Hi All
I have high cholesterol ( familial hypercholesterolaemia ) I’ve been on meds for more than 20 years. Does anyone know how this diet affects cholesterol levels please? I recently started eating butter and my cholesterol shot up so I’m worried that my sugar may come down but my cholesterol go up!

Hi

Typically when you start losing weight your cholesterol will also come down. If you read the recipes in the book the fats used are mainly olive oil and then from things like avocado, full-fat yoghurt, cottage cheese, etc and the fat naturally occurring in most meats. So although it does include good fats, because it is calorie controlled there is no so much of them. If you’ve been on meds for so many years you should discuss it with your doctor, so that they can monitor you, and your medication needs, through the process. You don’t say if your blood sugar is high or if you are overweight?

I have the same as you, familial high cholesterol. Since on this diet mine has gone from 4.1 to 3.7 and I have started using full fat foods like yogurts because the diet types are full of sugar. I have the olive oil and avocados and not use butter although because I don’t eat bread I only get through a very small amount mainly in cooking. Also my husband (who is not on this diet) has started eating butter and a piece of cheese most evenings and his cholesterol has come down too. And both of our triglycerides are down. as well as my HBA1c. So it is a good all round improving diet.

aren’t you lucky
I have been doing this woe for 3 months and before that the fd for 4 months
I have lost nearly 3 stone
and my cholesterol has gone up – both hdl and ldl – to the highest they have ever been

not happy

Hi DiviB
Yes I’m diabetic on metformin and 3 stone over weight. Will speak to gp thanks.
Sunshine girl that’s really encouraging but I maybe can’t assume it’ll come down if keeptrying is anything to go by. As you say butter is usually consumed with bread and as I’m not eating it I probably won’t eat any extra. However eating full fat yoghurt etc will surely raise my levels. I guess time will tell.

Eating full fat will not raise your level, or at least for me it has helped reduce plus good fats like olive oil. Before, when I cooked with oil I measured it out in short sprays now I just pour it on my meals, or to cook with, I put it in yogurt with garlic for salad dressing. Yum.

you cant ‘assume’ anything will happen just because it does to others
as I have found out
people who lose tonnes of weight fast on this woe, assume that those of us that don’t must be doing something wrong/different
but you know what, actually, I am just not losing as fast as others and in the same way their cholesterol goes down and mine has gone up
but that all happens with other people too

I used to eat loads of fat with carby foods, yet it didn’t send my cholesterol up
now I eat ff yog, olive oil, fish, avocado, coconut oil – and up it goes
but perhaps one day it will stabilize or come down, who knows

good luck

As Timewilltell, different people have different results. Also google professor Tim Noakes and read his research reviews and personal experience on a low carb high fat diet (not calorie controlled) – sometimes called the banting diet. It is very interesting.

I will thanks DiviB. Keeptrying your user name is very apt then! I will keep trying and see what happens. I seem to be losing a lot bit ate a piece of birthday cake last night and it’s given me diarrhoea! Oops!

I have just started the diet. My blood sugar is raised but I not been diagnosed with pre-diabetes (borderline on one occasion) . I have high cholesterol and a lot of fat round my middle so hoping this diet might solve all three problems.