High Cholesterol

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  • posted by SuzieSuzie
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    I’ve done this diet for 4 weeks now and have lost 5lb, not excessive but feel better that I’ve felt for many years. The problem now is that I’ve been told by the diabetic dietitian to concentrate on my cholesterol more than my sugar – is there a way I can adapt this diet to accommodate this?

  • posted by Jenni from the Block
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    Suzie,a person’s blood glucose levels and lowering their cholesterol are not mutually exclusive. More info would be needed to fully understand what the nurse means, but many people on here have found their cholesterol decreased on this diet. The principles of BSD can still be followed if you believe small quantities of saturated fat are not conducive to lowering cholesterol (it’s hard on 800 calories to have large quantities). Maybe read some more on both the BSD and what is being recommended to you by the nurse.

  • posted by Baristagirls
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    Hello SuzieSuzie. I’m not a health expert. However recently, I read that sugar affects your cholesterol levels. Healthy fat does not! Contrary to what I’ve always been lead to believe. Now I know there’s lots of things out there to read and it gets very confusing as to what is true and what isn’t. But this makes complete sense to me, having known people who consume a lot of sugar and have a bad heart….
    I just googled to see what I can find, and have pasted a little below… I suggest you look into it and see what you can find also.

    People also ask

    Can sugar affect cholesterol levels?

    This new research syncs with decades of data on how sugar causes insulin resistance, high triglycerides, lower HDL (good) cholesterol and dangerous small LDL (bad) cholesterol. It also triggers the inflammation we now know is at the root of heart disease. And fats, including saturated fats, have been unfairly blamed.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Had a quick search online too and there certainly seems to be evidence out there, that sugar intake affects cholesterol levels. Think you will find several folks on the forum, who have reported a drop in their cholesterol levels too, which would seem to bear out this opinion. Like Baristagirls, I’m not a medical expert, but I would say keep doing what you are doing with the BSD and in all likelihood you will probably see an improvement in your cholesterol.

  • posted by Gerald
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    I too have the same problem with elevated Trigycerides and pre diabetic along with fatty liver and gallbladder polyps, its so confusing online so many vegans say high carb diets won’t make you fat as long you avoid fats, low carbers say the opposite – confusing indeed.

  • posted by Baristagirls
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    It is confusing indeed. It does help to remember that carbs turn into sugar once inside us though. Its the sugar I think, that deposits itself along your blood vessels, creating the cholesterol problems.

  • posted by Gerald
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    Yes, the vegan high carbers like McDougal and others are saying that lipogenesis de novo isn’t a concern, i.e. carbs being converted to fat in the liver, this is one of my concerns seeing as I have fatty liver, I think if that is true then there must be other mechanisms at play here, when I do the high carb no oil/fat diet HCLF within days my visceral fat shoots up from 14 to 15.5, I go back to low carb Mediterranean type diet and back I am to 14, this is without exercise, just change in diet, so maybe the carbs convert to visceral fat/adipose tissue, I dont know but its going someplace.

  • posted by SuzieSuzie
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    What a fantastic response, thank you all so much! It’s been so helpful, I will research more but I think also listen to my own body, I feel this “diet” is really working for me. I don’t like calling it a diet as such, as I would rather it became my way of eating for the future. Once again everybody Thank You!

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    My cholesterol and triglycerides have both come down dramatically since starting this diet, in fact, I was tested after I had been on it for just 6 weeks, also my BG is down.

  • posted by JulesMaigret
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    Like Sunshine-Girl

    As my weight and blood sugars have dropped my cholesterol has dropped well into the “normal” level. My non-alcoholic Fatty Liver disease symptoms have also been reversed. I don’t claim to understand the relationship between carbs, weight and cholesterol but another data point.

  • posted by Gerald
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    That sounds great, do you know your number pre and post BSD? My Glucose is slightly high I think 39mmol which I think converted is 5.7 for the usual reading, Triglycerides and cholesterol high and have fatty liver and gallbladder polyps and want to heal from all these dieases.

  • posted by Gerald
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    Apparently if you reduce 10% of your weight you can reverse your fatty liver (probably depending on the severity), what symptoms did you have of fatty liver disease? I was diagnosed with Gilberts syndrome in my 20’s, you’d know this cause bilirubin levels are higher than normal, I think it means that detox phase II is sluggish.

