having diabetes. Low HDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, high blood pressure, sedentary lifestyle, etc. are also risk factors. Interestingly, childhood sexual or physical abuse is also a very strong risk factor for heart disease, probably because of all the awful self-care behaviors that potentially come from that. Yes, the connection between dietary and serum cholesterol isn't great. Eating high fiber can help, but not a ton - it basically binds up cholesterol in your colon and you poop it out. The effect isn't that spectacular and many of the studies have industry funding, so the results should be interpreted with skepticism. This is something to discuss with your physician in more detail. Your family history of disease, co-morbid medical conditions, and other individualized aspects of your health need to be considered. A statin or other lipid medication may be warranted. Personally, I would recommend that you watch your sugar and carbohydrate consumption more than cholesterol and fat, but keeping your weight in check, exercising, and living a fruitful life that you enjoy are probably the best things to do. If that means eating a steak every now and then, then go for it.
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Laminator posted:Hi there I'm a doctor who also happens to enjoy food and cooking One day, some will will be like "Yes I have a question about goats and their applications in graphic design" and I will have just as an athorative and perfectly suited reply as you just made there
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Drink bacon grease for breakfast and do a couple of lines of blow for lunch. Bonus points if you are either trying to build a new society in either the Texas desert or the wilds of Hawaii. It's been shown that changing your diet fundamentally doesn't work. You should just try to taper off while doing some LSD.
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Mr. Wiggles posted:So serious talk because apparently some people don't understand real life common sense things and some people don't get hyperbole, healthy eating doesn't mean not eating good stuff. And eating well doesn't mean you can't eat healthy things like vegetables as well. this looks delicious. also what an average weeknight meal looks like for me. maybe less meat and some more elaborate vegetable dish, or rice instead of bread - also lots of bottles of wine, but pretty much it. Laminator posted:Hi there I'm a doctor who also happens to enjoy food and cooking this is a good post, thank you.
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# ? May 18, 2024 18:42 |
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I've always had high cholesterol, the doctors hate it. For about 18 months I went on a diet that was supposed to reduce cholesterol but all it did was make me hate diets that are supposed to reduce cholesterol. The diet wasn't that bad but a lot of stuff on it was expensive, things we can't afford to eat all the time as a family. My numbers were still high, doc didn't believe I stuck to the diet so he put me on medicine and after 6 months my numbers hadn't dropped so I think he gave up and accepted that I'm going to have high cholesterol. My focus now is on eating healthy and getting exercise. (BTW, the medicine has terrible side effects.)
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