NHS Health Check- Cholesterol results

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  • posted by Orangeblossom
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    This week I had my first NHS health check as turning 40. Have been trying low carb / low sugar med style eating in way of the blood sugar diet, and was interested to see the affects on my cholesterol levels. The HDL (good type) is 2.4 and LDL (bad type) 2.5…the GP said this was very good, especially the HDL level. I wonder if the diet is to do with this. I have been eating lots of greek yoghurt with berries like raspberries and blueberries, with a little honey and to change from bread i like dark ryvita with butter and sometimes humous. I also eat no red meat, and mostly quorn, and although still have about a stone to lose am pretty active, with a gym membership. I’d be interested to hear how this compares to others on this diet.

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Hi Orangeblossom, Since starting this plan I have been eating full fat yogs and cheese and even have butter to cook with as well as the olive oil and, yes my cholesterol was way down too and so were my triglycerides and also my HBA1c down from 8.2 to 6.7. My husband is a skinny thing and only has high blood pressure, but he tends to eat what I cook and has stopped asking for potatoes or rice with his meal and he has also reduced chol and tri but also his blood pressure is down so much that the cardiologist wants to take him off b/p tablets but our GP is a bit more cautious.

  • posted by Billingebabe
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    Tell him to go with the cardiologist – they are the specialists! Very low blood pressure is not a good thing.

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    He suffers from white coat syndrome and the cardiologist recognised that. He doesn’t have low blood pressure so he is happy to go along with the GP for now. The point I was making was that even in small doses (my husband still eats a sandwich for lunch and a cake every shopping day) this diet can make big differences in things like cholesterol etc.

  • posted by Barry Pearson
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    Disclaimer – I’m not trying to lose weight. I’m trying to stay healthy, which is a different matter. (I’m a man of 69). That is my interest in the foods here.

    My last NHS health check reported HDL=2.4 and LDL=2.6. (And Triglycerides=0.7). But I think this was mostly (not entirely) to do with exercise, (mainly HIIT), not diet. I say this because a few years ago the report was HDL=1.4 and LDL=3.6, and the major difference since then has been exercise, with changes to diet not so dramatic. (I don’t follow a STRICT blood sugar diet).

    I don’t know how to disentangle the effects of diet and exercise. Or even whether it matters, since I’m certain that I need both to stay healthy.

  • posted by JulesMaigret
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    Impressive numbers!

    I think that you’re absolutely right that diet and exercise are inextricably linked and it probably isn’t worth trying to separate them out as that just leads to conclusions like “if I cycle for three hours I can have five doughnuts for tea”.

    My own cholesterol has drifted into the acceptable range and I reckon that diet and increased exercise have both contributed.

  • posted by Igorasusual
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    The only thing to add is that you might – if your weight is too much – find exercise on top of a lower calories eating programme is too much.

    So I would heartily recommend – in fact, I’d INSTRUCT you – to read Lucia’s MY EIGHT WEEKS thread about starting exercise.
    I am considering nominating her for the Nobel Prize for Inspiration (there is one, right?) as she regularly expresses stuff in a way which fills you with both hope and intention and gets you up off your bottom in ways you probably never considered.

    Please please read it – use the SEARCH box – and you will never give up on exercise again.

    🙂 🙂 🙂

    And tell me if I’m not RIGHT!!!

  • posted by Orangeblossom
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    Barry- My last NHS health check reported HDL=2.4 and LDL=2.6.

    That’s nearly exactly the same as me! Yes I do exercise quite a bit, maybe that helps as i do need to lose a stone in weight. I walk a couple of miles a dat on the school tun up and down a very steep hill and have a gym membership, go swimming and classes every week. Going to try and keep it up. My dad (in 70s) has ischeamic heart disease so anything I can do to reduce the risk for the future is good, I guess.

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