  • posted by JulesMaigret
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    Hi Gerald

    I had no appreciable symptoms of NAFLD, although I had been experiencing fatigue, but that may have been my blood sugars. It was detected on my over 50’s MoT at the GP. I had to take the doctor’s word for it that I had it. However after losing about 15% of my body weight, the blood results came back in the normal range. According to the GP, as you say, non-Chronic NAFLD can be reversed by losing weight and losing it quickly is most effective.

    My Cholesterol went from 5.2 down to 4.6. My HBA1C went from 68 in July to 54 in November to 35 in January. Blood pressure has also fallen into what is apparently “fine” (official medical description) for my age.

    For full disclosure I have increased my level of exercise so that may have had an effect also.

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    My HbA1c was 8.2, now 5.9, cholesterol total was 4.1 now 3.7, triglycerides were 1.50 now 1.21. Doctor is worried when I tell him I eat full fat everything so I am being retested when I have my next HbA1c in March. Will report back then.

  • posted by Gerald
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    Wow great result – 15% weight lost, WOW!!!! I think I| will ask for that over 50 MOT, just passed my 50th birthday.

    19 Oct 2016 – HbA1c levl – IFCC standardised 39 mmol/mol
    19 Oct 2016 – Serum cholesterol 6.1 mmol/L, Se non HDL cholesterol level 4.7 mmol/, Serum LDL cholesterol level 4.01 mmol/L,
    Serum triglycerides 1.56 mmol/L

    28 Sep 2015 – HbA1c levl – IFCC standardised 37 mmol/mol
    28 Sep 2015 – Serum cholesterol 5.9 mmol/L, Serum LDL cholesterol level 4.06 mmol/, Serum triglycerides 1.1 mmol/L

    3 Nov 2011 – Serum cholesterol 6.19 mmol/L, Non HDL cholesterol level 4.84 mmol/L, Serum LDL cholesterol level 3.91 mmol/L,
    Serum triglycerides 2.04 mmol/.
    3 Nov 2011 – HbA1c levl – IFCC standardised 40 mmol/mol

    Ive only started jogging recently, the last two years started walking briskly but even that hurt my ancles and knees and kept giving up, started cleaning up my diet in the past 2 years and more the last year and want to do things seriously and follow Dr Mosleys experiments, BSD, 5:2 etc. I just checked and my BMI was 39 in 2004 and now is around 31 but needs to be in the 20’s. I was 115kg two years ago now about 103kg, ideal weight is around 73kg.

    I do believe that those with fatty liver may convert MUCH fat or easier than normal people, I’m sure I saw one study where normal lipogenesis accounted for 3% of liver fat but those who had fatty liver that number rose to 20 or 30%, if that is the case that IS massive, I have to try and find it, I can’t believe it myself so I’ll have to look for it.
    But …
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14631324/
    Enhanced lipogenesis appears as a major abnormality of hepatic fatty metabolism in subjects with NAFLD. Therapeutic measures aimed at decreasing hepatic lipogenesis would therefore be the most appropriate in order to reduce hepatic TG synthesis and content in such patients.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24316260
    Increased lipogenesis in fatty liver patients

    This could be the reason that I put on weight when on I go off the low carb diet and to the McDougal diet.
    I think the med diet is good and allows a little olive oil or good oils, fish oil.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19370776/
    An olive oil-rich diet decreases accumulation of TGs in the liver, improves postprandial TGs, glucose and glucagon-like peptide-1 responses in insulin-resistant subjects, and upregulates glucose transporter-2 expression in the liver. The principal mechanisms include: decreased nuclear factor-kappaB activation, decreased low-density lipoprotein oxidation, and improved insulin resistance by reduced production of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6) and improvement of jun N-terminal kinase-mediated phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1. The beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet is derived from monounsaturated fatty acids, mainly from olive oil. In this review, we describe the dietary sources of the monounsaturated fatty acids, the composition of olive oil, dietary fats and their relationship to insulin resistance and postprandial lipid and glucose responses in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, clinical and experimental studies that assess the relationship between olive oil and NAFLD, and the mechanism by which olive oil ameliorates fatty liver, and we discuss future perspectives.

  • posted by Gerald
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    Julesmaigret – You HbAiC down to 35 from 60’s is very nice, this my goal also, mine has been 40, 37, now 39 so I want to SLASH this down and as you say do some exercise as well as this will help.
    Sunshine-girl – Your HbA1C is too low I think, it must be another reading for example my 39Mmol HbA1C is 5.7 on some other reading. Your 8.2 reading would be 66, my 39 would be 5.7
    https://freestylediabetes.co.uk/https://freestylediabetes.co.uk/what-is-diabetes/what-makes-glucose-levels-rise-and-fall/HbA1c

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